The Teacher by Freida McFadden
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The Teacher

by

Freida McFadden

(Author)

4.3

-

105,393 ratings


INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Superb...[The Teacher] rivets." Publishers Weekly, starred review

A mind-bending, psychological thriller from Freida McFadden, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Housemaid!

Lesson #1: trust no one

Eve has a good life. She gets up each day, gets a kiss from her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except…

Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye.

Addie can't be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that's what everyone says.

But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet.

From the New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a story of twisting secrets and long-awaited revenge.

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ISBN-10

1728296218

ISBN-13

978-1728296210

Print length

400 pages

Language

English

Publisher

Poisoned Pen Press

Publication date

February 05, 2024

Dimensions

5 x 1 x 8 inches

Item weight

11.2 ounces


Popular Highlights in this book

  • But we’re never going to be able to be friends again. Things will never be the way they used to be between the two of us. Not since Hudson helped me kill my father.

    Highlighted by 4,748 Kindle readers

  • And I told the police everything there was to tell. Well, not everything. I mean, I’m not a complete idiot.

    Highlighted by 2,382 Kindle readers

  • If I were a cat, I would have peed on him, but since I’m a human, I plant a kiss on his lips that is markedly steamier than our usual three kisses per day.

    Highlighted by 2,365 Kindle readers


Product details

ASIN :

B0CGWBB9XG

File size :

3069 KB

Text-to-speech :

Enabled

Screen reader :

Supported

Enhanced typesetting :

Enabled

X-Ray :

Enabled

Word wise :

Enabled


Editorial Reviews

"Secrets are everywhere in this sparkling narrative that moves like a Japanese bullet train, offering plenty of surprises along the way." ― First Clue

"The superb latest from McFadden...frequent rug-pulling will thrill readers who’ve initially pinned the story as run-of-the-mill domestic suspense. [The Teacher] rivets." ― Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Told from the alternating viewpoints of Eve and Addie, this dark page-turner from McFadden (“The Housemaid” series) has an unexpected, brilliantly executed twist at the end. It’s a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers." ― Library Journal, starred review

"McFadden piles on the secrets and lies, slowly doling out the truth until the explosive conclusion, and then, once the dust has settled, she reveals one more bombshell that changes everything. Give this to fans of Lisa Jewell and Joy Fielding." ― Booklist

"The Teacheris a foreboding psychological thriller with cleverly executed twists and turns contrived to keep readers and characters off-kilter and reeling from beginning to end. Author Freida McFadden has honed her craft to near perfection, especially when it comes to those last minute, final page shockers no one sees coming. In that aspect, The Teacher is the crème de la crème of psychological thrillers – a masterpiece of illusions with unreliable characters and scandalous over the top twists. " ― Mystery and Suspense Magazine

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Sample

Chapter One

EVE

THREE MONTHS EARLIER

PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS TELLING me how lucky I am.

They tell me that I have a beautiful house, a fulfilling career, and I constantly get compliments on my shoes. But I’m not kidding myself. When people tell me that I’m lucky, they’re not talking about my house or my career or even my shoes. They’re talking about my husband. They’re talking about Nate.

Nate is humming to himself as he brushes his teeth. It took me almost a year of brushing my teeth next to him in the morning before I realized that it’s always the same song. “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley. When I asked him about it, he laughed and told me his mother taught him the song clocks in at exactly two minutes, which is how long you’re supposed to brush your teeth for.

I have started to hate that song with every fiber of my being.

The same damn song every single morning for eight years of marriage. I could probably solve the problem if we didn’t brush our teeth at the same time each morning, but we always do. We try to maximize our bathroom efficiency in the morning, given that we leave at the same time and are going to the same place.

Nate spits toothpaste in the sink, then rinses his mouth out. I have already finished brushing my teeth, but I linger there. He grabs the mouthwash and gargles the caustic blue liquid.

“I don’t know how you stand that stuff,” I comment. “Mouthwash tastes like acid to me.”

He spits it back into the sink and grins at me. He has perfect teeth. Straight and white, but not so white that you need to look away. “It’s refreshing. Cleanliness is before godliness, you know.”

“It’s horrible.” I shudder. “Just don’t kiss me after gargling with that stuff.”

