This was an interesting story with some cool characters. It was a slow start and a bit predictable but overall entertaining. A great addition to the dark academia genre.


I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Protégé is a dual perspective book that follows Hannah and Winter. Hannah is a professor and a world renowned forensic anthropologist. Winter is her graduate student who hates Hannah and is hell bent on destroying her. Years ago Hannah made a choice that ruined Winter’s life, and Winter plans to make her pay.

This was fine. There wasn’t anything I hated about it, but it wasn’t impressive or especially enjoyable. I do wish there were more books out there where we’re just watching the villain’s plans that we already privy to play out instead of waiting for a big twist. So I did appreciate that I found that in this book. Sometimes I want a thriller that feels a little more low-stakes, and this is one of them. It never felt too over the top or absurd, and I liked that as well. Sometimes it feels like authors are trying too hard to make their thrillers shocking and it makes the book fall flat, but this story was straightforward and easy to digest.

I thought that Winter was a cheesy stereotype of a mean girl. Some of her thoughts felt like listening to a high school bully from a Disney Channel movie. There weren’t really any interesting characters. I was rooting for Hannah, but not because I liked her. I just hated Winter. I wish I could come up with more to say about this book, but honestly it was so bland and inoffensive that I can’t find much to either criticize or praise. I could’ve done without reading it, but reading it wasn’t a terrible experience. The story was nice enough, but it was forgettable. I have a feeling that by the end of this month I’ll have forgotten that I read The Protégé.

3.5🌟
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

Dr. Hannah Bryers is an Anthropology professor at a small university in Northern California. Her most trusted graduate student Winter Jones, appears to be a loyal student and T.A. But Winter may not be as dedicated to her advising professor as she appears!😱

I had difficulty warming up to the lead character, Dr. Bryers. Depicted as an expert on human behavior, while completely lacking in her own ability to read social cues. It was a bit too much at times.

On the other hand, I did enjoy the devious antics of her T.A.- Winter. Well done!🙌🏼

Overall I’d say, Predictable and probably not all that memorable.

I’ve enjoyed books by this author in the past and look forward to something more from her in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books

I enjoyed this dark and twisty tale set at a university and involving a strong female main character. Usually I don't like when the "bad guy" is known from the beginning but this was an exception. I loved the suspense of waiting for Holly to figure out who was behind all the disasters that were happening to her. This book had a different feel to it than the author's previous books. It was a medium fast read. Some of the scientific and medical terms might be a hindrance to some readers, but it isn't too overwhelming. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Dr. Hannah Bryers is a respected forensic anthropologist, not brilliant at being social, and tends to take things too literally, but she is good at her job. She works at Mad River University, and is hoping to gain tenure this term, but she has become the victim of failings, or incidents that are not of her making.
The Protégé is Winter Jones, technical assistant to Hannah. She is always early to work, doesn’t complain and seems to hang on to Hannah’s every word. She tries to help Hannah in awkward situations, but Winter is not what she appears to be. She is seeking revenge for a past childhood incident that involved Hannah.
When an unidentified male body is brought into the laboratory for Hannah to autopsy, Winter appears to know too much, and her behaviour is secretive. How is Winter connected to the body, and why does she want to go to such lengths to persecute and discredit Hannah?
I admire the medical descriptions of the corpses and the forensic investigations that are performed. Entomology seems quite creepy to be employed in that way, but the information it yields is solid gold.
Told from the viewpoint of the two females, this is a story that explains and confuses in equal amounts.
A really intense murder mystery and thriller. The reader knows what is happening long before Hannah does, the vicious and murderous intent , and the psychological aspects are used to great effect. A great read that jangles the nerves throughout.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, Crooked House Books for my advance digital copy. This is my honest review. I will post to Goodreads and Amazon UK.

“The Protégé” by Jody Gehrman is a psychological thriller set on the fictitious college campus of Mad River University. The story focuses on a Hannah, a forensic anthropologist who suddenly seems to be the victim of career ruining sabotage on many fronts. What Hannah doesn’t know is that the saboteur is her best graduate student, Winter. Will Hannah figure out who is causing these dangerous incidents? Why is Winter just so focused on Dr. Bryer’s and ruining her life?

This story is told from both the perspective of Hannah and Winter. Hannah is definitely reminiscent of the character Temperance Brennan from the TV series Bones. I loved this story and I read it in two sittings. The academia setting is always a favorite trope of mine, and this book really delivers an accurate portrayal of that environment. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone interested.

There is a lot of anthropological and anatomic lingo in this story, which may be difficult for people who don’t have a background it in. All medical and scientific terminology used was accurate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC version of this novel.

