I've been a Samantha Downing fan since her debut, but For Your Own Good is definitely my favorite so far. If you can look at a glass of milk in the future and not be completely creeped out, you're a braver person than I am. Teddy Crutcher is creepiness personified, and I was absolutely all in for every page. He's a classic sociopath, and Samantha portrayed him absolutely perfectly. Love, love, love this one!!!

Huge thank you to @kayepublicity for our gifted review copy of FOR YOUR OWN GOOD by @smariedowning - available now!!

It’s been a good long while since I read a thriller and I picked a great time to return to the genre. I can’t wait to see this one on my TV screen from HBO Max - Robert Downey Jr. is helping develop it! I love this news 3000!

The school setting is wild and draws me in immediately. You feel the tension the students face and that heightens the story.

Downing is so slick. She throws in these little tid bits at the end of the chapter that have me like 😳 and I just keep reading and reading! So damn good!

I really enjoyed this one so much and recommend it for anyone who loves a smart and smooth suspense novel!

Thrillers and mysteries are not my go to genre, but the premise of this one sounded so intriguing that I had to read it (swipe to read the publisher synopsis). Also, I read My Lovely Wife and enjoyed it.

This is told from multiple points of view. I have no idea if other people could have predicted what was going to happen; I certainly couldn’t. I started thinking there were characters I was and wasn’t going to like, but as the story went on and we learned more about the characters, I questioned my initial judgements and changed my opinions. And we kept meeting new characters and learning more secrets which was awesome. The setting of an elite private school was also a lot of fun.

I loved it and really recommend this story. The chapters are short, and it really was a ‘just one more chapter’ kind of book. It was a fast, enjoyable read.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thanks to the publisher and NEtGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars
Oh, the desire to make your mark. It is gratifying to be the most respected teacher of the year at an upscale private school. The focus is to mold minds and have them learn what is needed to make the marks and achieve higher learning. This is the teacher's goal.

What he doesn't want is the parents and others looking into his personal life and will do whatever is necessary to keep his many secrets.

[5 Stars]

This really shocked me!! I have never read a Samantha Downing book before so I didn't know what to expect, but I really really loved this. I absolutely adored how it was a thriller, but you already knew who was committing the crimes. It made it feel a lot more 'true crime'-esqe in the best possible way. I also loved how none of the characters were likable and how complex the plot got with all the conflicting motivations going on. I'm definitely going to start working my way through Downing's backlist now.

- Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review -

Samantha Downing is the queen of unlikable characters in thrillers. She never fails to weave in some of the most horrible people, but you can't get enough of them. For Your Own Good was not lacking in the horrible character department. It was a bingeworthy story about a lot of scandal (& a lot of death) at Belmont Academy. I'm a sucker for a thriller set in a school and for short chapters and this story had both.

I did feel like there was never really any mystery about what was happening at Belmont. We always knew the whodunnit so I didn't feel this one was as twisty as Downing's others, but was still a fun read. Perfect to binge by the pool on a hot day.

OH MY!!!! So basically I LOVE another Samantha Downing writes, but this one had me from the start. I couldn't put it down. The characters were fabulous and the plot was so well developed. I have to say I didn't want it to end. I loved the twists too. I HIGHLY recommend this book and all other books by this author.

This was a total surprise. I hadn’t heard anything about this book - hadn’t been recommended to me on Amazon, etc. But this was incredible and totally breathtaking. And books aren’t usually breathtaking! The best part of this book is how the author makes the most evil character the most sympathetic. That’s a total masterstroke and hard to pull off. I rooted for the bad guy the whole time!

This was so fun! A little repetitive, but I absolutely could not put it down! I loved all the twists and turns. This was a fun read for heading back to school!

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Belmont Academy is a prestigious, private New England high school that attracts the best and the brightest; both in students and teachers alike. Teddy Crutcher is an English teacher there and proudly, the recent recipient of the Teacher of the Year award.

Admittedly, he's not always a favorite of the students though. It could be because he does push them, it's true. Sometimes they require a little tough love, something certain spoiled brats don't seem to be getting at home. Students that seem overly arrogant, like everything will be handed to them, may receive a little special treatment from Crutcher. He needs to show them that the world doesn't work that way.

Zach Ward is one of those students. Just the sight of him gets Teddy's blood boiling. For Zach's part, he can't understand why Mr. Crutcher seems to dislike him so much. Everyone likes him, teachers, students, other adults, everyone. It's truly puzzling.

When Zach needs to perform extra credit to up his grade in Crutcher's class, Teddy makes sure it will be a challenge, not caring how much it interferes with Zach's other commitments. The tension rises when a fellow teacher asks Teddy to tweak when the assignment will be due. She has deadlines for Zach at the same time and certainly he can't be expected to complete both.

