This was the 2nd book in the Quiet Teacher series and I could have done with the reading the 1st one. However, I really enjoyed the murder mystery which was well written and a page turner for me. Definately a lot going on with the double murders which Adam Abimbola, the teacher solves.

The main character is very interesting and still a lot to find out about him, but he did really well with his geeky friend, Andrea. Adam is English, Black and fluent Russian speaking and teaches

Thank you to Netgalley and Severn House

The second book in the series featuring the teacher and former spy, Greg Abimbola. The plot is tightly controlled and full of twists. As with the first book there are multiple plot threads that eventually link up. The best thing about this series is the characterisation. Greg is joined by an array of interesting characters with plenty of background interest. Having read the first book in the series, I felt that it enhanced my enjoyment of this book. Other readers have said that this could be read as a stand alone but I would definitely recommend reading the previous book first.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Two Times Murder is a very well written murder mystery thriller with light espionage overtones and is the second novel by author Adam Oyebanji featuring mild mannered teacher of Russian Language (and sometimes French), Greg Abimbola. Due out 5th Nov 2024 from Severn House, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a very well constructed light espionage thriller mystery set in Pittsburgh. Titular main character Greg is a suave, very tightly controlled/guarded language teacher working in a private school who is far outside the normal run. He's a former Russian intelligence (GRU) officer who has "retired" to Pittsburgh, he's of English and Russian extraction, and he's black.

Trying to avoid the agents sent after him from Russia and keep his lifestyle and job, of which he's become very fond, as well as staying on the right side of local law enforcement, is proving quite challenging.

The author writes intelligently and the characters are very well rendered, believable, and three dimensional. Mr. Abimbola is a sympathetic character and readers will relate to him. There are a number of characters in the book, and his building of a tenuous team, with custodian Andrea (from book 1), as well as Sgt Rachel Lev, a local investigator and reluctant collaborator, make the cohesive whole a pleasure to read. Pittsburgh itself plays a large part in the story and it's a palpable (welcome) presence throughout. Readers with familiarity with the city will find themselves transported; the author clearly knows his way around.

Although not derivative at all, fans of Le Carré will likely enjoy this modern take on a retired spy trying to forge a life outside "the Business". It's the second book in the series, but works fine as a standalone (with the understanding that the denouement and resolution from book 1 are discussed here, so expect spoilers if read out of order). There are a few moderately graphic instances of violence and torture; not extremely graphic or egregious, but they are there.

Four stars. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, or would make a nice 2 book binge/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

When I started reading this book I was totally confused, so I stopped and instead first read Oyebanji's previous book, A Quiet Teacher. Both books are about Greg Abimbola, an ex spy who is in witness protection and is teaching Russian at a private high school in Pitts burgh. In both books he is pulled into a murder case which he tries to solve without revealing his identity to the Russians looking for him. It is very well written and the characterization is excellent. Definitely a good read, but read them in order! I am very grateful to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with a copy of this book.

Greg Abimbola—a Black British ex-spy and Russian teacher in Pittsburgh—is drawn into two cases: identifying a body and determining if a man’s death was an accident, suicide, or murder.
Greg’s character is engaging and well-developed, although following two cases and multiple characters can at times be a bit overwhelming.
I would also recommend reading the first book in the series first, this will help you understand Greg, his complex past and his demons.
A good read with a nice blend of whodunit with a sprinkle of espionage.

Greg is a Black British man living in the US. He is also half Russian and has plenty to hide. He is involved in two cases here, one to help identify a body that's been found and the other to help find out whether the death of a man is due to suicide, accident or murder.

What I liked about this book. I enjoyed the themes of diversity and identity, especially the man character's struggle with his sexuality.. I also liked the setting. Greg is an appealing character and I'd be happy to read more about him

What I wasn't so sure about. At times I found it hard to follow the plot and feel it would have been better to concentrate on one case. Having two cases to follow meant a surplus of characters and it wasn't always easy to follow who belonged to what case.

In summary, I liked this book but didn't love it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I chose to review this book as the plot grabbed my attention. As I was reading it I so wished I’d read the first one!!!
I was desperate to read more about the main character but torn to finish this book. So I’ll definitely be looking into the first one.

Great plot and guessing till the end - who the murderer was. Great depth of characters and enjoyed the twists and turns.

Thanks for allowing me to read this!!

