On a typical Friday afternoon in the quaint village of Leedham, the local primary school buzzes with activity. Parents eagerly await the dismissal of their children, while young ones anticipate the upcoming weekend. Yet, for teacher Cate Walker and her eight-year-old son, Archie, this routine day takes a chilling turn. They vanish without a trace after leaving school, leaving the community baffled.

Cate's husband and the school's headmaster, Oliver, initially garners sympathy as the worried spouse and parent. However, as time stretches on, whispers of suspicion surround him. Could he be involved in their disappearance?

Enter Lexi, the substitute teacher who steps into Cate's role. Sensing something amiss, she embarks on her investigation into Oliver. Yet, Lexi herself hides secrets and soon finds herself targeted by anonymous threats.

With a plot shrouded in deception, readers are kept guessing at every turn. Smoke and mirrors abound, leaving them uncertain of the truth as alliances shift and suspicions mount.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

This really made me think about how much you trust teachers, it worked well as a psychological thriller and I enjoyed getting to go through this novel. It had that feel that I was looking for in a thriller novel and I was invested in the story going on. The characters were interesting and engaging, I enjoyed what was happening and loved the psychological feel to this. Lauren North does a great job writing this and can’t wait for more.

2.5 ⭐️ The Teacher’s Secret promised to be a twisty thriller, but I found it to be just okay. I liked the author’s writing style and the multiple POVs, but found the vast majority of the book to be a lot of nothing really happening to progress the story. It gripped me at the beginning and at the very end, but I was bored throughout.

In The Teacher’s Secret, a popular teacher (Cate) and her young son (Archie) suddenly vanish from the small peaceful community. All eyes immediately turn to her husband—the principal/headteacher of the school. Lexi, a mysterious young woman shows up to serve as the substitute teacher of Cate’s class and seeks to get to the bottom of the disappearance.

I liked that the book is told in multiple perspectives of different members of the community and has short chapters, making it a quick and easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Lauren North for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

<I would say that I had a very average experience with this thriller. The multiple POVs made it quite difficult to follow along with in the beginning, but I did soon settle into a comfortable rhythm with it.

I didn’t see the main twist coming, and there was a slight air of mystery throughout. However, I thought that the reasons behind some of the other twists were flimsy, and the book as a whole failed to deliver those feelings of anticipation & dread that the author of a thriller should be so accomplished at.

It was an easy read, but not a particularly exciting one.

Lauren North certainly knows how to pack a punch! The Teacher’s Secret is another gripping and twisty read that kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the end.

Lexi is a supply teacher who covers for missing Cate, not only a fellow teacher, but the wife of the headteacher, who has disappeared, along with her young son. It turns out, Lexi being called in is no coincidence….

As well as Lexi, the story is narrated by Gemma. The school receptionist, Oliver, Cate’s husband and Jeanie, Cate’s snoopy neighbour, who absolutely has secrets! I didn’t really trust any of the characters, except for Lexi, who I was really intrigued by.

The plot is filled with questions, smoke and mirrors and when the answers started to bring the story to a gripping close, I couldn’t stop reading. Just as it was all wrapping up though, BOOM! Another gut punch of a twist! Brilliant! 👏🏻

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Lauren North and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read which keeps you on the edge of your seat with all the twists and turns throughout. The characters were great, the story itself had plenty of suspense along with a good ending. The style of writing was just perfect.
I have read many books by this author and I have loved them all, I can’t wait for the next one that comes out.
I would highly recommend this book and its author to anyone who likes reading psychological thrillers.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

I really liked this title and all the twists and turns. It was hard to find any likeable characters though

This upcoming book by Lauren North is absolutely full of secrets! And it was a crazy read uncovering each one!

When one of the teachers from Leedham Primary School goes missing along with her 8 year old son, Lexi, an emergency substitute teacher is called in! But as Lexi works to get settled into her new position she finds she has more to deal with than just lesson plans!

This book is filled with suspense, mystery, and of course secrets! I would definitely recommend watching for it on February 23rd!

I just reviewed The Teacher's Secret by Lauren North. #TheTeachersSecret #NetGalley

I was lucky enough to receive this ARC from NetGalley

I’ve never heard of this author before so wasn’t sure what to expect but this book did not disappoint!

So many twists and turns that kept you wanting to read on to see what happened! A great story, I feel the ending was a little quick to piece it all together however there definitely could be room for a book 2 how it ended!

A must read!

The Teacher’s Secret is my first contact with author Lauren North, and I have to say the psychological thriller is really gripping.

