What an interesting book and so well written. This story is told by the author from different angles and the author does this so well.
Brindle School in Australia has a relief Principal this term and this is where teacher Terry starts to have problems. It becomes clear that Laurie, the caretake Principal has her own ideas about how the school should be run, and they are very different to Terry's.

This is a story about frienship and the truth, what impressed me was the authors knowedge of safeguarding in children and law. As expected there are some difficult issues which are tackled well by the author.

Recommended Read

I tried to read this book. However, it just wasn’t really my cup of tea. I had trouble connecting with it and the characters. I could not bring myself to finish this book.

The Teacher's Secret is by Suzanne Leal is her first novel and if you love a scandal this is a novel not to be missed. I love books that discuss a moral issue and The Teacher’s Secret does that using the subject of pupil-teacher contact as an issue for one its characters.

This book skips between characters, which was a little confusing at first. It took a while to work out who was was who which meant it took a while to get into the story. That aside, it was a well written story.

A new year is about to begin at Brindle Public School and Assistant Head Terry Pritchard is looking forward to the new term. He has been working at Brindle Public School for many years and has seen a range of generations come and go through the school gates. He loves his job - he loves the children, and the children love him.
However, the arrival of temporary principal, Laurie Matthews, looks set to turn this school year on its head. She is determined to make some quite severe changes throughout the school and comes armed with her own ideas and procedures- much to Terry's dismay.
The pair clash from the offset when Laurie moves Terry's classroom and makes it abundantly clear that she is unhappy with the way that he operates. She is a stickler for protocol and without even realising, Terry often ends up doing things that don't follow Laurie's regulations.
We see the fraught relationship between the two quickly deteriorate over the four terms that the story is set, meanwhile we also get to delve into her lives of some of the other residents of Brindle.
We hear from Nina whose private life is collapsing before her very eyes as things become strained between her and her husband. We also hear from Mel; once a pupil herself at Brindle Public School she now has children of her own. There's also Sid and Joan; massively intriguing characters who had fascinating background stories that I couldn't wait to uncover. I was interested to see how the characters would be linked together but Suzanne Leal weaves their stories together in a very intelligent and gripping way.

The cast of characters within this novel is wonderful. I assumed the story was going to be solely based around Terry, and whilst he is undoubtedly the lead, it was great to have so many other character's stories intertwined with what was going on (although my only criticism is that it took me a while to get it straight in my head exactly who was who, as we are introduced to so many people in quite a short space of time...But that could be down to my awful memory!) I liked the way that these characters were together yet apart as the story progressed and once I did get my head around who was who I became fully submerged and invested in these characters lives.
I really liked Terry. It was clear how passionate he was about his job and that he only had the pupils best interests at heart. However, in the current climate I could see how some of his actions and intentions could easily have been misinterpreted. It's a bit of a tricky one - and as much as I disliked Laurie, as soon as I learnt more about her background having worked for child protection, I could see how she was picking up on certain things that Terry was harmlessly doing and interpreting them as something else.
Laurie did really annoy me, especially to start off with. Reprimanding the pupils for dancing in assembly? What a kill joy. I could see why Terry disliked her and she certainly did herself no favours.

The way in which the book is written is very clever, and leads to a gradual unfolding of the story. Just as one character's story seems to be progressing, that chapter would end and we would move on to the next character which is a really clever technique employed by Suzanne to build tension within the story and keep you guessing as to what might happen.

I love books that are set around tight-knit communities that contain shocking secrets, and The Teacher's Secret fits this bill perfectly. It is cleverly written, extremely well researched and is one of those 'Just one more chapter' kind of books. You know the sort - you promise yourself just one more chapter and three hours later you still haven't moved.

Full of scandal, tension and with a set of extremely well-drawn characters, The Teacher's Secret is definitely one to add to your TBR. It reminded me of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriaty (which, incidentally, is one of my favourite books ever so this is a massive compliment.) The plot is a strong one and is cleverly played out. This is a book that is at times unsettling, yet is full of heart and emotion at the same time.
I'm really excited that this is only Suzanne's debut...I think we can expect big things from her in the future. Watch this space...

