I absolutely LOVED Maz Evans' Over My Dead Body so I was over the moon to find out I had been accepted for this ARC.

That'll Teach Her is another hilariously brilliant book. It did take me a few chapters to get used to the format of this one, and there are LOTS of characters introduced in a short space of time. Normally I don't like it when books make me work so hard in the first few chapters, but the format made it enjoyable. Everyone who has ever been in a parents' WhatsApp group will be laughing out loud...

Everything about this book just works - the plot, the characters, and the humour. I loved it, and I'm sure Maz will forever be an auto-buy author for me now!

Not really sure this book was 100% for me,I did enjoy parts of it and found myself smiling throughout but there were a lot of characters to get to know and the message writing style did become a bit too much
None the less I did finish it and it was different

That’ll Teach Her is a fantastic murder mystery that combines deft humour and characterisation with a nefariously good plot.

Maz Evans just cemented herself as a must-read author for me. Between this and the brilliant Over My Dead Body, her darkly comic and wonderfully inventive mysteries are compelling, charismatic and conniving. This was another excellent outing.

I love a mystery that takes an innovative approach to its narrative stylings, particularly if it has multi-media elements. Here, Evans weaves in snippets and excerpts from various Whatsapp chats. She perfectly captures that passive-aggressive snideness of a parents’ group chat. It was delicious reading, especially seeing the contrasting messages in off-shoot side groups against what they would say to everyone. We also get transcripts of police interviews with suspects, creating a complex tapestry of truth and lies surrounding the central death. This combines the mixed media stylings and wickedly sharp mysteries of Janice Hallett, with Evans’ excellent humour and observational wit. It genuinely made me cackle with how true to life it was. You can recognise all of these types instantly.

The actual mystery is so well-constructed as well. You get pulled in and Evans leads you down rabbit holes. There are plenty of fiendish tricks and turns to get caught up in. It has a darkness to proceedings that is chilling, particularly with some of the later developments in the plot. Claudia Stitchwell is a piece of work. You start to question who she wouldn’t hurt or what she wouldn’t do to keep the stellar reputation of her school intact. There is the additional factors of class and privilege coming into play too, with the elitism and expectations of private schooling amplifying the tension. All sorts of assumptions feed into the narrative and also create humour in the group chat messages.

That’ll Teach Her is a sharp and socially conscious murder mystery with a wicked smirk on its face. Evans delivers another addictive read.

Welcome to St Nonnatus Primary School where the headmistress is dead, the circumstances are suspicious, there are only four viable suspects and as every parent knows, being on the school group chat can be murder.

There is so much promise with the premise of this story and as soon as I saw it was described as the mixed media style of Janice Hallett meeting the humour of Richard Osman in a primary school setting I knew I needed to read it. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. It really was fun to start with but felt too long for the plot so once I got to half way I started to get frustrated that the story was being stretched so much to fill the page count. There were also too many characters who had very light characterisations (predominantly stereotypes of the kinds of people you find in a typical UK playground) which all felt quite superfluous for me.

Despite this I did enjoy the humour, the mixed media use and the premise overall and it really is a quick read overall, I just wish it had been shorter and tighter in its character use and plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for this digital review copy of "That'll Teach Her" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I really enjoyed the mixed media style of this book and the story really held my attention. Will definitely read Maz’s other books. Thank you for the opportunity to read this before release

The style of Janice Hallet meets the wit of Richard Osman.

Told through their group chat messages a group of parents don’t believe the headmistresses death was it was accidental, they think it was murder. With multiple suspects within the school who wanted Stichwell dead - can they crack the case?

“Piecing together evidence from the daily drama and drudgery of the parents' group chat, local press, police reports, school newsletters, and good, old-fashioned gossip, the determined detective parents are doing their homework to crack the case Will you spot the clues? Can you deduce whodunnit? And for the love of all things holy, does anyone have this week's spellings?”

I LOVE mixed media murder mystery - think Janice Hallet - so this was right up my street! However, as I read this in e-arc form, this made it incredibly hard to read. There were some formatting issues that meant the group chat elements were hard to follow - as they didn’t translate well into kindle format. It was jumbled up and difficult to tell who’s message was who’s - especially when earlier messages were being forwarded or replied to.

Overall I enjoyed the multiple concurrent storylines running throughout. There was focus on numerous main characters throughout the novel and each had their own storyline. This was done seamlessly throughout until they all merged at the novels conclusion!