The choice for the title was really clever: not only the new protagonist substitute teacher has a secret, but also other teachers at little Leedham (including the teacher that has been reported missing).

Through the multicharacter point of view, it’s possible to go on discovering the layers and lies of each person in the story (the image that is shown to society is never the same lived at home). Besides, the twists and turns in the narrative keeps the reader eager for more clues and solutions.

It’s certainly a must-read that won’t disappount the fans of great psychological thrillers.

I thank Netgalley, publisher Bookouture and author Lauren North for the ARC of this book, in return for my honest feedback.

This is a tense psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns. The title is deliberately misleading because there are actually several teachers who have secrets they can't risk getting out. In fact some of these are more exciting than the disappearance of Mrs Walker and her son. Lauren North can be relied on to produce a really good story and with this one she doesn't disappoint.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I love Lauren North novels, she has the ability to reel you into her stories, turn you inside out and then put you back together again.
In this novel Lexi arrives to teach in a primary school as a substitute teacher. Mrs Walker, the Headmaster's wife, and their son Archie have been missing for a few days. But with many points of view, all of which have their own secrets it's hard to know who to trust and who's telling the truth.
Overall it is a very satisfying psychological thriller.

A very gripping read. The plot was certainly clever with twists and turns you don't see coming. Clever ending.

This book is a medium-paced thriller with a multi-character POV that can be a bit overwhelming at the beginning of the story. I could see it was way deeper than just a missing person case. Every time I thought I figured something out a twist happened, and I didn’t.

There’re so many twists and turns and so many well-kept secrets among the village people. It is one of those books where you wonder if the way people portrait themselves in public is who they are behind closed doors. If the perfection they show is there.

Overall, this was a great story after it’s slow beginning, the character development was right on top, and the story kept me engaged until the end. The village has so many intrigues and creepy people waiting and hiding in the shadows. I recommend it to those who enjoys a book that will keep you guessing every single thing until the very end.

Thank you, Bookouture & NetGalley, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

Another great thriller from Lauren North.
In this book things really are not as they seem, a sinister funeral director, watching and waiting in the shadows. A nosy neighbour watching from behind the curtains.
So many twists, it would be hard to say too much for fear of spoilers.
If you want a book to keep you guessing, this is it!

Thank you to Bookouture, Netgalley and Lauren North for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A new teacher joins the village of Leedham, but with a secret. What secret? You'll have to read "The Teacher's Secret." A wife and a son go missing, but who is to blame? Is it the husband/father, a teacher in Leedham, or a stranger? "The Teacher's Secret" was a slow read. The first half of the book brings in the new teacher and her mysterious past, the husband/father of the missing woman and child, and the issues that arise because of their whereabouts. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because toward the end of the book, it became gut wrenching. However, The point of views were definitely a turn off to me, I feel like there were some POVs that were irrelevant to the plot, but others were necessary-I just didn't like the jumping to 1st person then to 2nd person. Honestly, the title gave me the hopes of a different plot, but then it turned out to be completely different. I was expecting something more since it was given the blurb of a psychological thriller. However, that was not the case for this novel.

This book really kept my interest. The chapters were engaging and quick to read. The character development is strong, and the story moves at a quick pace and keeps the reader guessing. I really enjoyed it, and I will read this author from this point forward!

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this book.

The Teacher’s Secret by Lauren North is a fast-paced, multi-character POV thriller. When a popular teacher disappears with her young son, the whole town wonders what happened to them. Was it the husband? Enter Lexi, a substitute with a past who begins to receive threats when she starts looking into the disappearances.

At times, I struggled to remember who was who, but it didn’t take away from the story. There were a lot of twists and turns and kept me guessing until the very end.

I was fortunate to receive a space on the blog tour from Bookouture for this book.

I love Lauren's books and this one felt like a return to her usual style for me after The Ugly Truth. This book also reminded me of the Class of 3B by Jackie Kabler.

A mother and child go missing walking home from school and there are numerous suspects and people with secrets. This felt like a locked room mystery except the room was a village!

In the last third the explanations and twists came one after another and I could never have guessed the ending.

My favourite quote:
"Their views are just the tip of a dark and barbed iceberg."

This was my first Lauren North novel and I was not disappointed. I love books with twists and turns and most people in town have a secret. I also liked that even though here was multiple points of view, it didn't get confusing. It instead was nice getting to know more than one character at a time. I am someone who loves to figure out, "who did it" and this one kept me guess and never saw the ending coming! I cant wait to read another Lauren North Novel!!!