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley and enjoyed reading this one. This book is about an incident surrounding the life of a young female protege and her mentor. What I really liked about this book was the strong female protagonists and the strong story line. I wouldn’t necessarily bucket this book as a mystery but more a thriller. This is the second book I have read by this author and I will read her again.

Dr. Hannan Bryers is a respected anthropology professor on the brink of securing tenure at Mad River University, but her world is about to come crashing down around her. Her TA Winter Jones is out to ruin her life and methodically sets out to destroy her. As the problems pile up, Hannah must figure out who is out to get her and why. Twisty and suspenseful even though you know who is behind everything, it as still a delight to watch it unfold and root for Hannah to figure it out.

I loved this book. And it's my favourite type of genre psychological thriller set in a university. I loved the two main characters, told from alternative view points. Both were ruthless, dark and unpredictable. Brilliant highly recommended xx

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. A forensic anthropologist finds herself at the center of several disturbing coincidences that make her believe someone is out to get her. Meanwhile, her trusted TA is the person setting these career ruining circumstances into motion. Dr. Buyers will remind readers of Dr, Brennan from the TV series Bones in her socially awkward, overly analytical nature.

The story is thoughtful, well paced, and contains an element of the unknown until the end of the book. I did find that the reason for the TA’s actions was well spaced until the end, though I didn’t feel that the rational was well enough explained for a shock element. The most suspenseful chapter was a bit predictable and too many things just fell into place for a thriller to be truly suspenseful until the last page. That said, it was an enjoyable read that I would give 3.5 stars if we could give half points. Rounding up to 4 stars because the writing style is well done and the pace of the novel was just right.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Protege is Jody Gehrman's latest thriller, set to be released in a few months. I've been reading her books the last few years and enjoying the plots; when this one appeared on NetGalley, I requested a copy and was lucky enough to win one. It was a delicious mystery with a balanced perspective between the mentor and the protege. I loved Hannah, who despite some flaws, was a genuinely good professor with a bit of a strange personality. Winter, the villain, had several brilliant moments, but I also wished her anger was allowed to play out more, specifically in terms of what had happened to her as a child. I sympathized with her, but I felt like the true reasoning behind her attacks wasn't strong enough. I won't say anymore as I want others to decide for themselves. All that said, it kept me glued to the pages, and I never found myself bored or disinterested in the outcome. It's clear what will happen, maybe not exactly when and how, but that's totally acceptable in this case. This is more of a psychological thriller that makes readers think... "when will Hannah figure it out" not "who is behind this frame-up." Good pacing, no major shocker moments, and the revenge was well crafted.

A fast-paced and entertaining addition to a crowded genre. A recommended purchase for collections where dark academia and thrillers are popular.

Dr. Hannah Bryers, is a forensics expert and anthropology professor. She is up for tenure this year and is trying her best to do everything right. She is on the spectrum, and finds small talk and social cues mysterious, but her classes are packed and she is well respected.

When a new professor joins the school, Hannah is surprised by her own reaction. She isn't sure if she is attracted to him or if he may be responsible for the many things that begin to go very wrong around her. Is someone after her? Who could it be and why?.#CrookedLaneBooks #TheProtege #JodyGehrman

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Crooked Lane Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A bit predictable but interesting and entertaining nonetheless.

An interesting book of intense emotions building to an inevitable climax. I’m not sure if l enjoyed it: l followed the story to see how it would pan out but l didn’t really like the characters. At the start, the writing felt a little over done, a bit forced and cliched and l almost gave up reading, but it improved after the first few chapters.

I enjoyed this book. The twists were quite easy to see coming, but it was a fun and interesting read. The setting worked really well and it was nice to have a love interest plot too. A solid read.

While I liked the plot of the story and the leading prose, I had some problems with the characters. I know that the author tried to show us a some case of siroders in one of the main character and while I can appreaciate the knowledge, knowing people of that type ... not everything was fine with me. It was more like the author tried more make original characters than make them realistic.

As an anthropology professor at Man River University, Dr.Hannah Bryers uses her forensic skills to examine corpses, trying to gain insights police can use in their homicide investigations. She has a very promising grad student in Winter, she doesn’t know that Winter has a hidden agenda – she wants to destroy Hannah. As everything that Hannah values is systematically taken from her, the last person she suspects is Winter. But with her reputation and even her students lives at stake, Hannah has to figure out who’s behind the campaign to ruin her life – and why. As usual, Gehrman doesn’t disappoint in this fast paced thriller that has a few surprises

I'm a sucker for any book featuring a college/university setting. I enjoyed watching the story unravel but at the same time I kept wondering if I would have liked it more if there were a big reveal over who was after Hannah at the end, instead of knowing who it was all along and following their side of the story?

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.