In terms of the characters, they were caricatures of who we’d typically expect to see in a school environment (especially in a church village). An old mean headmistress, Ebenezer Scrooge type looking after the finances, a stalwart dinner lady who takes no nonsense and a collection of every type of parent imaginable. At some points their behaviour was eye roll worthy, where I thought surely they haven’t just done/said ‘that’ but overall their characterisations added to the overall humorous tone of the book.

Overall this was a humorous ‘who done it’ murder mystery set in a primary school. Recommended for anyone who wants a quick read, it does however touch on some more serious themes. So despite the overall humorous tone I’d recommend checking the trigger warnings before picking this one up!

ARC copy provided by Headline & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the story, which was very cleverly laid out, but the style of writing was not my cup of tea. The people’s perspectives I found enjoyable, but not the bits of WhatsApp and SMS. I found they distracted me.

The unpleasant headmistress dies of a nut allergy, was it an accident, was it murder? I enjoyed the different characters, parents, teachers, ancillary staff, all with particular reasons to dislike the headmistress.


NOTE TO EDITORS
In some areas I found following the story difficult as excerpts from different parts of the book appeared in the wrong area

I do not read many books for myself, preferring to read so I can recommend and discuss with the children in school but Maz Evans was my exception and she didn’t let me down.

I really love the way Maz Evans writes her books. Quick, witty, relatable, great characters, what’s not to love? I’d not long finished reading Over My Dead Body, so was extremely excited to see this one on Netgalley.
It didn’t disappoint. As someone who has 5 kids and has dealt with the school and parent groups for 20 years, a lot of this book felt very familiar, and was easy to just get lost in.
I can’t wait for more from this author, I’m always guaranteed a laugh and great read from her.
I’d definitely recommend this and any of her previous books.

A really fascinating insight into the workings of a middle school, with some brilliantly funny secrets and lies coming to light. How far would you go to protect yourself and your loved ones. Great characters and some gleefully dark humour throughout.

The formula and format of this made it a little difficult for me, I find it hard to get engrossed in this style of storytelling, although credit to the author I did still enjoy. Just not as much as her previous books. So beware that it is told in emails, statements and group chats.

I was looking forward to this, but it didn’t quite meet the mark that I expect from a Maz Evans books.
Liked the premise and story idea

Detecting by Whatsapp. Witty dig at school systems, great whodunnit.

Love Maz Evans. Me and my eldest love her children's series. I enjoyed her first adult novel and this had me entertained and occasionally sniggering.

It's a murder! Much detested Headteacher at a religious school dies in mysterious circumstances during a school evening event. The parent group online, including a former police officer, speculates, gossips and shares class spelling lists and suspects.

We meet the new Head - Ben. The attractive TA Keira. Much-loved cook Hattie. School bursar Clive. Each with secrets and possible motives. We follow the story through online conversations, through school letters from office manager Marcia (who may have been a Marine) whose letters to parents/guardians/carers never fail to be hilarious in their style, their quotes and their content: "Please check that your child's phone content is age-appropriate. For your information, 'OneNightFriend' is not a bedtime story app." Brilliant.

There's lots going on, lots of red herrings and school-based horrors - vomit, Ofsted, scholarships, lost PE kits. Every parent will relate. Though maybe not to the murder!

Hugely fun, I enjoyed this immensely and had a great time guessing who was the murderer. And why. And how! Would love to see the attempt to film this for TV.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

I really enjoyed this authors children's book Who let the Gods out' and I work in a school so had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately it didn't quite work for me. The group chat sections were too lengthy and there were too many characters. I felt the book catered to stereotypes of school staff (I know it was a bit tongue in cheek) but I didn't enjoy it and was too lost about who was who.and the parents were a bit too 'Boden' for me to care. Sorry to say.

A really fun, fast paced book. The mystery element was fun and looked at in an interesting way, the mix of multimedia and normal storytelling made it a really fun way to read. There were a LOT of characters, but a main few who we really got to know, and it wasn't too much. Even the changing points of view wasn't a distraction, because they flowed together within the story. You were kept guessing until the end, never quite sure who had committed the murder, I know my thoughts switched a few times! Not all characters were likeable but they were disliked for a reason overall, others were more misunderstood and you came to understand their actions as the story progressed. It was entertaining to read about this small school community, and all the things that go on in such a small group. There was so much more than just the mystery which I really liked. A definite worthwhile read!

Punchy, easy to read chapters and a lot of laughs. Some of the characters are awful and some are fantastic. It was well thought out and fun to read.

