For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing is definitely a book I'll be recommending. I love a prep school book. Make it a murder tale, and you have me sold. It's a thrilling look into the mind of a psychopath told in multiple parts with a compelling cast of characters.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Everyone is doing everything for the good of someone else in this book. They may be in weird ways that aren't exactly the right thing to do but that doesn't mean they don't think that way. The parents are all pushing for their kids to get to Ivy League schools even if that isn't what they want. The kids are trying to become young adults and forge their own paths away from their parents. The teachers are all working their own agendas, be it to be loved by the students or to make them, what they think, is better people. So what if you need to do a little poisoning and killing to get there?

The characters are all so complex. I sometimes find myself getting confused by all the different POVs in a book but not in this one. They are are written so well and separate. Teddy Crutcher is quite a different breed of person. Just desserts seems to be a fitting line for him. His train of thought made me go "Oh" a few times. The twists hit at just the right time and made you turn the page to see what was going to happen to who next.

This was hard to put down and left me quite fulfilled at the ending. I can't wait to read her next book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this wonderful book.

"Absolutely delicious!"

My full review can be found on FreshFiction.com, linked below.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

4.5 stars out of 5 stars. Samantha Downings latest thriller was a great read. It had a lot of unlikable but compelling characters. It was not as jarring or twisty as her previous novel but overall it was a thrilling read.

This book was received as an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow! This story was unreal. The perfect teacher, in the perfect academy receiving the highest honor a teacher can get and on top of all that, his wife has been missing for quite sometime and there might be a suspected murder. All of us know what it's like to be perfect and have the perfect accolades and the highest achievements but even the brightest minds were not prepared for what they are up against and sometimes when you dig too deep, you'll get what you deserve. My heart was racing, my adrenaline was rushed to the max and I had to keep reading to see what happens in the end and if they uncover any more secrets. I know our book club will have lots of opinions and remarks to say when we read this book and I know the discussion will be enlightened.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃🥂🎉

Ugh I needed a fast paced thriller like this. I started (and finished) this one on the plane to Colorado this morning✈️ it was so great! Thank you @berkleypub for this advanced copy!

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: thriller/mystery
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞: whodunit
𝐏𝐮𝐛. 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: TODAY🎉 July 20th 2021
𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬: 4.15

FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is a creepy, twisty thriller set in a prestigious private school where the students are high strung, the parents are overbearing, and a professor who hopes to teach his students a lesson🤫

I finished it on the plane and couldn’t put it down. I really, really did enjoy it. I kinda thought the plot was a little convoluted at times, and frankly, unbelievable HOWEVER I still think this one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time! FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is filled with sinister characters, a completely original plot, and it’s an especially dark novel so if those things strike your fancy, I can’t recommend this one enough🤓📚

If you love twisty thrillers with deplorable characters that you can’t get enough of, then get this book IMMEDIATELY!

I’ll admit to you right now that I’m a huge fan girl for all Samantha Downing’s novels!

I listened to her first book, My Lovely Wife, and at that point I was hooked.

Last summer I read, He Started It, and shook my head at the crazy ending (and maybe teared up a little when I knew I had to wait 365 days until her next read).

And now another amazing thriller, For Your Own Good, with characters you love to hate set in a fancy private school where everyone is just trying to fix everyone else’s errors..(just cuz of few people die is really inconsequential!)

So read this book, go read her other books, and become a raving fan like me!

FOR YOUR OWN GOOD was the best thriller i’ve read in 2021. it sucked me in immediately and the quick chapters, numerous twists and flawed characters had me ✨obsessed✨ also can i just say how refreshing it is to read a thriller with a male lead? the main character was awful but i was low key rooting for him 😂 kinda gave me THE KIND WORTH KILLING VIBES… also, if you’re familiar with her work, she wraps this up with another terrific ending 👏🏼

FOR YOUR OWN GOOD takes place at Belmont—somewhat of an Ivy prep school that tolerates nothing less than excellence and a perfect reputation. so, when someone unexpectantly dies on campus, people are shocked. when a second person dies, people are seriously concerned. are these deaths related?? and even worse—are they murders?

i couldn’t flip through the pages fast enough, yet i didn’t want it to be over. you know who the bad guy is the whole time but Downing makes you so nervous that he’ll actually get away with it. i truly couldn’t figure out how it would end 😱

SOON TO BE A TELEVISION SERIES ON HBO MAX.

