For Your Own Good was such a wickedly fun read. Teddy was probably one of the most self righteous and self obsessed characters I have ever read about and honestly, Samantha Downing mastered it and made me love the experience of getting to know him. Reading about such a narcissist and how he justified his actions and reactions was so entertaining and interesting to me. The author truly nailed this unique narrative and having Teddy pull through the story as the main character even though there were multiple POV’s was very well executed and a testament to Downing’s skill as a writer. I thoroughly enjoyed all the thrills and twists this book offered up, none were especially shocking to me, but I did really like them regardless.

This was a perfectly binge worthy and compulsive read and if you’re a fan of dark academia thrillers then I would highly recommend giving this book a shot! Samantha Downing gets an A+ from me for this book.

This book had lots of twists and turns and dark humour, and was an interesting read!

The first half of the book seemed to move more quickly than the second half.

I loved My Lovely wife and for me this book did not come up to the same standard. it just wasn't to my personal taste although I will stock for customers, as it will appeal to many others. There were some darkly humorous aspects but I think the school setting and the psychopathic main character just didn't work for me.

Well, that was a crazy read!
Full of fantastic characters who are all as paranoid and distrusting as each other. I couldn’t wait to see how it all played out and even though some of it seemed a little too far fetched, I was not disappointed.
Samantha Downing knows how to write a crazy, wild story and that is exactly what this is.
I loved it!

Murder mystery set in an American high school. Well-written, but the characters were stereotypical, the plot is implausible and there wasn't any tension.

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the esteemed Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest. He says his wife couldn't be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while. Teddy really can’t be bothered with the death of a school parent that’s looking more and more like murder or the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is on pushing these kids to their full academic potential. All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way,

This is one of the best entertaining, smart, riveting, addictive, unputdownable, crazy things I’ve ever read this year! I loved every second of it! This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Well thought out and wonderfully crafted. A delightfully dark and twisted tale, diving deep inside the mind of the main character.

Taking you on a fascinating journey of justification, sneaky thought processes and convoluted plots, this one is impossible to put down. The storyline is original, quirky and brilliant.

The characters are well drawn and strangely believable considering their roles.

Well worth buying

This was fab. Took me two days, could not put it down! As a teacher, there were lots of bits that I related to but some that I found really difficult to believe but that’s fiction I guess. Fast paced and short chapters were ideal. The storyline kept me engaged. A winner! This author is an instant buy for me so I’m glad I was able to access an early arc!

Set in a school for overachievers, Teddy Crutcher is a teacher who is fed up with hte pupils, parents and other staff members, unappreciated and in desperate need of respect. Asdly nothing seems to go his way, despite being named teacher of the year and so he sets out to even the score. Unfortunately for Teddy his plan derail on several occasions.
A great read with plenty of moments that make you want to shake the various characters who cannot see the madness unfolding in front of them, a teacher many will be able to identify character aspects of from their own schooldays and a gruesome plot line- what is not to love?!

‘Welcome to Belmont Academy, a prestigious school where we expect and get the very best from our students. Let me introduce you to Mr Teddy Crutcher our Teacher of the Year and about whom I think it’s fair to say, he really enjoys teaching lessons ....’ just ask Zach, a straight A student, or then there’s Fallon or .....

Samantha Downing does it again, knocking it right out of the park!!! Gripping, dark, funny, incisive and sharply observed from start to finish. The head count in this one is spectacularly high, the authorities are inept, some of the characters are devious, cunning or wicked or all three! Some are fist clenchingly entitled and arrogant and a couple you root for but one thing is for sure, they are definitely not dull! Some of the parents are awful, especially the mums, I thought mine had a tendency to the waspish but some of these make her utterly stingless! They take the whole pack of biscuits. The plot twists are excellent and so what more can you ask for! The further you get into the fast paced storyline it just gets more and more entertaining and it’s impossible to put down. It’s a wickedly, dastardly and darkly funny thriller. The ending is unexpected and absolutely brilliant with just desserts doled out!

Overall this is an easy five star read. My advice is to go in blind with this one as it’s such fun that any preconceptions would spoil the lunatic, clever rollercoaster ride. This will be a top read of 2021! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A stunner of a mystery, a gripping page turner and deadly twists. I really enjoyed reading this book, it has everything you could possibly want in a mystery/suspense book. The characters are flawless, even though Teddy Crutcher is slightly twisted but he get's his comeuppance which was bitter sweet and deadly. I loved Zach and Courtney and I was rooting for them to succeed and be together, which happens at the end. The plot is really interesting, who'd have thought going to school would create so much havoc and mystery, plus a dose or two of poison thrown into the mix. Samantha Downing is a brilliant author and I must admit I enjoyed this book more than My Lovely Wife and He Started It, which were both brilliant, this one is just PHENOMENAL.

Absolutely fantastic read. I have loved this and been completely unable and unwilling to put this one down.
This is a great read which I will be highly recommending.

A wicked thriller focusing on the recipient of Teacher of the Year award at a prestigious school, and the dark secrets that he keeps... A stupendous novel!

This was an okay read. The narrative was easy to read and fairly interesting, however I felt that the plot got a bit carried away and far-fetched towards the end. The ending was feeling quite lacklustre, however the final line definitely delivered an unexpected punch.

Unfortunately I have to say this was a disappointing read for me. I have really enjoyed both of Samantha Downing’s previous books but this one just felt a little flat for me. I don’t mind unlikeable characters of which there are plenty but there were no real plot twists in this compared to her previous books. It was a very straightforward book and I just didn’t feel like I was very engaged in the plot.

Massive thank you to NetGalley for providing an ecopy of this book on exchange for an honest review, I hope other readers enjoy this one more than me.

Menacing and at times ominous, with a legit insane protagonist and lots of dark, dark humor, For Your Good is exactly on brand for Downing. A who-dun-it where you are deep inside the mind of the worst sorts of people, but you never feel like it’s so serious that you need to step away. For readers who like a story told with multiple POVs, seriously dark humor and lots of twists and turns—just make sure you love to hate your characters.

I rather enjoyed this book. It was never really a galloping thriller with multiple twists (thank you for that-twists are highly over rated) just a good old fashioned (in the nicest sense) intriguing yarn. Quite a slow paced book, not a dramatic, in your face high tension read. It reminded me of Twin Peaks meets the song The Day My Mama Socked It To The Harper Valley PTA, The characters were very well drawn although I didn't like any of them. Not sure that really matters as I wasn't indifferent to them just didn't like them much. The book is well written with a lean towards low key It's very much a gradual unveiling, dark undercurrent of deviousness and perversion. Told from multiple POV you know "who did it" almost from the beginning but it's how the story unfolds culminating in a rather fine ending. I can imagine this being a 2 hour film on Netflix. This is the first book from this author I have read and I feel that I should definitely explore more

For Your Own Good - Samantha Downing

I'd previously read My Lovely Wife by this author and quite enjoyed it so was keen to try another one.

For Your Own Good is set in Belmont, a prestigious fee paying American high school.

The school setting offers a great cast of characters including teachers, students, parents, ex-students and members of the PTA. The characterisation is very good and there is a real school community feeling captured.

The story begins when a member of the PTA collapses at a school event, she later dies, poisoned and the murder investigation kicks in. The perpetrator is known to the reader early on, and various strands tensions are cleverly built up. Will they get caught? Will the innocent suspects get charged? Who else will be murdered? Who will uncover the culprit?

The writing style is light and breezy and it's a great fun read with entertaining characters and insights into the mind of the poisoner. There are plenty of twists and tension right to the last page .

I enjoyed it more than My Lovely Wife and I'm sure this book will be a huge success.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK.

Teddy Crutcher has won teacher of the year at the prestigious private Belmont Academy. He couldn’t think that he was more deserving. We learn more and more about him as events unravel and that maybe he’s too good to be true.
A student is arrested for the murder by poisoning of a popular teacher but when a series of further poisonings happen it appears they can’t have been the culprit.
Amidst all this mayhem an old pupil returns, one with a grudge for Teddy.
I really enjoyed this - refreshingly different and barely a mention of drugs!

Fantastic book, Samantha has done it again!!! The story is centred around Belmont school a prestigious money people school. In particular it tells us of Teddy one of the English teachers there, he doesn't seem to like a lot of the students there and thinks it his mission to help them become better people. Then the poisonings begin to happen, but who is the blame? And why would such popular liked people be killed?

Many thanks to Net galley for letting me read this novel.