The audacity! Teddy seems to be the only person at this school with any regard for propriety. Then tragic events bring the once heralded school to its knees. Parents begin removing their kids, donations plummet; only Teddy can bring it around.

For Your Own Good was an absolute blast to read. My first Samantha Downing novel, but definitely not my last. It was hella twisted, no one was safe. I didn't know where it was going, or what the conclusion would be.

I absolutely love how Downing crafted this. I never felt like I had enough information to put everything together. I wanted to, I desperately wanted to know, but there were so many pieces to the puzzle and I couldn't get any of them to fit.

There were a few twists towards the end that just made me giddy, they were so diabolical. The conclusion was perfection!! Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can't wait to dive into Downing's backlist now.

To say this was one of my most anticipated releases would be an understatement. I’ve absolutely loved what I’ve picked up by Samantha Downing and my expectations were high when I picked up FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed! Another binge worthy thriller with memorable characters, questionable morals, plenty of twists, short chapters, and lots of suspense.

Teddy is the Teacher of the Year at the prestigious private school, Belmont Academy. His mission was to put the students first, and it didn’t really matter to him how it was accomplished. Some of these entitled kids needed more help than others, but be wasn’t going to give up on them. At a school event a parent collapses and is later pronounced dead – a freak accident or was there foul play? When others at the school are also killed by the same means, the students, teachers, and parents are all one edge. Who is the killer?

I don’t want to give away anything and potentially spoil the fun, but this book was so much fun. Who knew the world of private schools was so cutthroat? I certainly didn’t! Downing gives us the POVs of students and teachers as the mystery unfolds. The layers slowly peel back to reveal more questions and revelations. I loved Zach’s POV and Teddy was just someone I loved to kind of hate. The pressure on the students and faculty is immense and now add in some murder to make the semester even more stressful.

I cannot recommend her books enough to people, and this just firmly cemented Samantha Downing as an auto-buy author. If you want a quick, smart, and addictive thriller, then this is the author for you. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD gives us a glimpse into the dark side of world of private schools and academia.

Thanks to Berkley for a copy of For Your Own Good.

I heard this was a fun, can't put down book and it was totally true! I love the prep school setting and love that you know what's happening the whole book and are just watching it all play out.

Teddy is an English teacher at Belmont Academy and last year won teacher of the year, but he's tired of the overbearing parents, entitled students and a few co-workers. It was fascinating getting into Teddy's head and seeing everything unfold.

I read it pretty much all in one sitting this morning sitting outside and just couldn't put it down. I wanted to see how Teddy would mess and how many people would get hurry hurt before he was found out. Plus the milk in glass bottles 🤣

This came out this week and I can't recommend it enough!

I was so excited to read this one earlier this year, this was one of those books I dropped everything for the second I got it, and finished it immediately. I had the highest of expectations and they were not only met they were surpassed! This one my favorite kind of read: fun, dark, and twisted.

Honestly just go into this one blind and enjoy! @smariedowning is one of my faves, her books are so deviously good and this was no exception.

If you haven’t read her books yet I highly encourage you to try any of them. Her books are all unique storylines, and are so different from each other, and all with gorgeous covers too. I promise you can not go wrong with any!

I wanted to like this so, so badly. But it wasn't anything like My Lovely Wife (I haven't read He Started It yet). I'm really hoping some changes were made before the final version, because I was not excited about this story or these characters. It kind of had the ridiculous level of something like Pretty Little Liars, but I wasn't expecting it and ended up just being disappointed.

I'm glad to see so many people are loving this book because I do really like the author and very much enjoyed My Lovely Wife. This just didn't work for me, and I'm sad about it.

Ahhh this was absolutely fantastic! Samantha Downing has done it again, she is phenomenal at bringing cringeworthy characters to life and then removing the last bit of any redeeming qualities they may have by the time you are done with the book. Teddy Crutcher is one such character, one that I will not soon forget. He has just won Teacher of the Year, is over the moon at this news, and so is his wife, as he says, but who’s to say, as no one has seen her in a while. But that’s neither here nor there, because Teddy is not done, and really, he doesn’t understand why people just can’t see that. He has students to teach and excellence to share so he just keeps it moving.

Teddy, Teddy, Teddy. He is a gem, and this book is so much fun to read. The audio is great, I loved the buildup and ultimate unravel of everything, but it was not as cut and dry as it seems, it never is, which is why Downing is just so good at what she does. I am loving thrillers set at private schools lately and this one is by far my favorite.