I LOVED #ForYouOwnGood —Twisty and darkly hilarious, Samantha Downing delivers her best yet with a leading wicked man, Teddy Crutcher, Teacher of the Year.

Warning: Stay away from those coffee pods. You never know who has tampered with them.

Some students, colleagues, and parents may think of a different title for Teddy. He wants to control everyone and loves to give students a B when he knows their work is brilliant and A+ quality (to bring them down a notch because he can) among many other devious tactics.

OMG! Teddy could be Joe Goldberg’s dad (YOU, Caroline Kepnes) and perhaps a former husband of Jane Harris (The Favorite Daughter, Kaira Rouda). I expect readers will be talking about this cleverly created narcissistic character for years to come.

Teddy Crutcher teaches English at the prestigious and elite Belmont Academy. Teddy does not like the wealthy and entitled parents, students, or colleagues. He thinks he must teach them a life lesson. He also does not care for the other teachers and staff from money or the graduates turned teachers from Belmont.

Teddy lives in an old house with a garden of poisonous plants and drives an old Saab. He says he has a wife named Allison, but no one has seen her lately.

He devises a devious plan to poison a teacher. However, his plan does not go as planned. Dang, the wrong one but no worries, Teddy can kill off a few more for the greater good.

This minor mix-up causes some drama for students Courtney and Zack. Even though he does not care for his entitled students, he still needs to control the situation.

Teddy has made quite a few enemies over the years, including his former student, Fallon Knight.

She was a brilliant student, and Teddy knew this, but again, he had to bring her down—ultimately screwed up her GPA due to his bad grades. Plus, he wrote a false, nasty reference letter saying she was a cheater, which eventually kept her from getting into an Ivy League school. Then her wealthy parents cutting her off and forced her to attend a state school and work dead-end jobs.

She is out for REVENGE. After all, who could blame her? Teddy is not giving her enough credit because she has some games up her sleeve as well. (I loved the Allison twist and the sperm bank).

Over the years, she sends Teddy nasty emails and shows up at Belmont as a teacher. Fallon and Zack are both on his trail, and neither knows they are really on the same side. He must cover his tracks.

In the meantime, there are more deaths by poison and some sleuthing by Fallon and Zack. Watch out for the food left in the teacher’s lounge and those events that include coffee, drinks, and food.

In addition, Teddy also throws the janitor and the headmaster’s secretary under the bus (loved Joe, the janitor, and his banter). Someone steals his teacher of the Year plaque, and Teddy is in an uproar.

The best of all is the math teacher, Frank (former math teacher) turned clergy. However, Frank knows more about Teddy that changes the course of everything. What a twist!

What a fantastic book! Samantha Downing takes a wicked cat and mouse game to a new level! Highly entertaining! Laugh out loud and just what I needed. Not only does the author keep you guessing about Teddy, Zach, Frank, Courtney, Fallon, Sonia, and the rest, I adored the fatherly words of wisdom sprinkled throughout from Zach’s dad.

#ForYourOwnGood is a creepy, funny, and satirical peek inside the world of the private school sector and its politics, as well as the unfortunate pressure parents, put on their children to make it into the Ivy League school. Then a rotten egg, like Teddy can destroy their lives.

This delicious creation, a perfect fun and clever read—a nice change from all the heavy psychological thrillers. It is not like the typical prestigious and elite schools with a lot of drama from the students. So much better.

FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is full of dark humor, where you laugh out loud. I started this one and was at 50% when I looked up. I had to stop for work, came back zoomed through to the end in one day. There is never a lull or dull moment. It is fast-paced, mysterious, and you cannot wait to see what will happen to Teddy, hoping that someone will please poison his dang milk.

