I've enjoyed previous books by McFadden (Never Lie, The Inmate, The Locked Door) -- so, despite really disliking several of her recent books (The Housemaid's Secret, The Coworker, Ward D) -- I really wanted to read THE TEACHER.

This one felt more like her earlier books in a way I enjoyed -- mainly that it was super fast-paced and full of characters to dislike, so I had it clicking along at a pleasantly-surprising three stars in my head, but then the epilogue happened. I always expect a McTwist or twelve, and of course won't write a spoiler here, but that last "twist" was unacceptable on many levels.

Once again this amazing author has knocked it out of the park. This isn't a book you just causally read when you have time it's one that won't let you stop thinking about it. That sits there like the tell tale heart in the floor boards until you pick it up again. This was her best one yet.

Frieda does it AGAIN. I dove into this thriller and couldn’t put it down. This one has be guessing until the very end, and even once I thought I figured it out I was slapped with a turn in the final pages that had me unable to sleep while reconstructing the entire story. A must read!

Thank you NetGalley and Freida McFadden for this advance reader copy for my free and honest review. WOW! This book was seriously awesome the entire way through, always keeping my interest and preventing me from putting it down until I was finished. And the there was the finish - total shocker out of nowhere. Loved it, absolutely loved it!

3.5 rounded to 4. Thank you so much to @freidamcfadden and @netgalley for this advanced reader's copy!

Eve and Nate, two teachers, are dismayed to see Addie on their roster, a female student involved in a scandal that cost a male teacher his job. The story uses alternating female perspectives, allowing readers to see male characters through the lenses of females. The secrets are explosive, scandalous, and fodder for headline news, making it a darker and more emotional read for fans of McFan.

As a teacher of 15 years, I had major issues with the amount of consenting teacher-student relationships in one book.

The Teacher by Freida McFadden is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of trust and deception. Eve, a high school math teacher, finds herself entangled in a web of secrets when a controversial student, Addie, resurfaces. The narrative skillfully explores the thin line between truth and perception, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The author weaves a tale of suspense and revenge, revealing the dark underbelly of seemingly ordinary lives. With its mind bending twists and well crafted characters, this book is a must read for fans of psychological dramas.

I love Freida's books and will continue to read every one of them, but the content of this one made me very uncomfortable. The ending did too. Definitely trigger warning: pedophilia

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, Frieda McFadden, and Mandy Chalal for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!
@netgalley
@fmcfaddenauthor
@poisonedpenpress

Publishing date: 2/6/24

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(5 billion stars)

This book literally had me from the prologue. 🤯👏 This was by far one of my favorite Frieda books. Her writing will pull you in with such a force you won’t want to put it down! She will shock you several times. You will truly enjoy this if you like short chapters, revenge, quick reads, mysteries,psychological thrillers, twists, secrets, and very strong characters. I loved this so much. Well done once again, Frieda! Thank you for writing such great novels time and time again!
Please also don’t forget to read the acknowledgements. Must add to your tbr!!

#read #netgalley #poisonedpenpress #friedamcfadden #thriller #suspense #bookworms #books #booknerds #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #five #poetry #twists #theteacher

Holy cow!!! I flew through this book! I would get to the end of a chapter and have to read the next one immediately. It’s that good. This author is amazing. Such a crazy believable/twisty story. This will be an easy book to promote to the masses. Makes me want to dig up and read all the others written by her. Well done!

Freida McFadden did it again. Another hit! This is one of my favorites by her. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book and the twists and turns definitely caught me off guard. Just when I thought I knew the ending, something else happened. The ending blew my mind.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this E-arc for my honest review.
I was hooked within the first chapter. It’s a fast-paced with an excellent, jaw dropping ending. A definite love/hate relationship with several characters. Every time I thought I figured out the plot the story added another twist; absolutely couldn’t put this book down! Highly recommend to all and enjoy the ride!

I'm not sure what to say about this one. It's another hit for McFadden for sure but it felt a little different than her other books. I enjoyed all the twists and turns and the final twist had me laughing at loud I was so shocked. That was the best part of the whole book. I didn't see it coming. I am not a fan of the teacher/student trope but this is definitely a twisted version. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Kudos, Freida, you did it again. When I tell you my jaw hit the floor and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding when I got to the last few pages I am not exaggerating. Seriously, what. the. bleep. The ending alone made this a 5 star read. At first I thought Addie was the most screwed up character in this book but, noooo was I ever wrong. It turns out she may be the most stable person living in Caseham.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for taking me on this wild ride. This McFan is extremely grateful for the eARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

The Teacher is one heck of a creepy story.

