Web Of Corruption…
A series of brutal and gruesome murders. What is the connection? If, indeed there is one. DS Grey and DS Miles are charged with cracking the case and making the area a safe place once again. A dark and often very disturbing suspense, a web of corruption at its heart.

With this book warning of not for the faint heartened I was straight there knowing I've read dark and darker stuff. This really disappointed me, it seemed like it was a little all over the place I don't know whether this is because it is an arc. I really wish I could have liked this book.

I can’t quite put my finger on the “why” but this book and I just didn’t get along. I think it’s just a matter of me not being the right audience for The Teacher.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Katerina Diamond over the years and I thought I’ve got a bit of time on my hands, why not try one of her books?

The Teacher is the first in the Imogen Grey series. It combines two of my favourite genres, police procedural and psychological thriller to create a unique story, although I will say it’s a little heavier on the psychological aspect.

There is a warning in the blurb for this and I have to say it’s well earned! It’s dark, a little gruesome with a few upsetting themes scattered throughout.

The Teacher ended up being not quite what I expected, mainly as it was touted as the first in the Imogen Grey series, yet Imogen herself felt like a secondary character. Then there were the multiple perspectives, which usually I don’t mind but there was a backwards and forwards in the timeline that I didn’t really like.

Fair to say I wasn’t exactly blown away by The Teacher but it intrigued me enough to try the second in the series at a later date.

I have to be honest and say I am not entirely sure what to think about this book. This book focuses on DS Adrian Miles after his return to work following a suspension. He is teamed with DS Imogen Grey who has been relocated and they have to investigate the death of a headteacher. Of course that is just the beginning in terms of story line but it’s also a book I don’t feel you can say too much about without spoiling.

I struggled at the beginning to get into this and I cannot even work out why or what my issue was but it just felt sluggish and hard going at times. I actually liked the two main characters Miles and Grey, but aside from that…I just don’t know. It’s a very graphic book with very explicit descriptions of pretty gruelling scenes. This certainly doesn’t bother me but may be worth readers being aware of it.

Overall it was just middle of the road for me. I may well go back to this author in the future and hopefully will find the next book a little easier to get into.

This certainly promised a lot – but unfortunately it didn’t deliver.
I’m not bothered by gore or the gruesome. I’m happy to read most things as long as they’re well-written. So the subject matter didn’t worry me at all.
The idea behind this novel is really sound and has loads of potential. A series of grisly murders, a couple of potentially likeable detectives, some interesting characters and a twisty conspiracy theory. All the elements for a great page-turner are there.
But the editing is dreadful. The dialogue is unwieldy and strangely formal (use contractions for goodness sake!). There are lots and lots of long-winded sentences that drag on and on. I couldn’t believe this was published by Harper Collins.
I can’t blame the author for the poor editing, but I did feel that the motive behind the conspiracy was really woolly and not at all convincing.
Frustrating, because there’s a clever story here, that could be brilliant.

Although there are a lot of shocking happenings in this book it does not quite achieve the ability to shock. It struggles to flow and due to it changing location and time during the story it is easy to lose the thread. Some of the incidents are a bit of a stretch, and there is a little too much describing of events and analysis of characters rather than allowing the reader to form their own vies.
That said it is a reasonable read and does have some good passages of intrigue and suspense

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

An apple for the teacher? Well, no, not in this book!. The wages of sin are bloody retribution, and this book delivers that in spades!
This is a school of dark secrets, with a rape, and numerous gruesome deaths. There is no one person you can trust, and no real likeable person to root for. The detectives who are investigating these murders are themselves flawed characters, and each carry heavy burdens.
The plot is creepy and makes you feel scared and edgy, not a bedtime book! I was a little confused at times, there were so many people and stories to keep track of, but they eventually came together and made sense.
I love crime and mystery , but this was a little too bloody for me. Rape is never easy to write or read about, there is always a danger of it being used gratuitously . This is not an easy read, but you are forewarned. I won't read it again! I have only given three stars, it makes me uneasy.