Highly recommend! I hope we see more books coming like this. Cannot wait for the TV series and the cast of stars. Top Books of 2021.

A special thank you to #NetGalley and #Berkley for an advanced reading copy.

Blog Review
#JDCMustReadBooks
@JudithDCollins
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pub Date: July 20, 2021

I just finished one of my favorite books of 2021 - For Your Own Good by @smariedowning! 🥛 My favorite of the authors books too; each one just gets better!

The story takes place at Belmont Academy, a prep school that takes itself very seriously. Teddy Crutcher is an English teacher who has one the school’s Teacher of the Year award. He keeps to himself until a parent of a student dies at a school event. And then a teacher dies. And then people start pointing fingers and looking at each other.

This domestic suspense book was intense; excellent pacing, short chapters, great clues dropped throughout the book. Tons of twists I didn’t see coming, both big and little. I couldn’t put this book down. I loved the school setting and the very unlikable characters.

Greg Berlanti and Robert Downey Jr have already announced they have teamed up to bring this novel to HBO Max. I can’t wait to watch and see who they have cast for each character.

Very twisted but very fun.
Teddy is the coveted teacher of the year at his private academy, Belmont. He's also determined to bring his spoiled, privileged students down a notch. He's done it before with Fallon, by destroying her university dreams, and now he's doing it with Zach. His disgust isn't just for his students, he also has issues with some of the other teachers and staff and those entitled parents. When a parent dies at a school function things get interesting to say the least. With multiple characters taking responsibility, either expressed or confessed, the story gets dark and twisty. How the author kept all the moving parts in order is a testament to her plotting and writing skills. There's enough revenge on the characters minds to keep it interesting. Written from multiple POV's and short chapters, this one grabs you from the first page to the last. Often humorous with a very fast pace, I read this one in a day.
I think fans of the author are going to love this one, it solidifies her place as one of these best thriller writers working today.

This story was unlike anything I’ve read before and I mean that in the very best way.

Set in a private school setting where every single person believes they know what is best for everyone else. Complex characters that you loved to hate. Twists and turns to keep readers hooked from start to finish. This book was an absolute treat. If this is on your TBR, i suggest moving it to the very top, and if it isn’t on your TBR I suggest adding it.

If anyone needs me for the foreseeable future I’ll be on my couch binge reading the authors previous books because I am OBSESSED after this one!

I love the multiple perspectives, intriguing characters, and suspenseful and gripping plot. Definitely unputdownable! Love it

Teddy Crutcher is Teacher of the Year at the prestigious Belmont Academy. He’s known for pushing the kids to be the best and the brightest; after all, the smug and entitled students from the most affluent families have to be pushed extra hard …it’s for their own good.
Reaching their academic potential may be hard this year with the death of a school parent - and the arrest of her own daughter on suspicion of murder! - followed by a startling number of poisonings in student and faculty. The body count is rising, Teddy is rising in the ranks of Belmont, and one student is beginning to suspect that Mr. Crutcher is trying to teach them all a dangerous lesson.

I’m a huge fan of Samantha Downing. Her debut My Lovely Wife was a stunning thriller that I devoured and her follow up He Started It kept me on my toes also. Unfortunately something about For Your Own Good failed to keep me flying through the pages. I always enjoy the unlikeable characters doing bad things Downing delivers but this one lacked something for me that I cannot quite put my finger on. Teddy was diabolical and did shocking things ...but honestly he was a bit boring. It’s still a solid contemporary thriller with dark and twisted characters but it didn’t have quite the impact as the author’s previous books for me personally.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“…. Had to keep trying to teach them not to be selfish, entitled little bastards.”

For Your Own Good is definitely going on my top ten favorite thrillers this year! Never have I detested a character as I did with Teddy Crutcher! I really loved hating him!

Teddy works at Belmont Academy, prestigious and elite, and also a place where Teddy has never quite fit in despite being Teacher of the Year. Teddy isn’t really part of the ‘family’ since he didn’t attend Belmont as a student and this is like a nagging splinter that just won’t go away. All Teddy really wants is to teach his students to be better – better students and better people – and he’ll go to extreme lengths to achieve this.