Set in a primary school and told through parent group chat, tThe headteacher dies under suspicious circumstances at the school and a group of parents, led by an ex cop, try to discover who did it
Really enjoyable read

Includes the usual humour from the author. A great read, would recommend.

When a despised head teacher dies in mysterious circumstances, members of the year six WhatsApp group decide to investigate.

I enjoyed this very much. It was reminiscent of Janice Hallett’s books with its combination of messages, emails, written text and story, with a bit of JM Hall thrown in with the humorous school setting!

It was well written, the mystery kept me engaged and found the ending really satisfying!

I’d highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a humorous twist.

*** Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher ***

I love Maz's books - adults and children - and so this was one of my most anticipated reads.

I wasn't sure how I'd cope with this to begin with. It's a similar format to Janice Hallet's books, made up of newsletters, emails, and messages, which I like. But the formatting on my Kindle made it a little difficult to keep on top of.

There are a lot of characters; perhaps a bit too many. They're not all main characters, but I was still having a little trouble keeping on top of them all. Our main suspects are:

Ben - he's the dashing Deputy Headteacher. He's charming and handsome, but there's a dark secret hanging around him.

Clive - the school bursar who is not well liked. I really didn't like him. He was so full of himself, very misogynistic, and just a horrible character.

Hattie - she was my guiltiest suspect. She kept trying to cover something up with humour. She was rude and gave the sense she was above everyone else, even if she is well liked by some of the characters.

Kiera - a much-loved teaching assistant and lunchtime worker. She's put under a lot of stress at work and at home and I really felt for her.

Overall I found the dialogue to be nice and natural, and sometimes all over the place, but that adds to its natural feeling. Funny conversations are had, there's a bit of flirting, and no shortage of anger and hatred.

It is a murder mystery at heart, but it has a thrill and a romance. It's more of a character heavy story for me, rather than any of the aforementioned genres, and so I felt the mystery element got lost a bit.

I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. It was very good and I found it an interesting way to tell the story, and it does have twists and surprises in it - some I figured out and some I didn't. But it was just a bit too complicated for me to fully lose myself in. I was brought out of it by the formatting. It's a fine line. You want to create something unique and interesting, but it also makes it really easy to lose the story amongst the formatting, and I think that was the case for me.

I do love Maz's work and I wouldn't say I disliked this, because I didn't, it just didn't hit the heights I was expecting. But I will still look forward to her next one.

Maz Evan’s adult debut, Over My Dead Body was spiky, funny, wildly inventive and my number 1 book of 2023. Her second, That’ll Teach Her, can’t possibly follow that, can it?

While I thought I wanted a sequel to the first, Evans knows better, taking a sharp turn and changing format. This novel is primarily a modern epistolary format- newspaper articles, police reports and the WhatsApp groups for Tiger Class at St Nonnatus school.

The opening sees one character texting the group from a school event, and the Head is murdered. At first it’s disorienting, as you try to learn all the participants in the chat, but Evans is very clever to intersperse the characters we need to know with the archetypal people - the one posting about lost kit, the humble boasting overachiever, the conservative prudish one.

You quickly realise despite the chaotic format, Evans is in complete control. Information is parsed cleverly and the three parents who decide to solve it are likeable and fleshed out.

Rather than bogged down in the format, at the expense of character, mixed in are POV’s of the four main suspects. Evans shrewdly manages to delve into them without revealing the culprit. As with Miriam in Over My Dead Body none of them are particularly likeable, but they are compelling. The choice of suspects - not detectives - works well, and it’s great to see what they all think of our heroes.

More than all this it’s FUNNY. Properly. Broad jokes, puns, farce situations, all executed with precision. As a parent of primary age children I love how Evans is able to highlight the extreme nonsense involved. My favourite excerpts are the reports from the class soft toy that goes home with a student each week.

This is a triumph. Funny, silly, with a proper mystery to solve and moments of pathos and insight. If the first book was a challenge to Richard Osman, her second book is calling out Janice Hallett for an earrings off, ponytail pulling fight. Don’t count out this plucky younger classmate - she fights dirty!

Out on 27 Feb, review copy #gifted for an honest review.

I really really REALLY wanted to love this and I found the humorous narrative and the school environment perfect pitched BUT…I just couldn’t get on with the format of this book. I loved the idea of the class what’s app chats which were spot on but there were too many characters and too much chopping and changing between them for me to be able to keep up. This is nothing against the author or the fabulous storyline here because I just can’t get on with books written in this way-it’s a personal thing and this isn’t the first book I’ve struggled with due to the setup.
So a fantastic plot told with her trademark humour but not for me sorry.