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. Thanks to Netgalley for this one!

This book was amazing. It was full of twists and I didn’t see them coming. This was my favorite read so far this year. Thanks to netgalley for giving me this as an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Teacher’s Secret tells a story about the disappearance of a teacher and her son in a close knit town, told from multiple points of view, including: Lexi (the new substitute teacher), Oliver (the husband who is now the main suspect), Jeanie (the nosy neighbor who appears to have secrets of her own), and Gemma (the hating receptionist). I listened to the audiobook.

This book, though long, did well with timing and spacing out of information. Upon starting the book, the voice of the first character introduced had me hesitant to continue listening (because I couldn’t fathom listening to that voice for the duration of the book) but I quickly realized it would be told from multiple points of view. The narrator (Emma Woods) did a great job of instilling a sense of malevolence in certain characters’ voices, thought it was hard to keep up at times. I also wasn’t a fan of the true crime music interludes in between chapters and the ending was a bit underwhelming for me. Would I label this a super thriller that had me at the edge of my seat? Maybe not. BUT, the suspense, mystery, were there throughout, leading me in new directions with plenty of questions!

Thank you NetGalley, Bolinda Audio, & Lauren North for my ARC!

2.5 ⭐️ i enjoyed the read but I didn’t find any of the characters likeable. i don’t think i’ll think about this again because it wasn’t memorable enough. the false pretences were done well

"The Teacher’s Secret” by Lauren North proved to be a solid 4-star read. When Cate and her son Archie fail to return home one Friday afternoon, the community rallies around Oliver, her husband and father, to comfort and support him. However, as suspicions arise about Oliver's true nature, it becomes uncertain who the community is truly helping.

The story unfolds through the perspectives of four main characters: Oliver, the grieving husband and father; Lexi, the substitute teacher; Jeanie, the vigilant neighbor; and Gemma, another teacher from the school. All four of them lie to the police to hide their secrets. While some aspects may have pushed boundaries, overall, I found the story intriguing. Lexi exhibits drastic swings between confidence and being frozen with fear. The ending was satisfying, and all the secrets were revealed.

Thanks to Bookouture, Lauren North, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.