Member Reviews

Title: The Head Teacher

Author: H. M. Lynn

Rating: ★★★★

In The Head Teacher, the stakes are as high as the prestigious position at St Ann’s School. Liz has managed to secure the coveted role of head teacher, but it's a precarious perch, especially when her shadowy past threatens to come to light.

St Ann’s is a strict environment where perfection is expected, and after one year on the job, Liz knows she can’t afford a single misstep. Not everyone thinks she deserves the position, and some are eager to see her fall. One determined adversary knows more than they should about Liz’s past—secrets she has kept tightly locked away.

The tension is heavy as Liz races against time, trying to protect her position and her family from the unseen enemy determined to bring her down. The higher she climbs, the harder she could fall, and the suspense will keep you hooked from the first page to the last.

The Head Teacher is a gripping tale of ambition, secrets, and the lengths one will go to protect their own. H. M. Lynn masterfully weaves a story of intrigue and danger within the seemingly safe walls of an elite school. Liz is a compelling protagonist—strong yet vulnerable, navigating the treacherous waters of her professional and personal life.

The book’s tight pacing and sharp twists make it impossible to put down. Just when you think you’ve figured out who’s behind the sabotage, another layer of mystery unfolds, keeping you guessing until the very end.

For fans of psychological thrillers and high-stakes drama, The Head Teacher is a must-read. Prepare to be captivated by Liz’s journey and the secrets that threaten to unravel everything she’s worked for. Highly recommend!

Thank you to The Publisher Boldwood Books, the author H. M. Lynn & Netgalley for an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

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The Head Teacher is a suspense novel about a head teacher who suddenly finds her world being turned upside down by a series of pranks and rumors that seem malicious and directed at her and her family. Rumors about Liz and her teen daughter keep surfacing that threaten to ruin her relationships with friends and family, her respect as head of the school and even her job and marriage are at stake! Liz has to get to the bottom of this, even if she feels like she might go crazy in the process.

I loved this book, it was so hard to put down! I really liked the realistic descriptions of what life is like in a school, especially one where parents are a little too vocal at times - much like my school. It was very hard to figure out who was the blame for the tricks and rumours, and while I did make a correct prediction pretty early on, I doubted it all the way through until the reveal! The writing was really great, and I really liked the main characters. It's a great book so I would definitely recommend it!

Thanks to netgalley for the Ebook ARC to read and review.

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Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The main character Liz in my opinion is quite unlikable and arrogant working as a head teacher working at a Catholic school. I didn't really warm to her initially, but her complex character does add an intriguing dimension to the story. Her 16-year-old daughter used to attend the same school but recently transferred due to an incident that isn't immediately revealed to the reader, although it becomes clear fairly quickly.

One day, during an assembly, Liz is shocked to find a large picture of her from the past displayed on the screen for everyone to see. This sets off a series of events where she confronts numerous people, unable to figure out who is behind this or why they are doing it. While I found the narrative to be somewhat far-fetched and struggled with some of Liz's actions, the story was gripping enough to keep me turning the pages, eager to uncover the mystery.

Despite the somewhat unrealistic conclusion, the book kept my interest and I raced through it, driven by the desire to discover the who and the why behind the mystery.

Overall, I would rate this book 3 stars.

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Liz is Head Teacher at St Anne's, and is struggling to juggle home and work life. Her daughter moved schools after a relationship gone wrong, and is doing well.

Liz had a wild life in her youth, but at this strict Catholic school no one can find out about it, until someone shares a racy photo of Liz, drunk and half naked, and the whole of the sixth form sees it.

It seems as though someone is jealous of Liz's position and wants it for themselves. And then her daughter is targetted.

It is hard to believe that this book is the first in this genre for this author. It was fast paced, gripping, mysterious and held my attention to the last page. I would never have guessed who it was that wanted to ruin Liz's life.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for the opportunity to read this book.

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Liz has her dream job as head master at the prestigious St. Anne’s, but with it comes at a cost! First it started off as pranks then it escalated to her daughter and home life. Liz goes on the attack accusing everyone in her life. This is a slow paced mystery. Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for a copy.

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Liz has her dream job as head master at the prestigious St. Anne’s, but with it comes at a cost! First it started off as pranks then it escalated to her daughter and home life. Liz goes on the attack and accuses her best friend Alice or disgruntled colleague Nathan. This is a slow paced mystery. Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for a copy.

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A fast paced thriller that l raced through, suitable for summer reading. Strong narrative voice and great twists. Loved the school setting. Will recommend to colleagues.

