INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Witty and macabre. -Caroline Kepnes

Slick and chilling. -Megan Miranda

I read all of her [books]. I’ve read everything. -Cecily Strong from SNL for Vanity Fair

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 prestigious 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’re 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 can come at such a high cost.