I regret not reading the previous book in this series first but I did quickly pick up on the story.
Greg Abimbola tries his best to stay under the radar but there are some things that make it difficult, 1, he is Russian with British citizenship, 2, he has a posh British accent, 3, he wears an eye patch and 4, he is black.
Greg was a former general in the Russian CRU but had escaped and was now working at Calderhill, a private college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, teaching Russian and sometimes French.
When a body is found floating in a river with two bullet holes it went against the grain for Sgt. Rachel Lev of the local PD to ask Greg for his help to find the killer, Greg had previously assisted her in solving a murder.
Greg suspected that the body was that of Morosov, a CRU agent who had been stalking Greg, most likely to annihilate him.
Greg was in demand, he was also approached by the ex wife of local banker, Alan Mester who had jumped from the balcony of his penthouse apartment, his wife didn't believe that he had committed suicide and pleaded with Greg to help prove it.
Greg was ably assisted in his investigations by assistant custodian at Calderhill, Andrea Valasquez, a girl who was studying for a job in IT. Andrea was a computer wiz and Greg had helped clear her name from a murder rap so she was more than happy to help him, in fact she quite enjoyed it.
This book moves at a fast pace, the characters are diverse, the story has many twists and turns in the complex plot, it touches on espionage, racial discrimination and covert homosexuality. A quite unique and enjoyable story.
Thank you Net Gallery for this ARC, my review is my own.

A fascinating, intriguing and well plotted novel by Adam Oyebanji, the second featuring Greg Abimbola and his secrets.
There's a mystery parts and an intriguing light spy story. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and was glat to catch up with the characters.
Solid and well plotted, highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a very interesting and riveting crime, two times murder, espionage thriller set in Pittsburgh, USA. It’s well-constructed with mostly short, punchy chapters, dated and timed. Greg, the main protagonist, is a Russian language teacher at a private school. However, he has secrets of his own, which we come to realise. This is the second book in The Quiet Teacher series. I haven’t read the first book. This works well as a standalone. I thoroughly enjoyed this great read. It kept me entertained throughout. A compelling read.

A complex, compact, clever, and topical mystery featuring a most unusual protagonist- a biracial Russian intelligence officer who has defected to the West and is now teaching at a private school in Pittsburgh. It will help I think to have read the first book which lays out Greg's path but Oyebanji does give enough back story to make this work as a standalone. Greg's trying to live his life but the Russians just can't quit him. And having solved a murder at his school and exonerating Andrea the custodian, he's found himself to be the go to guy when a man goes over the balcony of his penthouse and his ex doesn't buy that it was a suicide. Andrea, btw is awesome. This has a depth you might not expect, some of which doesn't come out until the last pages. It touches on academia, bullying, international espionage (great tradecraft) and I'm not going to spoil the rest. It's also got a few softer moments notably because Greg and one of the students as well as with the new Head of School. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A great read.

Greg Abimbola is half British, half Russian living in America, but there's a lot more to this high school teacher of Russian and French than first appears. I'd highly recommend reading the first book in this series before this one - I didn't and the first section was rather confusing, referring back to incidents (like the loss of his eye) that meant nothing to me.

But once I was in the swing, it was an exciting read as he tries to appease the American police, the Russian mafia and a rich lady concerning the murders of several men. The clues follow racial prejudice in schools, a rich playboy and his mistresses and a Russian spy, and there are plenty of suspects. The story is told with self-depracating humour and Greg is an appealing hero, albeit a fairly reluctant one.

I enjoyed the book very much. Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'd not read the fist book in this series but it didn't matter most of the time. Greg just wants to be a teacher, but gets dragged back into solving local crimes and evading Russian spies.
I enjoyed this story and will probably get the first book to find out more about Greg.

I almost exploded when I reviewed A Quiet Teacher, the first book in the, um, “Quiet Teacher” series, as to how good it was. Any other month, it would have walked away with the Book Of The Month, but up against stiff competition, I decided to award it elsewhere, because I already had this waiting for me on my Kindle.

It’s a continuation of the previous book but can be read as a standalone. There aren’t any spoilers for the previous book, unless anyone reading that one thought that Greg would be exposed and carted off to Russia at the end of it. No, he’s still living in Pittsburgh, slowly making friends and settling into life.