A blend of whodunnit with a hint of espionage. Overall, an easy read and well paced. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy

Well this is different and entertaining. I was a bit confused at the beginning, but overall it’s a good read.

A most interesting story with a unique character. A language teacher at a high school in Pittsburgh USA, with an English accent wearing English cloths, Coloured of Russian parentage keeping secret that he is a defector from both the Russian and British Intelligence services. People like him as he is unobtrusive and kind but notice that he has talents that he tries to keep hidden. When a governor of the school is on the ground fallen from his six-floor apartment balcony that seems obviously a suicide, except that his ex-wife thinks its murder and pleads to the teacher to investigate. Meanwhile his ex - Russian masters track him down and demands that he investigate a missing agent sent to Pittsburgh on a mission. If murdered, to administer justice or else. With help of the school young lady administrator, a computer geek with whom he has been collaborating with, a dangerous can of worms eventually is resolved while only in his spare time, after teaching classes and seeing to the welfare of students re bullying and harassment.

I couldn’t get through this- I tried two separate times and ended up DNF-ing the book at about 65%. I recommend other readers read and assess to make their own judgement to the book as I did really enjoy the first book.

Oh heck, I wish I’d read the first book in this series as I might have been able to understand this a bit better! To be honest, I was confused most of the time while reading it, and some of the language and the very complex plot went right over my head. I thought Greg was intriguing though and would love to know more about his back story and read another book with him in it (especially if it was a teeny bit simpler). The writing was really good, and I enjoyed the book even though I didn’t fully understand it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the electronic copy.

I found this an entertaining read with a wry humour that I wasn’t expecting from the cover and description. Although I got slightly confused with who was who from time to time it didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I liked the teaming up of Greg and Andrea, and would certainly read more books featuring these two characters. It was a shame that the side plot about Malik was never satisfactorily resolved. Apparently this is the second book in a series, but I didn’t feel that I missed anything by not having read the first one.

I hadn't read the first book by this author, but the book caught me up somewhat, in different paragraphs!

I found it quite slow to begin with and struggled to get into it, it is a little far fetched, but that is fiction sometimes!!

Clunky in parts, lanugage was quite complex when it didn't need to be. Also not sure what happened after the robot class, that didn't seem to tie up?

Probbaly wouldn't read the next one.

As much as I enjoyed this book, there were parts where it felt like the author was trying too hard to come across as intellectual. I don’t doubt the intellectuality of the author for a second, but the over abundance of complex words was quite jarring at time.
I will say that the book, and the story, kept me coming back. None of the characters, other than Greg, were particularly memorable however I would be interested to see where his story goes from here.

I think you possibly need to read the first book in this series before reading this one, as it took me a while to work out who the characters all were. Greg (the main character) is very likeable. I enjoyed this book, but as mentioned, really struggled for the first few chapters.

I would like to read another one with Greg as the main character.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

3.5 rounded up.

At first I found this book to be a bit slow and a bit confusing. It is actually the second book about Greg Abimbola and although this book does give some information about what happened in the first book, I think i would have got into this book more quickly had I read the first one.

Just under half way through, though, it all hots up and things start to get exciting and intriguing and by the time I reached the satisfactory conclusion to the action, I found that I had really enjoyed the read.

Greg is a very interesting character who stays in your mind. His situation is an interesting idea, reminding me a little of The Americans and the film No Way Out. The whodunit is well thought out and believable and if there IS a third book, I would read it. This book would make a good film.

Very enjoyable read. The storyline is original and the characters quirky. I'll definitely be reading more from this author....especially if Greg is the main character.

I think this is the second book in a new series from a new author. I haven’t read the first but still found it easy to get into the characters that are as diverse a bunch as I have ever come across. Greg Abimbola is a British ex-pat living and teaching Russian in a school in Pittsburgh; he is the quiet teacher. All Greg wants is to be left alone, however after him solving a murder in the first novel, he is called upon again by the young female police detective who is struggling to be accepted by her male colleagues. It turns out Greg knew the murdered man and he is soon drawn into a web of intrigue.
I found this an easy read and I could see the quiet teacher series going far.

A cleverly written and well paced murder story with an unusual lead protagonist. It became clear that there was an earlier story about the lead character and whilst I suspect it would have been good to have read this first, it didn't stop the enjoyment of this as the tale here was clearly told.

Hopefully there'll be more.