This is a really tightly written psychological thriller about what happens behind closed doors in a exclusive private school. Belmont Academy is for the rich kids, those who plan to attend the Ivy League colleges and who have the parents who can afford the tuition. The teachers there are regular teachers, some with student pets and others with the goal of just bringing some kind of kudos into their own lives. The entire book is character driven, so it is important to get to know the people in the story right away. Teddy Crutcher is an English teacher there who is exultant when he can give a student a lower grade than they deserve and an assignment that is crushing in its demands. Sonia Benjamin is also an English teacher, a former graduate of Belmont herself, and rather proud of her accomplishments and her own hard work. Frank Maxwell is an odd duck teacher, a math teacher who just observes everything closely and takes everything to heart. Fallon is a former student, bitter against Teddy because he wrote her a recommendation letter that kept her from getting into an Ivy. Two current students, Zach and Courtney, become a central part of the story as they are suspected of foul play on campus that results in more than one death. The plot is fast-paced and entertaining, told in an omniscient point of view and including all of the main characters. I enjoyed reading how the rich and famous live and what they expect for their children, but none of these wealthy parents and their kids would be up for citizen of the year, in my opinion. In fact, there were few redeeming qualities in any of the characters, except possibly Fallon who was seeking revenge for all the right reasons. All in all, the characters were privileged and demanding and not so nice to the little guys, like Joe the custodian. Many of the events in the book were predictable but in a highly entertaining way. The one surprise was the ending that wasn’t shocking, just a surprise. Lots of twists along the way as the plot unravels on a narrow path to murder and justice.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Samantha Downing - you have outdone yourself! I have a new favourite and a strong contender for favourite book of 2021. For Your Own Good is dark, twisty, witty, disturbing, fun, addictive and so so good! I was hooked from the very start and could not get enough of it. It really is a fantastic read that you seriously need to get your hands on.

I am not going to talk plot too much as I think everyone knows about it. There are characters that you know you shouldn't like but can't help but warm to them. Teddy Crutcher, Teacher of the Year at Belmont Academy. He will remind everyone of this at any given opportunity. He wants the best for his students, but they have to work for it. Don't get on his bad side, like Zach Ward. has. The parents of this elite and exclusive private school are more entitled than the kids! Lots of spoilt adults, pressuring their kids to do better, be better. It is a recipe for disaster and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Michael Joseph and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book.

This book was sooo addictive! I loved the setting of a private school it made for a lot of drama and as a teacher was interesting and fun to see the events unfold. This was a wild ride, the less you know the better.

I have enjoyed this authors work in the past but this one was not for me. Slow burner and not thrilling. Just creepy. . Didn’t bond with the characters. So a bit of a slog to get to the end. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

This is the second book by Samantha Downing that I have read and it didn't disappoint.What a fabulous read! Teddy has been nominated Teacher of the Year at a prestigeous school ,an award he feels he justly deserves ,but watch out everyone Teddy is on a mission of excellence and if you are not up to standard watch out ,everything is for your own good !!!! This is such a fun story despite it is about murder and mystery ,great characters what's not to like ? I look forward to the Authors next book .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

Teddy Crutcher has won ‘Teacher of the Year,’ at the prestigious Belmont Academy, a fact of which he is extremely proud. However, he feels that his profession would, undoubtedly, be much easier were it not for students, their parents, or the other members of staff.

When we first meet Teddy, he has a meeting with the father of one of his students, Zach Ward, who are unhappy at the grade he received on a paper. We also learn, pretty quickly, that Zach was given the poor grade unfairly and that Teddy delights in wielding power in the small ways he can. He may not have the nice car that Zach’s mother drives, his house may need painting, the yard is overgrown, and he has to shop for bargains, but, in the small world of Belmont he is respected, if not liked. He also has a habit of slipping fellow colleagues a little medication, via their morning coffee…

This is a fun mystery, with an interesting setting. A school for the privileged, with overly ambitious parents, where a teacher, such as Teddy, is capable of ruining futures. Into this world, where Teddy nurses his grudges, secrets and resentments, murder comes and the members of the school – parents, children, and staff – come under dangerous scrutiny. The reader has to ask whether he can maintain his carefully built façade, or whether the walls will fall and leave his lies exposed and whether it is him, or someone else, who is responsible for murder? I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Always wanted to read this author so when I got the opportunity and grab it with both hands. With different POVs, it took me some time to track them all.

