I actually read this book through Kindle Unlimited so I was excited to listen to it as an audiobook as well and I'm glad I did!! I loved the narrator's voice throughout. I will definitely look for more from both the author and the narrator in the future.

I had just read The Teacher by Freida McFadden before this so it gave me similar vibes. I enjoyed reading multiple viewpoints and felt like the characters were developed well. The characters certainly all had flaws and secrets, which led to many twists and turns throughout the story. I wouldn't say that this story gave me any chills, but it was more of a mysterious read where I was suspicious of everyone at different points. I would recommend anyone giving this one a read/listen!

Thank you to Netgalley, Lauren North and Bolinda Audio for this ALC.

The Teacher’s Secret is a fast paced exhilarating mystery with a twist no one will ever see coming! I enjoyed the mysterious ‘who done it’ vibe throughout the entire book. It kept me engaged by needing to know what the resolution was going to be. The character development was excellent. The narrator, Emma Woods, was fantastic with a soothing voice. I highly recommend the audio version of this book. I look forward to reading more books by author Lauren North. Thank you NetGalley and publisher Bolinda Audio for this amazing ARC.

The sudden disappearance of a teacher and her son as they walked home together from a school playground leads to investigation and suspicion. Several voices tell this story, and they weave a tale of tangled threads that are starting to come apart.

The audiobook was nothing short of perfect, with great use of voices by the narrator.

Thanks NetGalley!

3 Gold Stars

Getting into this story was easy: an elementary school teacher / mother and her son are missing, and Cate is filling in as the substitute. Are they still alive? Is the husband / head teacher responsible? Everyone has their own side to the story.

The Good
- Plot was promising
- Main twist was a surprise, layered unveiling of secrets was well written
- Action segments were exciting
- Narrator did a great job with multiple POVs

The Not So Good
- A bit tired of lead female characters having a "dark past" that seems to drag on forever
- Pace was slow and receptive for a good portion
- Characters were not likeable and a bit confusing

Thank you to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the ARC of The Teacher's Secret!

When I read the premise of this book, I was so intrigued. I could not wait to listen to this and collect all of the clue to try to put the puzzle together. I thought this was going to be fast paced and exciting, but unfortunately, it didn't quite get there for me.

There were so many characters. I found it difficult to follow along at times since there wasn't a huge difference in some of the voices with only one narrator. It was hard to keep some of the storylines straight. I had to go back to the beginning of a chapter a few times to listen again to make sure it was the character speaking that I had thought. I'm not sure if this is due to the narration or just the story with too many perspectives.

I wasn't rooting for any of the characters. None of them had redeeming qualities, which also had me not caring too much what actually happened in the end. I did find the ending and big reveal too far fetched. I'm all for unbelievable endings with a big shock, but didn't end with a big shock.

I have no doubt that there will be some readers/listeners that will love this book. For me, it was a bit too long with a lot of superfluous information to try to steer the reader/listener in the wrong direction. At least that's what I think Lauren North was trying to do.

Thank you to NetGalley and Belinda Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book!

Everyone has a secret but some secrets are worse than others.

A fast passed mystery with so many twists and turns. Definitely a must read

the setup…
Lexi Mills is a substitute teacher now assigned to the school in Leedham. She’s excited about the challenge but it’s the reason why she’s needed that makes it bittersweet. Cate Walker, the full time teacher, is missing, along with her eight-year old son Archie. They left school on a Friday and vanished on their way home. Husband and father Oliver is also the head teacher who soon has all eyes looking at him because of course that’s where you’d look first…right?

the heart of the story…
Lexi’s is the primary point of view so she shaped my perspective. But then we also hear from Oliver and a few others, including someone creepy and quite possibly responsible for Cate and Archie’s abduction. But one thing that connects everyone is they’re all harboring secrets. Even Lexi has a past she’s trying to hide and I was carefully collecting and assembling clues trying to figure this thing out. What finally unraveled was nothing close to what I’d imagined!

the narration…
What I look for first in a narrator is strong storytelling skills and Emma Woods was outstanding in that respect. And, she had a host of characters that she defined and distinguished exceptionally well. She gave nothing away!

the bottom line…
I was rolling along, enjoying a good mystery and developing theories and scenarios that I was almost smug about. Then it took a turn that upended everything. This was a very clever story with a few amazing twists I never, ever saw coming. Well done! And that’s all I will say about it.

I enjoyed this twisty thriller, which followed multiple POV, and characters with questionable motives.

Popular teacher Mrs Walker, and her son Archie go missing on a normal school day. The event sends shockwaves through the school community, garnering suspicion amongst their ranks.

Centred around a school environment, the vibes of this story felt similar to Big Little Lies, the community full of secrets like a powderkeg about to explode. I really enjoyed trying to figure out the motivations of the different characters and figure out the ending (I didn't!). There were plenty of red herrings and twists - one in particular which made me want to go back and re-read because I didn't see it coming!

I found it a little hard to tell the difference between the female characters with the narration, but otherwise thought the narrator did a wonderful job - the voices added to the dark and creepy mood of the book without sounding melodramatic.

It was an easy read, and I recommend anyone looking to listen to an engaging, twisty and unpredictable thriller.

Thank you Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

I wasn't at all keen on the narration of this book. It spoiled some chapters for me. Switching between the points of view was a little confusing. Multiple narrators would have been a better choice for this. The story itself was decent. One of the plot twists was quite an easy guess and a good one. I liked where the story of the weight loss group went. The characters were all pretty vile, even Lexi turns into a despicable person.
I didn't hate it.

