For Your Own Good - by Samantha Downing (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER

"Witty and macabre."--Caroline Kepnes

"Slick and chilling."--Megan Miranda

"A perfect summer book."--NPR

USA Today bestselling author Samantha Downing is back with her latest sneaky thriller set at a prestigious private school--complete with interfering parents, overeager students, and one teacher who just wants to teach them all a lesson...

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the elite Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.

He says his wife couldn't be more proud--though no one has seen her in a while.

Teddy really can't be bothered with a few mysterious deaths on campus that are looking more and more like murder, or with the student digging a little too deep into Teddy's personal life. His main focus is pushing these kids to their full academic potential.

All he wants is for his colleagues--and the endlessly meddlesome parents--to stay out of his way. If not, well, they'll get what they deserve.

It's really too bad that sometimes excellence comes at such a high cost.

Review Quotes

SOON TO BE A TELEVISION SERIES ON HBO MAX

"No one writes a twisted character quite like Samantha Downing."
--HelloGiggles

"Once I sat down to read For Your Own Good--a clever, twisty thriller--it was difficult to stop reading. It's the perfect read to get lost in this summer."
--Buzzfeed

"Just finished reading this wonderfully dark, twisty and compelling thriller set in a prestigious private school. I raced through it, desperate to know how it would end."
--B.A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors

"Samantha Downing delivers a slick and chilling thriller, leading readers on a dark, sinuous journey through the halls of Belmont Academy--the type of place where you're never sure who to trust, or who to fear. Suspenseful, surprising, and completely original."
--Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest

"Dark, sly and delicious...totally original--and totally compelling."
--JP Delaney, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before

"I'm a huge fan of Samantha Downing, who is masterful at creating diabolical characters and deliciously chilling plots. An absolutely terrific book!"
--Sarah Pekkanen, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Between Us

"Samantha Downing is totally the real deal. Wry and dark and witty and clever. I didn't think she could outdo My Lovely Wife but I think this one tops it."
--Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

"Samantha Downing has achieved something so special in For Your Own Good. A story that is dark as night, sinister as hell, clever, twisting and downright fun."
--Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End

"Samantha Downing serves up another cast of deliciously mendacious characters in an exclusive private school setting, where the deadly action drives a brilliantly tense, taut and twisty plot. I may never look at my coffee in the same way again."
--Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew

"All the dark fun of Election, but with Downing's signature, diabolical spin. For Your Own Good is so utterly unputdownable, I look forward to reading it again. I think even the novel's own trickiest private school teacher, Teddy Crutcher, would have to give it an A+."
--Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network

"With excellent pacing and smooth, well timed movement between the different characters in the story, she keeps the reader fully engaged and fascinated, waiting for the next twist this story will take. Samantha Downing has made For Your Own Good almost impossible to put down!"
--The Nerd Daily

"[A] perfect summer read."
--BookReporter

"For thriller fans, Samantha Downing is a household name."
--SheReads

"Holy revenge, Batman! This is a delicious page-turner with so many layers of revenge, you won't soon forget. I absolutely loved watching how this unfolded starting with a jerk teacher at a prep school who thinks it's his job to punish others into being better... I'm super excited about this one so mark your calendars for July 20th."
--BookRiot

"[A] pitch black satirical thriller."
--PopSugar

"A slyly plotted page-turner."
--Publishers Weekly

"Macabre, thrilling, and unputdownable, this novel makes you want to skip ahead to the final page. Tempting as it is, stay the course."
--Press & Guide

"This is a devilishly entertaining read."
--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"[A] sly, smart thriller."
--StarTribune

"Downing's spare prose packs a wallop as she deftly ratchets up the suspense with every hairpin turn of this lean, mean, surprising, and utterly propulsive thriller."
--Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Insider

"So dark and twisted, so deliciously evil, it'll not only make you frantically turn those pages to find out who's targeting whom, but the wry sense of humor will have you laughing out loud, too. Another phenomenal wild-ride of a read from one of the crime-writing community's most talented authors. Bet you'll never look at high-school the same way again."
--Hannah Mary McKinnon, bestselling author of Sister Dear

"I raced through this, and loved every twist and turn. Brilliant characterisation and ingenious plotting make it an absolute winner."
--Jill Mansell, bestselling author of It Started with a Secret

"An irresistibly dark tale of parents, pupils and poison: the American dream turned suburban nightmare."
--TM Logan, author of The Vacation

About the Author

Samantha Downing currently lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away at her next thrilling novel.