Good story - fast paced and lead with every chapter. Strong characters

This is Suzanne Leal’s debut novel and what a novel it is. I read the synopsis and I was immediately intrigues. I just knew that I had to read it and I am so glad I did, because I absolutely loved it but more about that in a bit.
There are many characters in this book and at times I did have issues fathoming out who was who and what was what. That’s more to do with my memory though. I loved the mixture of characters that were in this school, town and book. I did really feel for Mr. Terry Pritchard who was deputy head of his school. He and his wife were unable to have children of their own and I think he compensated for this by throwing himself into his work and trying to be the best teacher he could be. He has a bit of a clash with the person who is sent in to stand for the current principal. One day, it all goes wrong for Terry when there is an incident between him and a pupil. It was interesting to see how one incident could be perceived in different ways and the difference in what was deemed to be acceptable behaviour in the different generations.
This book appealed to me on so many levels. I found the child protection element really interesting and to see how one action could be perceived in different ways. I used to work in Child Protection myself, firstly in a children social services team and then secondly I was a case worker for the Disclosure & Barring Service. My main role for the DBS was to read case files and then assess whether or not that person should be allowed to work with children and/ or vulnerable adults. As I was reading I found myself carrying out an assessment in my head. I became so engrossed in the story that I began to live it so to speak. There were certainly times when I was talking out loud to the book as the situation or the characters did something I didn’t agree with. I know it’s a work of fiction but if I really get into a book, the characters seem to come alive and I can just picture the action taking place in front of my very eyes. It took me a little while to get into the book and it’s true that the story isn’t very fast paced but that is an advantage in a book like this, which deals with some serious stuff. After the first couple of chapters, I became addicted to reading and I couldn’t put the book down. I had to read on because I needed to know what happened and I needed to know if my theory panned out. There are certainly a few twists and turns to this story. There is a huge degree of authenticity to this story as the author is a lawyer who has experience in the child protection arena.
I did enjoy reading this book and it definitely reminded me of being back at work, which was a good thing as it meant that despite not having worked for a little while, I still had the knowledge and the instinct. I would recommend this book to others but particularly to those who like more of a slow burn type of novel. I look forward to reading further books from this author. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved 4* out of 5*.

I liked this book well enough its written well, however, it took me quite a while to understand it and place it all in my head.
There are several women in this book, some are more distinctive than others by the way they speak. I the heading of the chapters were not telling me who was talking next I'd have been totally floored.

There's a cheating spouse, a shy older woman being told what to do, and even an asylum seeker.

Its based around a school year in a small Australian coastal school.
A new principal comes into play which stirs up a lot of interest.

She has strict rules. No hugging a child it may be misunderstood by others, this is what happened to Terry. He didn't think twice, he was just comforting a child knowing their circumstances.

Based in such a small community you need to realise things get around faster than a bullet from a gun.

I liked it well enough but too many chapters of different POV which became a little overwhelming for me.

My thanks to Legend Press via Net Galley

Great setting, highly enjoyable book. I really enjoyed it, read it in a couple of days. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

3★
“I’m sure the system has worked well enough in the past, but I think you’ll find that we’ll be in a better position to meet our strategic direction and student outcomes with the proposed configuration.”

Asleep yet? Eyes glazing over? Mr P’s reaction is a bit different. “He’ll explode if he hears another word of bloody management-speak rubbish. His neck has tightened up—he can feel it—and his hands are clenched into hard little balls.”

Everybody’s favourite principal is on leave and the new broom that is the Acting Principal is sweeping through and cleaning out all the inefficiencies. And she’s laying down the law. Laws. She’s full of them. Don’t touch a child, don’t visit families outside of school, don’t this, don’t that. Plus, she’s shifted teachers to different classrooms and not the ones they’ve had for years. We don’t like her. We like Mr P (Terry) and his friends.

And there’s my problem. There are so many similar names for the staff and friends that I had trouble remembering a character’s back story when their name came up as a chapter heading. There were two husbands who worked late; there were a couple of girls who needed extra help, there was another whose figure was developing.

Some of the women are Michelle, Melinda, Belinda, Tania, Miranda, Nina. There’s one whose speech is a little rougher which makes her more distinctive, otherwise, the similarity in names and speaking styles made it hard for me to distinguish them.

There are side stories everywhere because anything revolving around a primary school necessarily has a lot of people from many walks of life. It’s a small coastal community where people know each other’s secrets. Except for this one. But the new broom of a Principal finds it and sweeps it out of the shadows and confronts the guilty party.

We don’t know what the issue is until near the end, just that there was one, and it’s changed things at the school. Meanwhile, there’s also a cheating spouse, a slightly simple girl being raised by her grandmother, a shy older woman who imagines her mother telling her what to do, the school GA (General Assistant – which is usually a combination gardener and handyperson), and even an asylum seeker later on.

All of the school scenes ring very true for the NSW (Australia) schools I’ve been associated with. I don't think we're told exactly where this takes place, but it seems like a NSW coastal village. I can see the demountables, the covered verandahs, the rugs on the floor for storytime. And I’m familiar with the mad dash in the morning to get kids out the door on time. A handy tip I didn’t know, but could probably have used was this one:

“Because gym gear solves everything. Running late dropping the kids to school? No problem, so long as you’ve managed to swap your PJs for a pair of leggings and some sort of zip-up sports top. That way everyone thinks you’re only late because you managed to fit in a run before breakfast. Why spoil a good story by admitting you just slept in again?”

I’d have preferred fewer side stories with loose ends and more depth to the ones I liked. There are a couple of characters I'd have liked to know better.

Thanks to NetGalley and Legend Press for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted.