I loved the multiple POV aspect! It is beautifully done and gave a well-rounded perspective into all the characters. The twists just keep coming and I feel like a standing ovation is warranted here because damn! What a tangled web was woven!

Suspenseful, shocking, and gorgeously written, For Your Own Good is a must read for any fan of the genre! Highly recommend! Highly, I tell ya!

First off, short chapters are my book love language. This is the third book I’ve read by Downing and man, she just knows how to create a ride! On this ride, there are multiple POVs but, you need to pay attention closely or else you might miss something, as each detail leads to the bigger picture. I can easily see this becoming a mini Series. The ending is pretty good.

Thank you Netgalley and Samantha Downing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received a gifted galley of FOR YOUR OWN GOOD by Samantha Downing for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

FOR YOUR OWN GOOD centers on Belmont Academy, an elite private school where the wealthy and privileged send their teens for the best in education. Teddy Crutcher is the current Teacher of the Year prize holder and he’ll tell you that he is dedicated to the kids and making them the best they can be. What he won’t tell you are his methods of ensuring they’re the best because they aren’t all above board. Raised in wealthy families full of privilege, some of these kids need to be taught that not everything in life come easily.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the goings on at Belmont. The death of a parent in the middle of an anniversary party has everyone on edge and when more things continue to go wrong with deadly consequences, Belmont is trending for all the wrong reasons.

I really enjoyed this one! I would say it was less of a fast paced page turner than Samantha Downing’s last wild read, but this one brought so much intrigue and so many characters you will love to hate that it kept me wanting more!

The characters in this book come in all different shades of morally gray and downright dark, but you’re left with many wondering what is bad and what is justifiable. So many people are doing what they think is right for the students, justifying the pressure and the twisted methods as being “for your own good”, but the consequences are far reaching and ends don’t always justify means.

With multiple points of view throughout the book and suspicions flying in every direction, the reader is kept wondering what will happen next! I definitely recommend this one to the thriller fans!

This is my 2nd read by Samantha Downing. I enjoy the fast pace of her books and the many twists and turns. For Your Own Good is set in an elite prep school. Some suspicious events occur and the reader is quickly placed in the action to make sense of who did what, and to grapple with the moral dilemma of acting “for your own good”. Ultimately crimes occur, arrests are made, and still the turmoil continues. Who to trust? Will justice prevail? Grab a copy, enjoy the ride, for your own good. Thanks #netgalley and #berkleypub for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved He Started It last year (that ending! I still remember it a year later), so I was really excited to pick up another Samantha Downing book. She did not disappoint!

I could not stop reading this!! I started it yesterday and finished it today. One of my favorite parts is that we know who the madman is from the beginning. It was so interesting being in the perspective of a psychopath. Sometimes it takes away the fun of the novel to already know a huge portion, but I still had no idea what this looney toon would do next, and that kept me on my toes!

This was a blazing fast read with its short chapters, and I had a blast with it! Do recommend!

Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

What a fun and twisted little book! Downing brings her signature compulsively readable storytelling and I could not turn the pages fast enough.

I've been a fan of Samantha Downing since her debut, My Lovely Wife. While there are definitely some similar elements to her stories - like super messed up characters you can't help but root for - all of her books end up feeling very different, which I like. In For Your Own Good, there are several crazy characters to follow, but none more so than poor Teddy. He's just trying to teach his students to be better people, but so many things keep getting in the way. Pesky little problems like one of his favorite students being wrongly charged with murder and needing to frame someone else for it to get her released from jail.

In addition to Teddy's POV, we see get to know his fellow teachers, Sonia and Frank, former student with a grudge, Fallon, and current student, Zach. I enjoyed each of these POVs and felt they helped the story move along at a good pace.

Overall, I really enjoyed For Your Own Good. It had the delightfully twisted characters I've come to expect from Downing and I just had a fun time reading it. I look forward to whatever she comes up with next.