Nate laughs, and I suppose it is funny because he rarely kisses me anyway. One perfunctory peck when we part ways in the morning, one when we greet each other in the evening, and then one before bed. Three kisses per day. Our sex life is equally regimented—the first Saturday of every month. It used to be every Saturday, then every other Saturday, and now for the last two years, we have settled into the current pattern. I’m tempted to program it into our shared iPhone calendar as a recurring appointment.

I pick up the blow-dryer to eliminate the residual dampness from my hair, while Nate runs a hand through his own short strands of brown hair, then picks up a razor to shave his face. As I watch the two of us in the mirror, it’s hard to deny the plain fact that Nate is by far the more attractive of the two of us. There’s no contest.

My husband is incredibly handsome. If somebody made a movie about his life, they would be tapping all the sexiest stars in Hollywood to fill the role. Short but thick deep brown hair, chiseled features, an adorably lopsided smile, and now that he bought that set of weights to keep in our basement, his chest is turning into solid muscle.

I, on the other hand, am decidedly plain. I’ve had thirty years to come to terms with it, and I’m absolutely fine with the fact that my muddy brown eyes will never have the playful glimmer that Nate’s have, my dull brown hair will never do anything but lie limply on my scalp, and none of my features are quite the right size for my face. I am too skinny—all dangerously sharp angles and no curves to speak of. If someone were to make a movie about my life… Well, there’s no point in even talking about it because such a thing would be impossible. People don’t make movies about women like me.

When people say I’m lucky, what they really mean is that Nate is way out of my league. But I’m a little younger, so at least there’s that.

I leave the bathroom to finish dressing, and Nate follows me to do the same. I select a crisp white blouse, buttoned up to my throat, and I pair it with a tan skirt, because in New England, you’ve got only three months of skirt weather—four if you’re lucky. After sliding into a pair of pantyhose, I slip my feet into a pair of black Jimmy Choo stiletto pumps. It’s only after I’ve got them on my feet that I notice Nate is watching me, his brown tie hanging loose around his neck.

“Eve,” he says.

I already know what he’s going to say, and I’m hoping he won’t say it. “Hmm?”

“Are those new shoes?”

“These?” I don’t lift my eyes. “No. These are years old. In fact, I think I wore them on the first day of school last year.”

“Oh. Okay…”

He doesn’t believe me, but he looks down at his own shoes—a pair of brown leather loafers that really are years old—and doesn’t say another word. When he’s upset, he never yells. Occasionally, he will scold me for things I should not have done, but he rarely even does that anymore. My husband is admirably even-tempered. And in that way, I suppose I am lucky.

As Nate does the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt, he glances at his watch. “You ready to go? Or do you want to grab breakfast?”

Nate and I both work at Caseham High School, and today is the first day of school. I teach math, and he teaches English. He is probably the most popular teacher in the entire school, especially now that Art Tuttle is gone. My friend and fellow teacher Shelby told me that Nate topped the list that the senior girls made of the five hottest teachers at Caseham High. He won by a landslide.

We rarely carpool to work in the morning. It does seem decadent to leave from the same place and arrive at the same location and yet take two different cars, but he always stays later than me at school, and I don’t want to be stuck there. But since today is the first day of school, we are traveling together. “Let’s go,” I say. “I’ll grab coffee at school.”

Nate nods. He never eats breakfast—he says it unsettles his stomach.

My Jimmy Choo pumps clack satisfyingly against the floor as I make my way to the front door of our two-story house. Our house is small—we had to pay for it on two teachers’ salaries—but in so many ways, it’s the house of my dreams. We have three bedrooms, and Nate talks about filling the other two bedrooms with children in the near future, although I’m not sure how we will achieve that on our current schedule of intimacy. I went off birth control a year ago, just to “see what happens,” and so far it’s been a lot of nothing.

Nate climbs into the driver’s seat of his Honda Accord. Whenever we go anywhere together, we always take his car, and he always drives. It’s part of our routine. Three kisses per day, sex once a month, and Nate is always the one who drives.

I am so lucky. I have a beautiful house, a fulfilling career, and a husband who is kind and mild mannered and incredibly handsome. And as Nate pulls the car onto the road and starts driving in the direction of the school, all I can think to myself is that I hope a truck blows through a stop sign, plows into the Honda, and kills us both instantly.