This is a really good solid piece of fiction. It's set in the town of Brindle and centre's on the Brindle Primary School teachers, pupils and their families. There are a few characters who all have their part in the story which comes together brilliantly at the end. I enjoyed this book and it reminded me of Jodi Picoult's writing.

The Teacher's Secret by Suzanne Leal is set in a small coastal town and features some fascinating characters. An easy read.

The Teacher's Secret is about a Teacher who goes in to early retirement. This was supposed to be about a secret, a scandal of sorts but the book wasn't what it was cracked up to be.

By all intent this was supposed to be an interesting and thought provoking book. However, there was too much jumping about from character to character that you forgot why they were all involved in the first place.
This should have been an interesting read but I really didn't enjoy it. There were far to many characters and the story wasn't very engaging at all.

I really enjoyed this one! Will definitely recommend.

Poignant, riveting, heartbreaking and psychologically thrilling!

Laurie is the new temp principal who shows up at Brindle Public School with a new set of rules. She is hell-bent on changing how things are done in the school. Naturally, this leaves a number of the other teachers disgruntled. In particular, Terry struggles to get along with Laurie. One incident led to an investigation of Terry hence leading to a discovery about his past which now threatens everything that he holds dear especially his job as a teacher.

What I liked about this book were the themes. I thought the portrayal of the themes was very realistic. The ability of rumors to not only ruin a person’s reputation but also career is something that occurs too often. I also liked the angle about being judged for past mistakes. I mean, should people be judged based on something that they did decades ago? The book covered a lot of thought-provoking issues. I also liked the setting. The school set up in a small town added to the drama in the story. I loved the characterization especially Terry. He is the kind of character that is easy to like. Of course, Laurie is the opposite hence easy to dislike.

My only issue with this book was the alternating POVs. I usually don’t mind two or three narrators but this book had more than that. There was Terry, Nina, Sid, Laurie, Mel and at some point, Joan. I started getting frustrated by shifting POVs through the chapters. I l kept losing track of the storyline and it was confusing at times. So I have nothing against the book, the narrative style is what didn’t work for me. However, I think readers who don’t mind multiple POVs and character-driven stories will enjoy this one.

This is a good book, it is well written and the author clearly knows her subject matter. I am glad I took the time to read it but it is not a book that will stick with me. I was expecting something different from the description. It just did not appeal to me.

I went into this book imaging the worst. It was a bit of a let down (the secret that is). The setting however was very good.

A school in middle America and it is a small town. Everyone knows everyone, no secrets it seems and even if there are skeletons in the cupboards, all are protected from outsiders. A new Principal for the school coming for just a year puts the cat amongst the pigeons. She is new school full of ideas and wanting to keep to regulations and procedures, whereas the school seemed to have got on very well in its old fashioned style of looking after both students and teachers alike. The children are happy, the teachers are happy. What more could one want?

All hell breaks loose though with the new Principal and the sad part is that she thinks she is doing the correct thing in rigidly following the letter of the law. The heartbreak and dissension she brings about is immaterial to her as long as procedure and regulations are followed. Detailing small town life and the quirks and eccentricities of its inhabitants, the progress and lives of the teachers as well as the students, the author draws in a lot of color into this story.

For me the secret was nothing much, it was the activity of the school, the town, the inhabitants that made up this really good story.

Goodreads and Amazon review up on 15/6/2017. Review on my blog October 2017.

Definitely not a fast paced book....took me a bit to get into it, but it was a comfortable read.

The Teacher's Secret was tough to get into. There were so many characters that I could never remember who was who anymore. Let's just say I was happy to have read this on my Kindle, where I could do a quick search to remind me. But yes, I did not find it very engaging and was beginning to wonder if I would finish it before the end of the month.

Not only are there a lot of characters but also many perspectives, too many. I think we follow at least 5 or 6 characters as main ones, learning about who they were, their routines and the people in their lives. I found that very exhausting and several of them did not add anything to the story.

Rebecca for instance, as well as her family and background, are utterly pointless to the narrative. Don't get me wrong, I thought her characterisation was very well done and think she would be fine in a separate book, not just this one. As it is, it feels that the character was added to the book just so the author could write about what she knows (she specialises in refugee law) and to provide a twist that is not even related to the story.

Not remembering who was who for a big enough part of the read, aligned with the fact that nothing interesting actually happened, often caused my attention to drift. The events mentioned in the blurb do not take place until well after half of the book (and I feel cheated in that sense, I hate spoilers) and the ending is quite abrupt. The big teacher's secret is anti-climatic and there really isn't anything I could hang on to.
I almost wish (view spoiler) and we had had some form of twist to make it all worth while.

The strength of this book is the portrayal of a small coastal town, which is quite vivid and engaging, and each character, who has their own stuff to deal with, if you can keep up with the plethora of them.
However, as I finish the book I am left clueless as to what it was supposed to achieve and just a 'well okay then' feeling.

Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.