For Your Own Good
The most addictive psychological thriller you’ll read this year
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4.1 • 86 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
THE GRIPPING NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM THE RICHARD & JUDY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MY LOVELY WIFE
'Irresistibly dark' T.M. LOGAN
'Gripping and twisted' 5***** READER REVIEW
'Dark, sly and delicious' J.P. DELANEY
'Intoxicating' 5***** READER REVIEW
'Totally the real deal' SARAH PINBOROUGH
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At Belmont Academy, excellence comes at a cost . . .
The teachers demand too much from their students.
The students are devious and unpredictable.
The parents will do anything to get their children ahead.
And when a parent dies in suspicious circumstances, it's clear that someone at Belmont is a murderer.
But how do you uncover a killer when anyone could be a suspect?
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'Brilliant' Daily Mail
'Absolutely terrific' Sarah Pekkanen
'Wonderfully dark and twisty. I raced through it, desperate to know how it would end' B.A. Paris
'Dark as night, sinister as hell, clever, twisting and downright fun' Chris Whitaker
READERS ARE GRIPPED BY FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
'A gripping, twisted and dark thriller that kept me hooked to the last page. The plot was superb, the writing was sharp, the events were unpredictable' 5***** Reader Review
'This book is exceptional. Full and twists and tension, I raced through it. Absolutely brilliant' 5***** Reader Review
'WOW! Brilliant. Couldn't put it down. So many twists and turns. Kept me in suspense until the very end' 5***** Reader Review
'Gripping and darkly comic with brilliant characterisation' 5***** Reader Review
'I was hooked from the first paragraph' 5***** Reader Review
'Samantha Downing does it again! Gripping, dark, incisive and sharply observed from start to finish' 5***** Reader Review
'A thriller with dark humour at its heart' 5***** Reader Review
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In the opening vignette of For Your Own Good, a teacher is locked in a—polite, this being the prestigious Belmont Academy—power struggle with the wealthy parent of a student, over an unsatisfactory grade. No-one has died suspiciously yet—give it time—but such is Samantha Downing’s skill that a sinister tension is already building. It isn’t long before we must rethink, and not for the last time, who we can trust in this privileged world. As the wry thriller continues, events become more and more horrifying, but Downing’s prose remains witty and her pacing perfect while characters reveal their twisted moralities, and the ground moves under them and the reader alike.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Within weeks, Belmont Academy's image plummets from gilded Ivy League gateway to ghoulish #HomicideHigh in this slyly plotted page-turner from Edgar finalist Downing (He Started It). It's going to take more than a few inconvenient bodies on campus, however, to derail such driven Belmont community members as English lit instructor Teddy Crutcher, whose recent teacher of the year award seems to have done little to diminish the massive chip on his shoulder, or talented but entitled junior Zach Ward, the most recent individual to arouse his ire. That is, until the less than stellar police investigation targets a student close to both Teddy and Zach, gifted school newspaper editor Courtney Ross. Their independent efforts to help her only make matters much, much worse—as well as put them on a dangerous collision course with one another. Though falling short of the boldly bizarro plot and quirky characters of He Started It, this thriller nonetheless offers darkly comic amusement and ample surprises from its cast of unabashedly amoral schemers. Downing remains a writer to watch.
Customer Reviews
A highly original and intriguing read!
The first thing I will say about Samantha’s books is that she writes stories like no other! Her ideas are authentic and her style of writing draws the reader in, holding their attention from beginning to end.
The main character in this book Teddy intrigued me from the first page. Whilst appearing normal to some, I knew he was going to be anything but normal! Teacher of the year, and apparently the perfect wife at home, what more could Teddy want? It’s hard for me to tell you much about this story without giving spoilers, so you’ll have to read it to find out what happens 😉
I’d say this book was more of a slow burner, but each time I hit a twist, it really did make my jaw drop! I liked the way the story was narrated by several characters as this allowed us to follow each of them in what I would describe as a bit of a cat and mouse game.
One thing I will say is that at times I did want more from Teddy, the guy makes a fantastic psycho, and I can’t really put my finger on what it was I wanted more of, but I think he had the potential to be even worse than he was 😂 That’s just me though, I’m pretty sure Samantha knows exactly what’s she’s doing when she creates her brilliant characters.
I read a lot of books and often within a few days I’ve forgotten the characters’ names. I don’t think I’ll ever forget Teddy! Samantha has created such a real character, he’s lived in my head ever since I finished this book and I think he will have a special place there forever alongside Millicent from My Lovely Wife (Samantha’s fantastic debut novel).
I think this story had the potential to have a couple of different endings, I do wonder if the author had any alternatives, but if she did I think she chose the right one!
Dark, twisted and extremely well written I think this book is perfect for fans of books like The Last House on Needless Street and Gone Girl. If you like something a bit different from your standard psychological thriller then this will be the book for you!
average
Everything is very stereotypical it’s got a few twists that keep it going.