Eve and her husband both teach at a high school. A scandal erupts and a student, Addie, is at the center. Things smooth out until September rolls around and Addie is in Eve's class. With Addie's history of lying and scheming Eve is worried about what can go wrong - really wrong.

Addie has secrets - and no-one really knows her well enough to know what they are.

The ending of this book was jaw dropping for me and I love that.

I have read quite a few of her books and I'll be honest most of them are good but not life-changing. Some people swear by her work but sometimes it feels slow and vanilla. Don't get me wrong, I'll probably keep reading her work because there's always a good story.

That being said this book started out pretty obvious as to what was going to happen. (As a teacher I kind of hate the teacher and student cliche) but I was surprised there were a few tricks up her sleeve. Some of the references to Edgar Allan poe, gave us a foreshadowing of what would happen, but I appreciate it because the Raven is one of my favorite poems ever. I also absolutely died after the last two pages. I did not see that coming, like at all. It's a weird twist but crazy and I loved it. I would say this is definitely the best I've read from Freida.

Than you to netgalley for an a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From the first sentence (“Digging a grave is hard work”) I was hooked!

This book has everything we all love about Freida’s books – fast-paced, short chapters, humor sprinkled throughout, and a phenomenal twist. Not to mention characters you love to hate.

This story was expertly crafted and hints were dropped with perfect timing to keep the reader guessing and engaged throughout. In typical Freida fashion, I definitely had the twist figured out… until I didn’t. And then I did again… and then – BAM! – another curveball.

NOT a spoiler because it is mentioned in the book’s description:
I saw a review saying that this book romanticizes child sexual assault, but I did not think so at all. I think that the way this is written makes it very clear that, while the age of consent in MA is 16, any adult having sex with a minor is taking advantage of them.

Thank you so much to Freida McFadden and Poisoned Pen Press for the honor of reviewing this ARC through NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I was so excited to get an early copy of this book!! It did not disappoint! My favorite part of reading a Freida McFadden book is that I never quite know " exactly" what is going on. The same short chapters and alternating POV makes this story propulsive and I couldn't put it down. Everything came together in the end with this one and I found myself smiling when it was over. Grab a copy everyone!! Highly recommend

First things first, Freida McFadden is one of my favorite authors and I am incredibly honored to have been invited to read this book before it even comes out. I may have squealed when I got the email…

Trigger Warnings:
Alcoholic parent
Adultery
Pedophilia
Murder
Bullying

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Freida has surly done it again. She has managed to lure me in and keep me hooked until the very last page and left me wanting more!

I can only describe Freida McFadden stories as a kind of drug. From the first page until the last page I could not put this book down. I finished it in about 8 hours and neglected all of my real life duties because I was hooked.

The ONLY reason I knocked this down .5 of a star is because the ending didn’t tie up a few things that I thought needed to be addressed in order to completely understand the story.

Other than that, this is an amazing book and you should read it first chance you get!

Thank you, Freida, for another incredible story and for allowing me to read it before it’s released. I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for this ARC. I was thrilled to get the chance to read another book by my favorite author prior to the release date. I was unfortunately disappointed with the book and the premise. The book left me with a big ick. Not a fan of the child predator plot. This was the first time I was easily able to predict the ending of Frieda’s. The book had potential with a secret murder and a hidden affair but lost me with the predatory plot that I was not expecting from this author. I almost feel as though the book should come with a trigger warning for those who may have been victims of a predator as a child. The book was easy to finish so I give 2.5 and I read it over the course of a day but this is at the bottom of the list for Freida reads and I would not recommend. (I hate writing that!)

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review The Teacher. I’ve spent hours today gleefully devouring this wonderfully twisty tale of lies and comeuppance. I started the novel this morning with excitement knowing I was in for a wild read and ended the afternoon with a satisfaction. That tricky Frieda McFadden outwitted me again in her delightful way. Bravo to this author and long may she write.