Book Review: For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing

The publisher provided a copy of this title in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Belmont Academy is a prestigious private school and all the students are aiming for the Ivy Leagues, including Zach Ward. He’s having some trouble with one of his teachers though, and it seems like the guy really has it out for him. Assigning impossible deadlines, screwing with his role on the student paper and giving him grades that will hurt his GPA, Zach can’t figure out what he did to make his teacher dislike him so much.

Even though he’s won Teacher of the Year, Teddy Crutcher isn’t really a fan of any his students, fellow teachers or their parents. He finds them entitled, spoiled and prefers they stay out of his business. Sometimes his teaching methods can be unusual, but Teddy believes in pushing students to excel and turning them into better people no matter the cost…and that includes Zach.

Then people start dying at Belmont Academy – first it’s a parent, then teachers and students. And it’s starting to look a lot like murder and less like accidental deaths, which sends the schools sparkling reputation into the gutter. When someone at Belmont starts to suspect Teddy might have something to do with the mysterious deaths and begins looking into his personal life, it creates havoc for the teacher, not to mention messes with his best laid plans.

When a student is blamed for the crimes, both Teddy and Zach will find their stories intertwining once again, but this time it’s outside of the classroom as they both go to great lengths to clear the suspected student’s name.

Samantha Downing has written yet another page turning thriller, this time focusing on the exclusive world within the walls of a private school. The less you know about this book going into it, the better your reading experience will be as she takes you through the twisted mind of her main character.

Everyone could be a suspect and they all seem to have secrets to hide. Readers won’t know which characters to trust, which only makes the whodunnit harder to figure out even when you think you know!

The ending of For Your Own Good might leave you feeling a little bit icky, but it’s definitely a must-read thriller for 2021.

Four out of five stars.
Release date: July 20, 2021.
Purchase your copy here!