For Your Own Good: The most addictive psychological thriller you'll read this year

الغلاف الورقي ممزق من الخلف بمشرط وحتى بعد ازالة الغلاف الورقي يظهر التمزق في الغلاف الجلدي

No one writes characters more twisted, unlikable, and delightfully fun than Samantha Downing. Every single book of hers is a surprise and delight!No one is more committed to helping their students achieve excellence than Teddy Crutcher. Teddy is not your average teacher, though. He’s won Teacher of the Year at the prestigious Belmont Academy, he loves helping his students be their best selves, and he is most likely a complete psychopath. Teddy uses…unconventional teaching methods. But of course, he only does it because he knows what is best for his students, right?As the book opens, Teddy is meeting with the father of junior Zach Ward over a B+ Teddy recently gave Zach on a paper. Zach is attractive, comes from a wealthy family, and beloved by students and teachers at the school. Teddy sees it as his job to knock Zach down a peg and teach him a lesson. Teddy’s utter disdain for Zach is presented comically, as even in his own private ramblings he admits that Zach is quite intelligent and talented, while the lower grade is related to Zach’s privilege in life, not his academic performance.Downing also narrates some chapters from Zach’s perspective, and we learn that Teddy’s opinion on Zach couldn’t be further from the truth. Zach is a hard-worker, smart, privileged young man who is (like many of the students at Belmont) being crushed under the weight of pressure from his parents to get the right grades, get into an Ivy, and have a successful career. Zach is close friends with another student, Courtney, and I found it fascinating how Teddy had the opposite opinion on Courtney as he did Zach, despite her also having the same privileged background.Downing presents Teddy’s dichotomous thoughts about Zach and Courtney to great effect. With Zach, Teddy feels it is his duty to knock him down a peg, despite his stellar performance. With Courtney, Teddy wants to actively help and support her, though this is largely because her mother is the president of the PTA and was active in awarding Teddy Teacher of the Year. Teddy is so delightfully, grotesquely self-serving. His opinions on any given person are solely related to whether they help him or make him feel less than.I found Teddy to be a completely captivating character. He’s arrogant, vindictive, spiteful, devious, intelligent, delusional, quirky, and manipulative. As a character, he’s often unintentionally hilarious (I was particularly tickled by his tendency to reward himself with a glass of 2% milk despite his lactose intolerance) and at times he can even be somewhat sympathetic, despite his atrocious actions.No one writes compelling villains the way Downing does. Like some of her other villainous characters, Teddy’s actions, behaviors, and thoughts are often despicable. Yet he is presented in such a playful way, the reader can’t help but have tiny moments of rooting for him, only to then remember all of the things he has done and quickly reverse. By the end, I was rooting for his demise but unsure if it would come. Downing always surprises at the end of her books, so no outcome is off the table.A delightfully wicked book that I couldn’t put down!

I die for a good ol‘ prep school thriller (pun intended), and this one might just be the BEST thriller set in a high school that I’ve EVER read. It was also my first thriller that didn’t fit the „Whodunnit“ mold: we know who did it, BUT WILL THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?The plot: Teddy Crutcher is an English teacher at elite school Belmont Academy. Teddy is a strict, intransigent teacher and his methods are questionable to say the least, yet Teddy knows it’s all necessary: his duty is to make sure that his students and his fellow teachers learn their lessons, and Teddy will do just about anything for that to happen. But when Belmont faculty members begin to die under mysterious circumstances, someone at school starts to suspect Teddy may have something to do with the deaths.This book hooked me from the first line: “Entitlement has a particular stench. Pungent, bitter, almost brutal. Teddy smells it coming.“Teddy is a psychopath, there’s no other way to say it. He’s deviously clever, deceitful, and underhanded, but his dark humour and ruthless assessment of the privileged Belmont parents will keep you second-guessing yourself for being a liiiiittle bit on his side. Samantha Downing does an incredible job of blending Teddy’s POV and actions with those of the other main characters in the book, and I felt completely immersed in Belmont’s world and couldn’t put the book down for the two days it took me to read it. Also, there’s twists and turns like you wouldn’t believe, and the ending… explosive💥I definitely recommend this book, especially in September, with school starting again and spooky season impending… if you can handle it 😜

Teddy Crutcher works at Belmont Academy. Awarded with Teacher of the Year, Teddy just wants to continue being the best of the best, pushing his students to be all that they can be… even if it means removing those who might stand in the way by any means necessary.While Teddy was the bad guy through and through, you can’t help but root for him. He just really wanted what was best for everyone, even if it was poorly executed and things kept going wrong.This book was the perfect combination of darkness and humour. Things kept taking disastrous turns that I had no way of guessing what was going to happen next.This book was quite the ride and despite some annoying key players, I enjoyed it immensely.

______________________________OMG, 👏🏻 SO 👏🏻 FREAKING 👏🏻 GOOD 👏🏻This is a humorous, dark, twisted, and UNPUTDOWNABLE read!"For Your Own Good" was an incredible story, and it's safe to say that it made my top ten list of books I've read this year!Many characters, including teachers, students, and their parents, are featured in the story. All of the characters were flawless. From beginning to end, the plot was meticulously planned! The chapters are kept short, which is always a plus in my book. The cat and mouse game played by the characters in this book is brilliant.I honestly can't recall the last time a book entertained, amused, shocked, and creeped me out all at the same time!I had a lot of fun reading this story.Samantha Downing nailed it with this one!Teddy was my all-time favorite character, and I fell in love with him! A teacher who is dedicated to his profession. I know I shouldn't love him because he's a complete psychopath, but I can't help but root for him.So, now that I've finished the review, I'd like to raise a glass of ice-cold milk to the author of this fantastic book! Samantha Downing is deserving of a toast! Thank you for a wonderful and entertaining reading experience; I thoroughly enjoyed it!Definitely a MUST READ!!!!Highly recommend!All the stars !!

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the reputable Belmont Academy, home to brilliant students. Teddy's main focus is to educate kids to their highest potential. He can't be bothered by a few inexplicable deaths on campus that look more and more like murder. All he wants is for his student's parents and co-workers—to stay out of his way. If not, they will all pay the price in meddling with his fundamental plan for excellence. ⠀⠀Samantha Downing never fails to amaze me. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is a thriller that I never knew I needed in my life. Academia thrillers primarily concentrate on students, but this time around, teachers have the center stage. It's so refreshing to experience everything from the educator's perspective while also maintaining student interaction. Teddy Crutcher, one of the prominent voices in the narrative, is a delusional, milk-drinking psychopath that amused the hell out of me. I observed his thought process to be quite fascinating, even if it was straight jacket worthy. It was so entertaining to watch teachers be kind and cordial to each other but evil behind doors.⠀⠀The affluent students were pleasant, considering how they usually are depicted as spoiled brats. Samantha did a remarkable job highlighting the pushy nature of parents and the absolute pressure of ivy league prone students. One of my favorite characters, Zach, remained a humble pillar in this insatiable environment of intimidation. No matter how much Mr. Crutcher had it out for him, his intelligence played in his favor.⠀⠀FOR YOUR OWN GOOD has officially landed on my list of favorite books. The addictive storyline checked off all of my thriller-loving boxes. The short chapters and ease into each POV made this such a delightful read. The ending was satisfying with a low-key insinuation that made my head spin. Before I mouth off anymore, please stop reading my review and add it to your Amazon cart stat!