Again, there are two significant strands here, with Greg dealing with the Morosov situation as well as the “suicide” of a board member of a rival school where his friend is about to take up a post as head of science. It seems the school board was divided on the direction of the curriculum, whether to include, for example, critical race theory.

Oyebanji makes it clear that this is very much set in present-day America, a nation that is divided on a good many issues. None of this is hammered home, and fits naturally into the story, but it gives an extra vibrancy to the story,

There are two mysteries at the heart of this – who killed the board member and what happened to Morosov – and Oyebanji does a beautiful job of weaving the stories together. It has been a while since I’ve been genuinely surprised by the identity of a murderer but when the truth comes out in a fascinating setting for the final exposition, I was definitely caught out.

The series is touted in the blurb as “Agatha Christie meets John Le Carré”. Now, I can’t speak for the Le Carre part, but as for Dame Agatha – clues, a complex plot and compelling characters. Yes, I can go with that.

Like other reviewers I had not read the first book in the Quiet Teacher Mystery series which led to some confusion for me. Black British ex pay Greg Abimbola is a Russian language teacher whilst the book is set in Pittsburgh USA. These facts inevitably provide license for the author to utilise American Russian conflicts in the storyline. A quick read but perhaps not the Agatha Christie style that the preview suggests, more towards John Le Carre.

This is the second novel in a series about Greg Abimbola, a Black British/Russian teacher of Russian and French in a Pittsburgh High School. I think I would have found the book easier to get into if I had read the previous book first. As it was it took me a while to realise that Greg used to in the employ of the Russian Secret Service. There are rather a lot of characters in the book and several story lines which made it a bit confusing. The reader learns that in the first book Greg had solved a murder for which the school caretaker Andrea had been framed. Andrea is now the closest to a friend that Greg, who lives alone, seems to have. I really liked the character of Andrea and her determination to get a job more suited to her considerable intellectual skills. In this book Greg is caught up in solving two murders: his ex Russian employees want to find out who killed one of their own and the other black teacher at the school wants him to find out whether the ex husband of a friend committed suicide or was murdered. At the same time Greg is trying to resolve issues concerning some of his pupils. Of course there are some loose and tangled threads linking the various plot lines. I don't know when Greg ever had time to eat or sleep as he seemed to always be on the run, either for pleasure or for his life! Issues of race, religion and sexuality are raised in the book which take it beyond a spy thriller.
My thanks to the publisher via Net Galley for an ARC of this book which I have reviewed voluntarily.

Blown away by how much I enjoyed reading this book.

The plot stylishly merges the best of Agatha Christie and John Le Carre. The hero, Greg Abimbola, sometimes comes across as being somewhat naive and unsure what is happening in almost every social interaction. However that is not the whole story by a long way.

The Quiet teacher - I really liked when a colleague asked for a favour "as a friend". A friend! Greg was stunned! This was an entirely new concept for him to think about!

I can 100% recommend this book to others. High Quality in creativity, suspense and entertainment - with a degree of mystery. You cannot ask for much more.

The author, Adam Oyenanji is Scottish and is immediately a favourite. I look forward to reading more of his books!

This was the 2nd book in the Quiet Teacher series and I could have done with the reading the 1st one. However, I really enjoyed the murder mystery which was well written and a page turner for me. Definately a lot going on with the double murders which Adam Abimbola, the teacher solves.

The main character is very interesting and still a lot to find out about him, but he did really well with his geeky friend, Andrea. Adam is English, Black and fluent Russian speaking and teaches

Thank you to Netgalley and Severn House

The second book in the series featuring the teacher and former spy, Greg Abimbola. The plot is tightly controlled and full of twists. As with the first book there are multiple plot threads that eventually link up. The best thing about this series is the characterisation. Greg is joined by an array of interesting characters with plenty of background interest. Having read the first book in the series, I felt that it enhanced my enjoyment of this book. Other readers have said that this could be read as a stand alone but I would definitely recommend reading the previous book first.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Two Times Murder is a very well written murder mystery thriller with light espionage overtones and is the second novel by author Adam Oyebanji featuring mild mannered teacher of Russian Language (and sometimes French), Greg Abimbola. Due out 5th Nov 2024 from Severn House, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a very well constructed light espionage thriller mystery set in Pittsburgh. Titular main character Greg is a suave, very tightly controlled/guarded language teacher working in a private school who is far outside the normal run. He's a former Russian intelligence (GRU) officer who has "retired" to Pittsburgh, he's of English and Russian extraction, and he's black.