Narrated by Emma Woods

A lot of twists and turns in this one!

Bit of a mixed bag, here. I had the narration on x2 because it was frustratingly slow and drawn out. A lot of extra info to set up all the red herrings, and the vagueness with no real point did get a little trying after a while.

Completely loathsome characters - I didn't like any of them at all and felt no sympathy for anyone involved - particularly once true colours were revealed, too!

Still, there was a lot of misdirection, and even though it was easy to guess things weren't what they seemed, there were still plenty of questions about what was actually going on. It kept me intrigued and keen to solve what was going on.

The story was probably a little heavy with extra information and unnecessary twists, but it was still intriguing and I did enjoy the guessing at everything. Crime lovers should find themselves easily entertained by this one.

With thanks to Netgalley for an audio ARC

This thriller was just okay, it didn’t have the normal “keep you on the edger of the seat” factor that I typically enjoy.

It was told from multiple POV’s and right from the beginning- you find out everyone in this small town is keeping secrets. You don’t know who is innocent and who is guilty and as you continue reading, it slowly unravels. Key word: slowly. It dragged on a little too much for my preference.

A beloved teacher and her son disappear after school one day, and the school and town come together to try and find them. A new to town substitute teacher seems extremely invested in the investigation, the husband looks guilty- and the town believes he did it, there are nosy neighbors and a whole lot more involved who appear to all be hiding things.

The end tied up nicely, and it was not a horrible read, just not an amazing one.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio copy of this book.

ALC review
Thriller Missing Secrets
Narrated by Emma Woods.
I didn't like that there was only one narrator with multiple Povs so there should of been more, it was confusing I don't recommend listening to the audio it's all over the place and you don't know whose povs it is. I do recommend reading the actual book or ebook. each character has a purpose in the story and come to a shocking conclusion.
Cate and her son, Archie, are reported missing by her husband, Oliver. This book is told in several people point of view. Lexi, the substitute teacher takes over Cate's class.
Nobody is who they seem and everyone holds secrets all related to Cate's disappearance. Lexi is determined to find Cate and Archie and she begins to get threats to stop her to searching for them.
Oliver is suspected of murdering his wife and his son. He is determined to prove himself innocent.there so many side characters like the receptionist and the neighbor who hold so their own secrets. And you find your self with answer at the very end of the book.

The Teacher's Secret starts out slow and is very much a slow burn with very little thriller qualities. It picks up around the halfway mark, but most of the action occurs at the end. There are a lot of characters and details can get confusing via audio making the story challenging to follow. Overall, it was ok and somewhat entertaining. The narration was clear and well executed, but the story just fell flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of The Teacher's Secret.

This book started out slow and continued that way. I never felt like it was a thriller as it didn't have any parts that made you feel that way. I had the story figured after reading a few chapters but persevered through to the end to confirm my suspicions. The only thing that was a bit of a surprise was what happens at the very end.

The Narrator did a great job and was easy to listen to and understand.

When Kate, a well liked teacher at primary school, and her son Archie don't return home on a Friday evening, the whole town starts to worry and search.
Lexi, the new substitute teacher to take over Kates's class, gets a little bit too involved in her disappearance that even the police are asking her questions.
Everyone from this little town seems to have secrets.

An average thriller, not one I loved but the narration kept me going to see the end. Told in quite a few POVs, which did make it a little bit tricky trying to keep up with everyone's stories and secrets.
The ending felt a little too predictable, however some might not guess it.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an okay story, but it wasn't anything spectacular or gripping. It's a good popcorn thriller if you're looking for an easy listen! I picked this up especially since I was a teacher - this being about a teacher caught my attention. There were some twists and turns, but it was kind of predictable at moments. This was my first time reading a Lauren North story, but I'm interested in maybe picking up more in the future.

This book was a bit slow for me and lexi really irrirated me I’m not sure why. Unfortunately I was disappointed by this book it had so much potential.

Impressive narrator - subtle voices without being pantomime.

I really enjoyed this - yes, the ending is a little contrived and characters not being recognised seems unbelievable but you can forgive for the plot and quality of the writing

I feel like this book could've done better at keeping my attention. However, it was a roller coaster and I did not see the twists and turns coming.

A popcorn thriller in all the best ways, this was impossible to tear myself away from! If you love suburban thrillers full of complicated relationships, juicy secrets, and twisty turns, this is for you.

Premise - a mother and child go missing and the father/husband, head teacher at a local school, is at the center of the scandal. What is he hiding? Was his family really taken or is the wife playing a game? What are the other members of the community hiding? No one is innocent!

The conversational, confessional voice, multiple POV storytelling, and quick (but not too quick for gossip) pace all absolutely worked for me. I HAD to find out who the bad guy was! Excuse me while I go buy all of Lauren North’s backlist.

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: thriller
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: yes
✨ Recommended For: fans of Frieda McFadden, Daniel Hurst

💕 Characters: 5/5
💕 Writing: 5/5 (not in a high art sense, but in a fun, functional prose that gets out of the way of the story sense)
💕 Plot: 5/5
💕 Pacing: 5/5
💕 Unputdownability: 5/5
💕 Enjoyment: 5/5
💕 Book Cover: 5/5

Thanks, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.