Review of
THE TEACHER (DS Imogen Grey 1)
by Katerina Diamond
(dated 30 July 2020)
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What a debut for Katerina Diamond!

What a fantastic book! And to also find out this was Katerina Diamond's first novel!
Grisly deaths, gruesome scenes, torture, two jaded detectives thrown together to investigate, or fail.
I liked the main characters straight away and empathised with their situations all the way through. Their pairing came unexpectedly and unwillingly, but they developed as an investigative team very quickly, and bounced off each other perfectly. You could cut the tension with a knife and it was easy to visualise what they had to experience.

I was surprised though, to find that The Teacher is the first in the DS Imogen Grey series of books. I had thought her a relatively minor supporting character throughout.

I think this is a book that crime/thriller lovers will consume energetically, and I definitely recommend it.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading Katerina's next book, The Secret. ( )

I’d seen a lot of tweets about this book and I was instantly attracted to the Snow White style red apple on the cover, hinting at the evil lurking within. This was indeed a page-turner as each member of the gruesome club was being hunted – they could run but they couldn’t hide. It was quite grisly in places as details of the victims’ horrible deaths were described, but it gave just enough details to describe the scene and not give me nightmares.

Abbey works in a museum and, in between the killings, we were treated to flashbacks of her life at university. Abbey had a traumatic experience and I didn’t know where the author was going with this – was Abbey the killer? Perhaps…perhaps not. The tying up of Abbey's story was brilliant, and I’ll certainly remember this book every time I visit a museum.

I did really enjoy this book; I loved the way it was racing along and then suddenly everything slotted into place. I did get a bit confused with the identity of the detectives, Grey and Miles, as their nicknames and real names were being thrown around and I didn’t know who was who at first. This was more down to the speed at which I was reading rather than any confusion caused by Katerina Diamond. Each character had their own little story and I loved each and every one of them.

The Teacher is a fast-paced grisly page-turner and an extraordinary debut from Katerina Diamond.

I received this e-book from the publisher, Avon, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This book certainly held my interest, it had a satisfying ending even though some of the story was a bit far fetched ( )

DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles are called in to investigate a series of gruesome murders, starting with the death of a head teacher of an exclusive school.

This is the first in a series to feature the two detectives and for me it's always the best place to start. I enjoy books with male and female partnerships solving crimes.

This book starts of really well. There is a lot of characters with each chapter dedicated to each one in turn and what happens to them. All are connected and it does all come clear. The story flew along and is not for the faint hearted. The murders are gruesome with lots of gore.

I was really enjoying the story until about just over half way through. Then the story just went downhill from there. The story was flawed and some of the situations unrealistic. By the time I reached the end of the book I didn't much care for it.

I would have liked to have seen more of Imogen and Adrian and there relationship, whichever way it could go. Not sure if I would be inclined to carry on with the series. ( )

Katerina Diamond’s debut is delightfully different and although it is labelled a psychological crime thriller, the character’s reactions to evil and refreshingly uncomplicated.

First the headmaster of an exclusive school then a host of high profile members of a Devonshire town are murdered using agonising methods: Partners DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles – both of whom have troubled pasts – battle to find a connection between the killings.

The book comprises innocent victims and unrepentantly cruel, twisted villains. Murder is always wrong and we should leave justice to the law – yet some crimes cry out for revenge and demand retribution ( )