The author etched all her characters with the ink of crazy, to the point that I didn't know who was good or bad.

This was a dark comic, almost a satire, set on a backdrop oof a rich school with its privileged students.

The entire story was fun and quite enjoyable when I let go of my need to make sense of it all. As the body count increased the thril too rose up.

I would say it was quite an intense plot and a completely dark delight.

This was a great creepy, campus thriller. Downing really excels at bringing to life the poison behind the perfection of small town america and the relationships behind it all.
In this one, a vicious sociopath of a head teacher is baffled when his plans for revenge on other teachers don't go to plan. In this cat eat mouse tale, you start to wonder who is the cat and who is the mouse.

Samantha Downing is an author I've wanted to read for ages. This took a while to get into, possibly because there's many points of views, but once I did, I enjoyed it! It was an easy, satirical, fun read with a bunch of oddball characters who all truly believe their crazy actions are "for your own good"! The only thing I didn't like was that there was no real suspense as nothing was really kept from the reader.

Samantha Downing writes an outrageously bonkers, blackly comic, psychological thriller, a non-stop murder fest, set in a highly esteemed school, the Belmont Academy, with its privileged and entitled students with their wealthy demanding parents that expect the school to ensure their cosseted little darlings attend Ivy League universities, piling the pressure on teaching staff and students. English teacher, Teddy Crutcher is intensely proud of being awarded the teacher of the year award, the pinnacle of his teaching career so far, although in his mind it doesn't truly address just how remarkable a teacher and person he is. He himself comes from a significantly more modest background and schooling, meaning he is not as lauded or part of the privileged family of Belmont students who returned to teach, such as the popular Sonia Benjamin.

Teddy's resentments know no bounds, he is just the man to teach the likes of the over-privileged Sonia and some of his students, like Zach, lessons for their own good and he is not letting on that his wife, Alison, has left him and seeking a divorce. He feels entitled to exercise his extreme judgements, so okay his plans misfire a little, he sighs at other peoples failures as he tries to put right the consequences that arise, so what if students and others die, it is all for the greater good. As Belmont trends online as #HomicideHigh, woe betide anyone who crosses Teddy, like a former student, Fallon Knight, whose life was ruined by Teddy, now returned as a teacher, and he wants Frank Blackwell who keeps wanting him to pray with him to just go away.

This is a fun, twisty and entertaining read, jam packed with dislikeable characters, suspend your sense of disbelief, and jump aboard to enjoy this rollercoaster of a thrill ride as the body count soars to unimaginable heights at the Belmont Academy. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I’ve enjoyed other books by the author so was looking forward to For Your Own Good. This is different from her other books, in a good way. I had a fantastic time reading it. This is the kind of intense, fast paced twisty thriller I love. I thought I knew what was going on and who the killer actually was but then something seemingly random would happen and my theory was blown out of the water. I loved the way there were so many suspects in the tragedies even though it’s clear fairly early on who the guilty party is, this knowledge didn’t retract from my enjoyment, in fact watching the killer discombobulate while trying to ‘fix’ the mess they made and only making it worse was a pleasure. I loved this book.

I love the way this author's books have completely different storylines but still each with a slightly dark and twisted undertone. I was sold on this author since her debut My Lovely Wife and while for me her second and third ave not quite hit the mark of that one she is still undeniably a great story writer.

In For Your Own Good the plot follows the distorted mind of Teddy Crutcher who works as a professor at a prestigious school where expectations are high. He has his own ideas on what is best for his students and takes the actions he feels are necessary to punish those who fall short. Deliciously dark with a great finale. If you like this author, I don't think you will be disappointed.

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
I give this book 4.5 stars

Teddy Crutcher won Teacher of the Year at Belmont Academy. Everyone thinks he's brilliant.
Only you know the truth.