Thank you to Berkley Books Kaye Publicity and NetGalley for the advanced digital galley and finished copy to review. This will soon be an HBO Max series and I cannot wait!

Thank you Berkley for the gifted ecopy.

This book is so twisty. It has multiple POV's and things are happening (people are dying) but it's written in a way that you think you know who is responsible but there's a really good chance you're wrong. The characters/narrators are unreliable (and unlikable), which makes you not want to put the book down.

That last chapter and epilogue are eye poppingly good and tie everything up for the reader. But until then you will be guessing and second guessing yourself.

Definitely pick this one up if you haven't already!

Creepy Belmont Academy where everyone keeps dying. LOVED IT! This is not my first book by the author and I really enjoyed it. I must be honest though and I really liked Teddy. I know I know. He was just enough charm and charisma for me to be all in with him.

This one was wicked and fun and I read it at the beach. I couldn't put it down. I was so excited to read it and there was just no stopping. 4.5 stars

Samantha’s thrillers are unlike any other. She does such an amazing job of writing unlikeable characters. Teddy is certainly one I loved to hate. He’s obviously despicable from the first chapter, but I instantly needed to know more.

She also did a really good job of changing my opinion of other certain characters throughout the book. Ones I disliked in the beginning I loved by the end, and vice versa.

I loved how each character suspected someone else, almost in a circle of suspicion. The reader never really knows which narrators to trust and which ones are unreliable, since they’re all completely convinced that they’re the one doing the right thing.

Teddy’s milk obsession was the perfect device--somehow I found it so gross, even though milk is totally innocent. Who knew a milk addiction would be the thing to make a sociopath even more creepy?

I was drawn to Samantha Downing’s latest thriller For Your Own Good because it’s set in a private school and because its synopsis promises lots of dark and twisty goodness to keep me on the edge of my seat. This book really delivers too, especially if you enjoy a little dark comedy mixed in with your murder mysteries. I was not only entertained from start to finish, but I also couldn’t have begun to predict the wild and unexpected ending even if I had tried.

Belmont Academy is a prestigious private school. Wealthy parents send their children here in hopes of best preparing them for an Ivy League education. These parents try to bully teachers into giving their children better grades, and while many teachers cave in, not Teacher of the Year, Teddy Crutcher. Teddy thinks he knows what’s best for everyone and sometimes he feels the need to teach an entitled student a lesson, bring them down a peg or two. Sometimes he extends those lessons to fellow teachers who annoy him too.

All Teddy really wants is for everyone to be their best and he wants everyone to just stay out of his way while he works to achieve his goal. Things start to get especially frustrating for Teddy when a parent unexpectedly dies at a school function and everyone at school is on edge once the death is ruled a homicide. Teddy is annoyed by this distraction since in his mind, big deal, people die every day, and he’s especially frustrated because a student he actually likes is arrested for the murder. Teddy decides that since he knows best, he needs to fix things.

It’s actually Teddy’s “fixing” of things that hilariously drive this dark and twisty tale because, even though he clearly thinks he’s a genius, the more Teddy tries to “fix” things, the worse things get. Then as if things aren’t bad enough for Teddy because of his failed “fixings”, a former student he decided to teach a lesson to has come back to town and is looking to take Teddy down.

What really made this a great read for me was Teddy, not because he was a likeable character by any stretch, but on the contrary, because I loved to hate him. He’s arrogant and obnoxious, but so delightfully diabolical with the lessons and punishments he doles out. I found him to be such a fantastic character and I enjoyed his over-the-top antics and all the twists and turns he added to the story.

I don’t want to give anything away with respect to the murder or any of the additional fallout from Teddy’s endless schemes, but if you’re looking for a read that is suspenseful, dark and twisty, yet also quite funny, be sure to check out For Your Own Good. It’s a wild ride!

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the prestigious Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest. Teddy really can’t be bothered with a few mysterious deaths on campus that’re looking more and more like murder or the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is pushing these kids to their full academic potential.    
It’s really too bad that sometimes excellence can come at such a high cost.

Thoughts: This was my #1 most anticipated read for 2021. No surprise I loved @smariedowning newest! I’m obsessed with her! She just writes the best villains!

Here are the reasons I loved this: bougee rich private school setting, over the top parents, kids trying to survive , Teddy (I don’t want to spoil anything but he is THE perfect pompous ass) and he drinks milk for god sakes?! Who does that 😖, believable story line, no side twists/plots and just straight forward wickedness. Samantha always lets you know who the bad guy is right off the bat, don’t let that fool you though, you are still completely entertained. Just know if you pick this up, you will NOT be able to put it down so set aside the time or you will loose sleep 😄

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for my copy in exchange for my review.