The Teacher follows new partners Detective Imogen Grey and Detective Adrian Miles. They find themselves paired together after both suffering from problems in their previous posts.
The two detectives are about to stumble upon some horrendous murders and are on a race against time as more murders, each as gruesome or even more gruesome than the last are committed.
The first few chapters of the book bring up many seemingly completely different and unrelated characters. It took concentration to remember who was who, as none of the characters seemed to be linked at first.
The descriptions in this book of the murders were the most gory and gruesome that I have ever read. I have read a lot of murder books!!! At times, it seemed I was only reading about killings and I wanted the plot to hurry up a bit, instead of so many people getting killed and me not knowing why or how they were linked. When I discovered the link and it all made sense who and why all the characters were linked it all seemed to click into place.
I like Detective Grey and it is for her that I will continue with this series. If book 2 is as filled with the gore, I may not continue to book 3. The murder scenes were so graphic that if this were a film, I would not watch it. This Author has a very dark imagination! Perfect for crime fiction!
The Teacher had a very high standard to follow after the recent crime books I had read. As a serial crime fiction reader, books need to be better and better to impress me. I liked The Teacher, but it won’t feature on my top ten of the year.

Anyone who likes particularly gory murders will enjoy this, especially as there are so many! The title of this is “The Teacher” but could just as easily be another profession because that doesn’t really feature much. Obvious who is doing it and everyone in the book is flawed in some way. The Museum is creepy with its exhibits and I liked that, also the role reversal. It was certainly an interesting read!

I haven't read anything by this writer before so I was pleasantly surprised how gripping this story was from the very first moment. It doesn't treat murder lightly. There are full descriptions leaving you feeling you might have been present as the detectives look for clues.
The two lead characters are both fully rounded and feel like people I know. They bounce off each other well.
The different threads of the story were odd at the beginning, but I soon realized which way the writer was bringing them together.
I'll read more from this author.

This is a book I've heard so much about I was excited to read it.
I did enjoy it although at times it wasn't comfortable reading. I don't normally continue reading books which are gory, and this was at my limit. However the book was worth continuing with.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful writer. The story of both Abby and Parker in their separate lives and then together is very believable. The difficult struggles they both survived showed not only their resilience but also their warped mind set.
The detail in the revenge that is issued is great. Very descriptive. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Creepy and compelling. I read this in one day and was gutted when I’d finished it. Recommend as a good rainy day book.
4/5 on goodreads

A good read but felt there could have been more of a twist towards the end. Wanted a little more intrigue but managed to keep reading until the end.

A gruesome thriller where revenge is a must. Not a bedtime story or for the feint hearted, but if you like thrillers, this is a must read. For a first time author Ms. Diamond has excelled. Well developed characters and plot that keeps you on edge until the end.
A young college girl is raped, but admits she wanted to kiss one of the guys and was very drunk.. What transpires makes you cringe. She becomes a loner and finds a job in a museum. Meanwhile gruesome murders are.taking place., revenge murders. Two unlikely detectives, Miles and Grey are thrown together, but are warned to stay away from the case. Instead they secretly seek every opportunity to investigate. What transpires I will leave you to find out! Recommended read.

This is the first book I have read by this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was a little confused at first how the book was going to come together as it tells the stories of a few people that don’t seem connected at all. However I stuck with it and it soon made sense how it all connected up and I’m so glad I stuck with it as it turned out to be a really good book. I will definitely look to read some more of this authors books.

A deeply disturbing thriller where unusually I felt sympathy with the villains rather than the victims. Well portrayed characters and an exciting story.

I absolutely loved the cover of THE TEACHER, because in my experience a benign cover often contains an enthralling story. And this certainly was. There were many threads woven here, with various characters as part of the whole. Abby is the character everyone will want to champion because of her past, and she is drawn particularly well. I loved the interaction between Miles and Grey, an interesting partnership I've no doubt the author has explored. The dialogue between the characters is excellent and very believable, however, I found the strange punctuation quite distracting and I didn't enjoy the run-on sentences. (I'm not a punctuation junkie but it stood out a little) If you can get past this and you love crime and suspense this will certainly be one you won't want to put down!