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About the authors

Freida McFadden

Freida McFadden

#1 New York Times, Amazon Charts, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Sunday Times, and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. Freida’s work has been selected as one of Amazon Editors’ best books of the year, she is the winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for best paperback, and she is a Goodreads Choice Award winner. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages.​ Freida lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.To hear Freida talk about herself more in the third person, check out her website freidamcfadden.

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Reviews

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

105,393 global ratings

stefni tha beast reader

stefni tha beast reader

5

Cat Got My Tongue!

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2024

Verified Purchase

Eve and Nathaniel perfect couple or it seemed; however there were secrets in this small town. Both teachers at Caseman High school and Nate was top 5 hottest teachers. New year, Adeline returns and with previous issues, she’s shunned. Kenzie and her crew are the bullies and once bff’s with Hudson, that’s over, he’s hangin with Kenzie. When one teacher gives her grace and attention the perfect story is being created for Addie. Eve notices this marriage is not working so she has Jay on the side but will this pass? This definitely had my mouth wide open at the end! Loved every bit of this story and how exposed mental health, pedophilia and when parents don’t have that relationship with their kids, how close-mouthed they can be and turn to the wrong person!

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2 people found this helpful

YZPat

YZPat

5

What really goes on after school?

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2024

Verified Purchase

As a former high school English teacher, I was quite interested in this book. I was not disappointed. The story involves vacant of characters so well developed that I feel I know them. Eve Bennett is a major character. She teaches Math, loves her job, and plays by the rules. Married to Nate, she is experiencing broke doubts about her relationship. Then, there is Nate Bennett, also a teacher. He teaches English, supervises the school newspaper, a poetry book, feels good about his marriage, and loves his job. Eddie is a high school student who has had a troubled life. Nate tries to help her. There is also police detective Sprague, a boy named Hudson who becomes embroiled innocently, a girl named Misty who is also troubled, and a couple of mothers who have no clue. Now, you put all of the s folks together, each doing their job, and you have a novel so interesting and a plot so unbelievable and you have a fascinating read. By the way, nothing like this happened at my school!

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2 people found this helpful

amanda berrey

amanda berrey

4

The twists kept coming

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2024

Verified Purchase

I was definitely not disappointed by this one. I’ve read two other books by McFadden and I wasn’t over the moon with either of them so I was convinced she just wasn’t for me but THIS proved me wrong. This was amazing. I will definitely be checking out more of her books after this one. I was in shock at the twists. There were twists left and right and like 0 loose ends which is so nice! At the beginning I hated all the characters but through the book I grew more and more respect for Addie. I am glad she wasn’t completely decimated as a character because I hate it when authors try so hard to make all the characters hatable. You have to have at least one likable character to have a good book. Yes the bad characters are very important too but if you don’t like any of the characters then you have zero care as to what happens to them. I am really happy with the way this one ended. I called one of the twists but I missed the others

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gabby mejia

gabby mejia

4

it was great but i have questions

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024

Verified Purchase

After reading The Housemaid, i was itching to get to this one and although it was good, the end had me questioning a couple of things.

The storyline was very interesting and well written. I enjoyed learning about the characters and diving into this thriller. I appreciated the characters acting their own age, for example Addie used language that only a 16yr old would use and the adults behaved as so ( at least enough to differentiate)

STOP READING IF YOU WANT TO ABOID SPOILERS i know that this question has been answered but it still does not make sense to me. How were eve and jay even a thing? The book mentions wife and kids for him and though it’s an assumption, she would’ve known he was a student ? Especially since he’s at the same HS she teaches ? He picked both of them up that night? How ? Addie calls at 3? So when did he pick eve up ? Had to be much after right ? Idk, the authors explanation didn’t sit well with me.

But overall a 4 star read !

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8 people found this helpful

Fuzzarilly

Fuzzarilly

4

The Teacher

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2024

Verified Purchase

I really look forward to reading all of Freida McFadden books that I can get my hands on. This book was no different. From the beginning, I couldn't put this book down, but as I was getting toward the end of this book I wasn't too sure I liked this one as much as I did all of her other ones that I've read so far. It may be because the subject matter just hit a little too much closer to home for me. It was still a really good book when I stepped back and thought about it. I do have to say that it brought a couple of tears to my eyes. But as I said, I think it was because of my own situation I was in years ago. Freida McFadden is a tremendous writer, though!

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