The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall. Hours earlier he'd received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.

As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again. But as they're drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community. And once they learn what's motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

Smart. Gripping. Gruesome. This is a psychological crime thriller in a class of its own.

Warning: most definitely not for the faint hearted!

Read & Listen

Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening to the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice.
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $16.42 after you buy the Kindle book.

This title is not available for you

Sorry, this title is no longer available. Please try using the search feature as another version of this work may be available. If you think we've made a mistake, please contact Audible Customer Care at 1-888-283-5051.

Continue browsing

People who bought this also bought

Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1

The Secret
Katerina Diamond
941
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
Truth or Die
Katerina Diamond
400
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
The Angel
Katerina Diamond
780
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
The Heatwave
Katerina Diamond
939
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
The Doctor
Lisa Stone
1394
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial

Listening Length	11 hours and 18 minutes
Author	Katerina Diamond
Narrator	Stevie Lacey
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	March 10, 2016
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B01BLUC5DW
Best Sellers Rank	#402,686 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #6,321 in Police Procedural Mysteries #6,980 in Crime Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals) #6,999 in Psychological Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

5 star		52%
4 star		22%
3 star		12%
2 star		5%
1 star		8%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

UncleEdwin2105

Gruesome Revenge Killings

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

A psychological murder thriller narrated by four different central characters. Early on in the story, while the killer’s motive may not be clear, the gruesome results leave no doubt about the outcome; another victim. Except for the killer, the author uses flash backs to present the back story for the two detectives and the catalog clerk. As the story progresses, the author makes clear the reason for each characters respective part in the story.

Clues presented throughout the story reveal a possible motive for the killings. The author does an excellent job of describing the change of character of the four central players. At books end, all of the mysteries and questions are answered. As far as two of the characters in this book are concerned, revenge is an acceptable method for obtaining justice. Until about half way through the book, this reader was not particularly captivated by the story. Once the author started to describe the changes in character, this reader became interested in “the how” the author would accomplish the change. The author did a good job in pulling this reader into the story. This reader is intrigued enough to want to read additional books by this author.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Paulette p

Not as good as it sounds

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is one of those books that sounded so good, only to find out it was alright. The beginning of the book was very good, it told me hay I got a good book. Then you keep reading and it all starts to fall apart. Yes the beginning was a might gory , but that was it. When you got to the middle and you already figured out who did it the story just seemed to fall apart. The end just ended, nothing great. Just disappointing.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

Walton Burns

A fun read but too complicated

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

I guess thriller isn’t my genre. I thought this was a mystery novel, so maybe my complaints are par for the genre. But, there was way too much going on in this book and way too much suspension of disbelief.

I don’t think it’s spoiling much to say a killer is stalking abd killing in terrible ways members of a cult who did bad things. The first chapter establishes that. But the victims don’t even try to fight back and apparently were just hanging around waiting for this guy to kill them. It’s implied this killer is super strong or super persuasive or something, but no. He just shows up and they’re like ok. I guess you can kill and torture me. At the same time, the ct is recealrd to super-powerful and covering up its crimes forever. The police are helpless. No one knows they exist but not one of them carries a weapon or is able to locate the killer and like destroy him? Despite the fact the killer is just walking around? Are theyl a super-powerful cult or just a bunch of weak-willed old dudes? Both!

And it’s never totally clear is this cult carrying out an ancient mission or did they all just decide to be a cult because they are evil. Both and neither. Lots of logistical things donmt add up despire supposedly being told all the details.

Then the killer is way way way too normal. I see what the author wanted to do. I wish she’d pulled it off, but a dude who can torture and murder people in terrible ways can’t he like walking around normally like hey want a cuppa? Also every murder is terrible and brutal but every time, the police are like “Wow, I’ve never ever seen anything like this.” But yesterday they saw a different terrible murder 1 day ago. And the week before that. And 2 minutes ago.

Also every person in this book has multiple messed up things about them. Throughout the book, you learn more and more terrible things about everyone, even the heroes have weird proclivities that have nothing to do with anything. Like if halfway through, Miss Marple was like let me finish reading some hardcore dungeon porn while I think about the case. My Dad was a cannibal by the way. Visiting him in the mental hospital gets awkward....