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The Head Teacher by @hannahlynnwrites is a suspense novel about a principal who suddenly finds her world being turned upside down by a series of pranks and rumours that seem malicious or harmful are directed at her and her family. Despite it being a tough job, Liz is finally starting to feel like she has a handle on her role as Head Teacher. She even got to enjoy 3 weeks off visiting family over the summer where she barely even thought about school! But it has been less than a week back to school when an awkward and scandalous photo from her past ends up on the projector screen during a beginning of the year assembly, and before the parent emails even hit her mailbox she knows this is going to shoot her stress levels through the roof. Over the following days and weeks a number of other pranks and rumours about Liz and her teen daughter keep surfacing that threaten to ruin her relationships with friends and family, her respect as head of the school and even her job and marriage are at stake! Liz has to get to the bottom of this, even if she feels like she might go crazy in the process.

I loved this book, it was so hard to put down! I really liked the realistic descriptions of what life is like in a school, especially one where parents are a little too vocal at times - much like my school. It was very hard to figure out who was the blame for the tricks and rumours, and while I did make a correct prediction pretty early on, I doubted it all the way through until the reveal! The writing was really great, and I really liked the main characters. It's a great book so I would definitely recommend it!

Pubdate August 15, 2024

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @theboldbookclub for giving me the chance to read and review this one!

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This book was absolutely fantastic! I was so caught off guard from the beginning. I just loved the thrill to it all! Great story!

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Wow! A gripping thriller from start to end. Throughout the book there were so many guilty looking characters which I thought were behind the torment of Liz. Kept changing my mind as I got into the story. Didn’t figure out the culprit until the very end. A very worthy read.

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I had high hopes for this book. It was a decent and entertaining read but I didn't find myself gravitating towards it like I had to finish it now. Overall it was a solid 3 stars and I'm glad to have read it.

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A huge cast of characters many of them not very likeable.
I simply loved this book, the storyline was fabulous. I constantly changed my mind as to who was behind it all and i certainly didn't guess correctly!
I was up until the early hours as i simply had to know who and even more importantly why??
This is a not to be missed read.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my early copy.

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I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be a page turner that kept me reading - in fact I finished it in little over a day! I was hooked from the beginning. Liz was an interesting character, and I really enjoyed watching her emotions change throughout the story. There were so many twists, most of which I didn’t see coming. I was able to figure out who was tormenting Liz, but that may be because I pay so much attention while reading. It was such a subtle clue mentioned in passing in an early chapter.

Overall, I enjoyed the writing style, the plot, and the twists. I think the author did a great job! Four stars for me.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this story.

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I had high hopes for a gripping thriller from this book when I had read the description and praise; however, I really can't say that I was "thrilled" with this one.
While the author successfully brought the story together, it lacked a great deal in character development, likely due to having so many characters to remember with unremarkable names or distinguishing features to help make them memorable. I didn't find that I ended up with much of an emotional connection to Liz, the main character, or her family, which added to my lack of excitement for this book.
I found the first half to drag on with very little action, and I kept telling myself "this must get better". It took until 3/4's complete before any decent action really came up, and even the ending I was not shocked or surprised.
Credit where credit is due, the author tied up loose ends and brought the story around cohesively, but a gripping thriller this is not. I struggled to be captivated for most of this book and when a "twist" came along I had seen it coming for a mile.
The author has potential for a great psychological thriller and the plot was there, but the major lack of action, connection, and surprise really made this a drag.

Unfortunately I must say, this was not a page turner and I don't recommend it for your summer reading list.
2.5 ⭐

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Took me a while to get into this storyline but overall I did enjoy it.

For me personally it wasn't a thriller read enough to grab my full attention.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

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My first book by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last. It’s an easy book to get engrossed into and I read it in almost one sitting. There are plenty of twists and the characters are engaging. I’d certainly recommend it.

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Wow! I certainly didn’t see the twists coming! I couldn’t go to sleep until I finished this amazing book. What an absolutely belting thriller I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

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Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is the 15th August. I loved this book it was great twisty read as someone who works as a teacher I totally related to this book and some chapters made me lol.

This book was gripping and extremely fast- paced I absolutely loved it! It kept me guessing right up until the very last page! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!

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Wow! This was a fun book to read! It kept me guessing the entire time! The short chapters that leave you hanging make this book hard to put down. As a teacher myself, I thoroughly loved the parts about the faculty and stuff as they were very relatable. Like a lot of books today, the mystery is solved rather quickly at the end but the build up is what keeps you going throughout.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

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A good read, Keeps you on your toes. Lots of twist and turns. I would recommend to other readers . look forward to other books by this author.

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