Book Review: The Teacher by Katerina Diamond

You think you know who to trust?You think you know the difference between good and evil? You’re wrong … 

A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

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?

I received a copy of this novel thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Avon, in return for an honest review.

Sexual fetishes, gruesome torture devices, nothing is left to the imagination in this gory tale of a string of murders and corruption. We are warned of the nature of the violence, and it doesn't disappoint - which I find quite sad  because it should be shocking. Nothing is particularly shocking these days.

I initially found The Teacher quite difficult to get to grips with as there were a lot of characters introduced in a lot of different scenes, I got quite confused and almost gave up trying to work out who was who.

The two DSs on the case, Miles and Grey, are among the many in the story trying to escape their past. Grey in particular is well-drawn, but it takes a while to warm to Miles, who has been left quite numb by previous events.

Once I got to grips with what was going on, I mostly enjoyed the story. There is tenderness, in amongst the violence, and there are couple of sex scenes which are surprisingly gentle and provide a stark contrast to the rest of the book. 

I was disappointed as I guessed the identity of the murderer early on, and despite the reasoning behind their behaviour, I found the ending of the story rather unbelievable.