Trying to avoid the agents sent after him from Russia and keep his lifestyle and job, of which he's become very fond, as well as staying on the right side of local law enforcement, is proving quite challenging.

The author writes intelligently and the characters are very well rendered, believable, and three dimensional. Mr. Abimbola is a sympathetic character and readers will relate to him. There are a number of characters in the book, and his building of a tenuous team, with custodian Andrea (from book 1), as well as Sgt Rachel Lev, a local investigator and reluctant collaborator, make the cohesive whole a pleasure to read. Pittsburgh itself plays a large part in the story and it's a palpable (welcome) presence throughout. Readers with familiarity with the city will find themselves transported; the author clearly knows his way around.

Although not derivative at all, fans of Le Carré will likely enjoy this modern take on a retired spy trying to forge a life outside "the Business". It's the second book in the series, but works fine as a standalone (with the understanding that the denouement and resolution from book 1 are discussed here, so expect spoilers if read out of order). There are a few moderately graphic instances of violence and torture; not extremely graphic or egregious, but they are there.

Four stars. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, or would make a nice 2 book binge/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

When I started reading this book I was totally confused, so I stopped and instead first read Oyebanji's previous book, A Quiet Teacher. Both books are about Greg Abimbola, an ex spy who is in witness protection and is teaching Russian at a private high school in Pitts burgh. In both books he is pulled into a murder case which he tries to solve without revealing his identity to the Russians looking for him. It is very well written and the characterization is excellent. Definitely a good read, but read them in order! I am very grateful to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with a copy of this book.

Greg Abimbola—a Black British ex-spy and Russian teacher in Pittsburgh—is drawn into two cases: identifying a body and determining if a man’s death was an accident, suicide, or murder.
Greg’s character is engaging and well-developed, although following two cases and multiple characters can at times be a bit overwhelming.
I would also recommend reading the first book in the series first, this will help you understand Greg, his complex past and his demons.
A good read with a nice blend of whodunit with a sprinkle of espionage.

Greg is a Black British man living in the US. He is also half Russian and has plenty to hide. He is involved in two cases here, one to help identify a body that's been found and the other to help find out whether the death of a man is due to suicide, accident or murder.

What I liked about this book. I enjoyed the themes of diversity and identity, especially the man character's struggle with his sexuality.. I also liked the setting. Greg is an appealing character and I'd be happy to read more about him

What I wasn't so sure about. At times I found it hard to follow the plot and feel it would have been better to concentrate on one case. Having two cases to follow meant a surplus of characters and it wasn't always easy to follow who belonged to what case.

In summary, I liked this book but didn't love it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I chose to review this book as the plot grabbed my attention. As I was reading it I so wished I’d read the first one!!!
I was desperate to read more about the main character but torn to finish this book. So I’ll definitely be looking into the first one.

Great plot and guessing till the end - who the murderer was. Great depth of characters and enjoyed the twists and turns.

Thanks for allowing me to read this!!

A blend of whodunnit with a hint of espionage. Overall, an easy read and well paced. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy

Well this is different and entertaining. I was a bit confused at the beginning, but overall it’s a good read.

A most interesting story with a unique character. A language teacher at a high school in Pittsburgh USA, with an English accent wearing English cloths, Coloured of Russian parentage keeping secret that he is a defector from both the Russian and British Intelligence services. People like him as he is unobtrusive and kind but notice that he has talents that he tries to keep hidden. When a governor of the school is on the ground fallen from his six-floor apartment balcony that seems obviously a suicide, except that his ex-wife thinks its murder and pleads to the teacher to investigate. Meanwhile his ex - Russian masters track him down and demands that he investigate a missing agent sent to Pittsburgh on a mission. If murdered, to administer justice or else. With help of the school young lady administrator, a computer geek with whom he has been collaborating with, a dangerous can of worms eventually is resolved while only in his spare time, after teaching classes and seeing to the welfare of students re bullying and harassment.