I mean it was a fun read and I liked the concept but it didn’t work well for me if you try to give it any thought at all.

Helpful

Susan

This atrocity of a book is not for the faint hearted.

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2016

Verified Purchase

If you want to read a story with no redeeming qualities, The Teacher is the book for you. The writing is abominable, filled with run-on sentences and violations of every imaginable rule of grammar. I found it nearly impossible to differentiate one character from another because of the similarity of names.

As for the story itself, I was reminded of words spoken by the great Alfred Hitchcock. He said of his terrifying films, and I paraphrase: I show the viewer the prelude and postlude to a crime. I place the execution of the crime into the imagination of the viewer. This story was filled with disgusting, gratuitous violence of the worst kind. How ironic that I became immune to the slicing and dicing after a few episodes.

I wish now that I had relegated The Teacher to the trash bin where it belongs. Instead, I wasted ten hours of my life that I will never get back (and I skimmed)!

59 people found this helpful

Helpful

Meg

The Teacher

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

A psychological thriller is definitely a way to describe this. Each character has a reason for being there and you figure out why while making your way through the journey of the book. The story has many wow factors, some very graphic, while reading through the many plot twists and trying to figure out the why and how.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Taught me to be not so harsh?

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book was meh... I'd give 2 and a half stars. It was predictable- knew the killer from almost the start. The different point of views were kind of entertaining but I could see how people could be annoyed there wasn't a consistent storyline. Also extremely disappointing was the fact it was a given certainty whenever a character was about to be axed from the very start of a chapter...I hated that. Kind of 80s thrasher cliche style.......for my fellow thriller enthusiast friends... Do yourselves a favor and skip this one.....

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ann -former teacher

Disgusting

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

If you like graphic violence with a hint of depravity, this is the book for you.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Ezxiting to the end

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

I haven't ready anything by Katerina Diammond. This was a great read. It has an ending that most authors would have shyed away from, but I thought it fit perfectly. Even thought the murders were horrendous, she let justice win.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Peter - The Reading Desk

Excellent thriller that's hard to put down

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

The story is told along 3 threads. One thread is a series of brutal murders, first a headmaster of a private school in Exeter, by a mysterious figure. The following deaths becoming more and more gruesome. What is the connection and how do the victims know it’s coming? The second thread involves 2 detectives that have been paired together to investigate one of the murders. Each is recovering from career damaging incidents each coping with major physiological issues but both very good at their job. The third thread is a museum taxidermist that has a lot of issues, and a background that you’re brought back to throughout the book. She has become significantly detached from the world and her relationships with other people.

The plot is well put together and rather than being a typical whodunit with multiple twist and turns, it is more a plot being slowly revealed because it is clear, pretty early on, who the killer is and who will catch her/him. Don’t let that put you off because layer after layer is revealed as to the circumstances that formed the motivation and modus operandi of the killer, and the background to the other main characters. Each thread fits together really well and comes together at different times, ensuring the story is kept at a great pace. The characters are quite dysfunctional at times as they struggle with their past and the relationships they start to develop.

While the main plot is obvious there are other subplots and agendas being played out and it all had meaning with interrelating facets and never felt cliché. The ending is good and creates more questions that has you thinking after you’ve finished the book. I couldn’t start another book right away as I couldn’t get this one out of my mind.

This is a tremendous story and very impressive as a debut novel. I’ve already bought her other two books.

13 people found this helpful

lolly rugs

A dark and troubling tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

I really have mixed feelings about The Teacher it was a book I really enjoyed reading, but there was a small part of me that was expecting something far more gruesome, now this could be because I read such a large amount of crime books I’ve become accustomed to descriptions of murders that might turn other readers stomachs, but I really don’t think it was that disturbing or gruesome. On the other hand if you don’t like well described murder scenes this may not be the book for you I’m afraid.

To begin with I admit I found myself confused each chapter introduces new characters, so by the half way mark there were an array of characters that I found difficult to keep tabs on, but then it happened! The Teacher began to make sense and I realised just how clever the author had been, she set the scene and then cunningly bought all the characters together in a dark and troubling tale. From the title I pretty much had the plot worked out in my head, but rather like the book nothing was as it seemed and it wasn’t long before I realised I had been pretty much misdirected by the blurb.