They're impressed when the tragic death of a school parent doesn't distract him.
Even when rumours start to say it was murder.

You're sure Teddy is hiding something about what happened that day.

You're sure you can prove it.

But you didn't stop to think that when it comes to catching a killer, there's no place more dangerous than just one step behind . . .

I read this thinking this would make a great tv show and guess what apparently it’s going to be!!
Wow what a ride this was!
Set in a school we have……dead bodies,secrets,mystery,mishaps, suspense and dark humour.lt has a great host of characters who alternate with their perspectives in short snappy chapters. Fast paced and highly entertaining,go grab yourself a copy.
With thanks to Netgalley,Samantha Downing and
Penguin Michael Joseph UK for my chance to read and review this book.

Samantha Downing has created a complete rollercoaster of a novel. It is very dark, funny, gripping and so well observed. It is fast paced, wickedly plotted and full of oddball characters who chase each other across the pages and through the action.

Teddy Crutcher is a teacher at the exclusive Belmont Academy. He says that he wants to do the best for his students and if they have to learn the hard way, so be it. Zach regards himself as a straight A student, Teddy doesn't. Fallon was one of Teddy's students and she has a score to settle. As their worlds collide chaos ensues. and bodies appear.

I really couldn't put this one down, the more I read the more entertained I was. If you enjoy a thriller with a sense of humour this one is for you. I urge you to give it a go.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this was such a good read I was hooked from the start and the book just got more and more addictive as the pages flew by. So many twists to the story and I was never sure just who to believe because this read has a cast of characters that were all suspicious and damn it was so good.
I’m not one for rehashing plots and it would be impossible with this book anyway without giving anything away. The characters were just brilliant and a warning don’t get to attached to them as you never know in this this book just who is going to die next!
This is in many ways a very dark and menacing story bit it has this element of fun also, compulsive and clever I really did enjoy everything about it and many thanks to Samantha Downing for another fabulous read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin, Michael Joseph for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I feel that this book should come with a warning, particularly if you are someone who likes to start a book to relax before going to sleep. Perhaps, "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." because this book is a page-turning riot!

Teddy Crutcher is one of the most unlikeable characters I have come across, and yet so wonderful to read about. He suffers from extreme workplace rivalry and wants to make his 'teacher of the year' award count for something. Even if that means his controlling behaviour manifest itself in some incredibly disturbing ways. Exacerbating his narcissism are the overly focussed helicopter parents who will do anything (and I mean <i>anything</i>) to ensure that coveted ivy league spot for their child, a woefully inept police force investigating a tragedy at the school and the most delicious chaos ensues.

It's a camp, over the top, deliciously dark read and I loved it.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I loved Samantha Downing’s work. This book was no exception. and lived up to all my expectations. As always, a quirky novel with quirky characters and a devious plot line. Can’t wait for her next novel

Engaging, clever and suspenseful - another page turner from Samantha Downing which I couldn't put down. Many thanks, I recommend highly.

Engaging Psychological Suspense….
Teddy Crutcher, winner of Teacher of the Year, Belmont Academy. He impresses everyone. Only you know the real truth and when a tragic death occurs the truth has to come out. Doesn’t it? Engaging psychological suspense with a compelling storyline and a cast of credible characters. A solid read.

Another brilliant page turner from Samantha Downing. Teddy Crutcher is an English teacher at an exclusive private school. He has exceptionally high standards and expects the same from his students. A previous student, Fallon Knight fell foul of him and he ensured she didn’t progress in life as she should by issuing poor references that implied she cheated. Today he has another student who rankles with him, Zach Ward and he makes it his duty to push him to his limits. All for his own good, of course. Tragedy occurs when, during a celebration at the school, the mother of Zach’s friend Courtney collapses and dies. Could this be murder? As events at the school escalate and someone is seemingly getting away with murder many a devastating twist occurs. As some people seem to get closer to the truth, are they just putting themselves in danger? This dark, psychological thriller doesn’t let up throughout and will have you reading it’s twisted pages well into the night.