The Teacher introduces a new partnership DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles, and I’m intrigued by the pair as I’ve come to expect in a crime thriller they both appear to be messed up, but I’m interested to see how there partnership will evolve over the series. The Teacher is very much about good V evil, I never expected to have any sympathy for a killer that could do such awful things to other people, but I did, as to the reasons why, well I’m not about to giveaway spoilers so you will just have to read the book and see.

Although I enjoyed The Teacher I did find it a slightly disappointing read, I think because of all the hype surrounding this book I expected something more, but in fairness that’s my problem and not the authors. I do think The Teacher was a great start to a new crime series, deliciously dark with an eclectic mix of characters and I will certainly read the next two books in the series at some point.

6 people found this helpful

Vicki @ ILoveReadingUK

then it’s almost like a challenge to pick up the book and prove ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2017

Verified Purchase

The Teacher.

With a warning of not for the faint hearted, then it’s almost like a challenge to pick up the book and prove that by no means are you faint hearted.

I did enjoy this book, but maybe I had read too many of the reviews and was expecting a little more than I got. Don’t get me wrong there was nothing at all wrong with it, it’s a good solid read but I do feel sometimes hype around certain books can build you up a little too much.

I was expecting it to be a seriously gruesome read but personally I didn’t find that, it is let’s say quite descriptive in some scenes and maybe you won’t want to be sat reading it over your bowl of cornflakes first thing.

The story itself is pretty decent. Grabs hold of you and keeps hold, wanting and needing to know a little bit more.

DS Adrian Miller and DS Imogen Grey are the crime fighting duo in this read. An interesting pair of characters, yet the story wasn’t really based around them so much so felt I would have liked to get to know a little more about them.

It’s down to these two to try and solve a spate of murders. Bodies are turning up and someone is really torturing them, but who, and why. Is there even a connection with them? And can Miller and Grey make Exeter safe again?

I have two more books by this author patiently sat on my kindle waiting for me to read them. I don’t think it will be to long before I get around to reading them.

4 people found this helpful

Frequent Traveller

Weak and badly written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought this book as an Amazon Kindle special promotion. It is possible that what I found wrong with it affects only the Kindle version. (If there are any other versions.)

As it appears in the Kindle version, this text seems to have been written by someone with little or no knowledge of the difference between a comma and a full stop. This is not a small hiccup: it was consistently wrong as far as I read, which was up to the section entitled The Businessman. Then I gave up as it was irritating me so much.

Granted I am a publishing industry professional, and hence particularly aware of correct punctuation. I don't think, however, that it is too much to ask that books like this should have been copy-edited by someone qualified, even if the writer is not. In fact, particularly when the writer is not.

And I am not nit-picking. This is not something that is 'a little bit wrong', a matter of taste perhaps, in just a few places. It's absolutely wrong, no argument, all the way through as far as I read. I do not often give up on books, and I have NEVER given up on one because of the punctuation before, but this is BAD.

Louise

Gets better as plot unfolds

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2018

Verified Purchase

The synopsis of this novel really intrigued me and I was so excited to begin reading it. However, I was a little disappointed initially because there seemed to be many different characters here and there doing different things, which made the plot feel a little disjointed. I kept asking myself, how does this chapter link in with the last one? However, I persevered with this book and I'm glad to say that things greatly improved. Events and characters started to connect together and very soon, the dots started to join and everything began to make sense.

The descriptions of how victims died and the crime scenes were so vivid that I was grimacing as I read the gory details. Nevertheless, I loved the fact that the author triggered this reaction from me.

The protagonists' lives were explored in detail which was really good because it showed how damaged and troubled they were. As I continued to read The Teacher, I was soon addicted and was on he edge of my seat wondering how on earth the book was going to end.

I am happy that there is going to be a second novel containing the characters of Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey and I will be reading that when it is released. I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy crime thrillers. ADVICE: do not be put off by the disconnected events in the beginning. Persevere and you will be glad you did.

One person found this helpful

See all reviews

The Teacher: A Shocking and Compelling New Crime Thriller That's Not for the Faint-Hearted: A Shocking and Compelling New Crime Thriller That's Not for the Faint-Hearted Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Read & Listen

People who bought this also bought

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries