It’s not often, I throughly enjoy a crime type novel! But this one was all consuming! It was addictive and scarily true, those parents WhatsApp groups….. so close to home! I enjoyed the ending and was throughly surprised and full of joy reading it!

Claudia Stitchwell, headteacher of St Nonnatus Primary School (anyone else keep thinking of 'Call the Midwife'?) was not a well-liked person. In fact it would be difficult to find anyone who DID like her. When she suddenly collapsed and died in front of those attending an event at the school, there was not an upwelling of grief. What there was, were questions. Everyone knew of her nut allergy, the school was a 'No Nut' place. Was her death really a tragic accident, or was it murder?

The story is told through group chats, witness statments, press releases and from the point of view of the four most likely killers. I usually quite enjoy books that tell their story with accompanying emails and chats. However I found that this grated at times as well as becoming confusing. It was difficult to really care whodunit but I did stick with it to the end. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. It wasn't a great hit with me, but I'm sure many will really enjoy it.

This was such a fun and hilarious read! I flew through this not wanting to put it down and I loved that this was full of mixed media and the group chats had me cracking up. This was such a cleverly done mystery the writing flowed nicely and it was fast paced through the whole thing and I had no idea whodunit until the very end. There were so many twists and turns and big reveals in this that I was shocked so many times. Whilst there's many characters in this they all had their own unique voice and were very well written. I now need to go and pick up more by this author. Highly highly recommend.

Love, love, loved it. Maz Evans manages to write the funniest books whilst also dealing with some heavier topics.
St Nonnatus school has just witnessed the death of their head teacher, who no one actually likes, so there are plenty of potential killers or maybe it was just an accident.
Cue a mixed media story with parent group chats, letters and also some sections from each of the main suspects.
I'm not a parent, but I was still fully invested in the group chat dynamics. I laughed out loud on a number of occasions. I had no clue whodunnit and I just went along for the ride. I highly recommend you pick this up or Over My Dead Body the book before this one.

Right from the first chapter, I knew I was going to enjoy this book and wasn't disappointed! Working in a school and being on a Parent WhatsApp group, the conversations had in this book were on point!

The characters were funny and believable. The humour and chat left me in stitches. I felt like I knew these people by the end of the book! However, I did fill up towards the end when the children said what they wanted for Christmas!

I totally recommend this who don it, easy reading uplifting book! Thank you, @NetGalley, for the advanced copy.

When Miss Stitchwell drops dead in the school hall, there are four main suspects - the bursar, who seems to know everyone’s secrets, the school cook, a parent TA and the deputy head.
This book alternates between the parents’ Whatsapp groups, school newsletters and chapters from the view point of each of the main suspects.
I found this book difficult to get in to initially, but when I read the reviews I decided to persevere and I’m glad I did as it was funny, heart-warming in places and the Whatsapp conversations were typical of a class group, with some people focussed on how the school is being run, while others are talking about lost property or even sending messages on the wrong group.
A light-hearted fun read.

Witty, funny, occasionally dark humoured. I lived this one just as much as I loved ‘over my dead body’. Lighthearted and just a really fun read

That'll Teach Her is set at St Nonnatus Primary School and begins with the, generally disliked, headmistress dying from an allergy at a school event. The circumstances are suspicious and it is soon deemed to have been murder! There are four main suspects - Hattie, the adored school cook, Kiera, the hard-working teaching assistant, Clive, the loathed school bursar and Ben, the popular deputy head. They all have their own secrets, but only one of them killed Claudia Stitchwell.

The book comprises chapters from each of the four suspects, interspersed with snippets of the parents' messaging group, local press, police reports and school newsletters. I really enjoy books with mixed media chapters and this one in particular was really very fun to read. As a parent to two primary school children, I found it to be hilariously relatable and found myself giggling out loud in parts.

The book was well written and thoroughly enjoyable.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely cackled my way through THAT'LL TEACH HER. It's a compulsive, hilarious murder mystery about primary school life.

If you have ever been in a large group chat comprising people who probably wouldn't have much in common if it weren't for whatever led to the chat, then you will recognise the class chat. Three conversations happening at once, people desperately trying to organize around the gossip, the show offs and the self-righteous, and the person always posting to the wrong chat. It's so funny but you can also tell that the author has experience of primary school group chats.

These group chats also have some lovely little side stories that don't relate to the murder mystery, but are little vignettes of hopeful life. It gives a glimpse into the lives of those who are not the book's focus and also offer a sweet reprieve from the intensity of all the lies and secrets.

Alongside the chats, there are also chapters from the four suspects' perspective. It was nice to get a look into their heads, understand the pressure pots of their own lives so you start to see why they might have murdered the victim. They come from vastly different walks of life, and some are certainly more likeable than others. The voice is spectacular, each sounding instantly distinct, with clear outlooks on life (which is impressive and so necessary for first person narration.)

The situations are also just hilarious. For example, you've had a murder, there's norovirus going around the school, and now Ofsted have said they're coming tomorrow? It's so intensely over the top series of disasters in some cases that you have to laugh, and yet you know education can be manic (my own year in a school had periods of everything happening at once to the point of absurdity) so it doesn't pull you out of the story at all.

Clever, funny, sharply observed. This is a really fun read. The style is ambitious, with the story told via WhatsApp messages. The core plot is twisty and the characters funny yet highly believable.

A great murder mystery written in the new Hallett-type style of messaging apps and emails. A highly disliked headmistress dies from a nut allergy and one of the parents’ What’s App groups in between organising school fetes and discussing next week’s spelling test, sets out to investigate the death with varying degrees of competence and success.
Any member of a parent group will I’m sure find many points of similarity and hilarity. I’m not a member of the school run crowd myself but still found the book enjoyable.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.

What can I say but absolutely brilliant! I have literally laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed this one. I loved the quirky format - mix of WhatsApp messages, emails and first person narrative. The cast of characters are simply brilliant, even the baddies! If you’re looking for a cracking murder mystery to solve and fancy a jolly good laugh along the way, this is the book for you. Can’t wait for what Maz has up her sleeve next for us.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review.

Mixed-media mysteries are always a fun format, however I did struggle more with how this one was told. The cast of characters will feels instantly familiar to anyone who has ever done the school run — from the overzealous PTA members to the grumpy headmistress and the ever-watchful dinner lady. Though the humour keeps things light, the story does touch on some heavier themes. A quick, engaging read that’s both entertaining and cleverly plotted.

A fun read that will have parents everywhere relating to the hilarious, annoying and dull school class WhatsApp groups - but hopefully without the murder!

After a disliked headteacher drops dead in the school hall, there are limited suspects. All four are liars, but which one is the murderer? The parents in the Whatsapp group put their widely ranging experiences together to try and crack the case…and keep up to date with this week’s spellings!!

A great, fun read. I am a big fan of mixed media books, and reading a book full of WhatsApp messages really appealed to me. I felt so nosy, peeping on all these messages as though they were real. Evans managed to convey different personalities very well through often short messages and busy group conversations.

Different plotlines are woven together well, though I think overall it was a touch longer than it needed to be.

A good mix of hilarity and drama, if you’re a fan of Janice Hallett, you would enjoy this!

A witty and humorous look at school life both from the employees and parents point of view , add in a couple of murders and you’ve got a page turner !
The head mistress dies from an allergic reaction and it looks very suspicious .
Claudia Stitchwell is the headmistress at St Nonnatus primary school , and to say she is unpopular is an understatement.
She won’t be missed and there are a number of suspects who could have given her the fatal allergic reaction and left her without an epi pen!
I really enjoyed this book I loved the characters the format and the wit!
A great read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline .

As both a mum who has spent years in class WhatsApp groups, and a member of school staff this book gave me plenty to relate to, and plenty to laugh about. Loved the format and the pages certainly kept turning!

I love Maz Evans' writing and her wit - for adults and children alike, though I did find this title slightly harder work to get into. It is told through a variety of narrators and WhatsApp chat groups. Once I had figured that out (not helped by some odd formatting on my kindle), the story got easier to get involved with. The parents' WhatsApp group is hilarious - and truer to life than it should be - the parent trying to find their child's lost property absolutely cracked me up.

This story is essentially a who's dunnit? The headteacher of the school has an anaphylactic shock when she eats cake with nuts in it. Her allergy is well-known and usually policed intently, but this is a lady with many enemies. In fact, an awful lot of the school community is questionable! Irreverent in her character construction, but likely written from personal experience, Evans plots a book where it is hard to feel sorry for many of the characters by the end!

With a great ending, characters to laugh at and judge immensely - enjoy the read!

I absolutely loved Over My Dead Body so the opportunity to read Evans' second adult book was a no-brainer for me. And I am pleased to say that it confirmed that Maz Evans writes very funny books!

When universally unpopular headteacher of St Nonnatus Primary Miss Stichwell suddenly dies at school, the parent group chats are awash with gossip and speculation. A nut allergy is the cause - but was it a tragic accident or was foul play involved? There seem to be four people within the school who could want her dead - the assistant head, the bursar, the school cook and one of the teaching assistants - but can the parents figure out who is responsible?

Told in epistolary fashion, the book is a mix of parent group chats, newspaper articles, police witness statements, whole school email updates, the diary of Tickly Tiger (taken home by a different child every weekend) and sections from the point of view of each of the four suspects.

The murder mystery element is cleverly done, keeping the reader guessing throughout, hunting for clues whilst trying to piece everything together. Keeping track of the large cast of characters initially seems like a bit of a challenge, but with everything from characters you love to hate to parents who will feel all too familiar to many, they all add to the story. But what runs throughout is some real humour - any parent will relate to so much of the school shenanigans and I defy you not to laugh out loud at times. It’s fun, it’s clever and it can’t fail to make you smile.

If you’re looking for a side of hilarity with your murder mystery, look no further! Although the suspicious death of an unpopular primary school head sets the scene, it’s the antics of the parents and wider school community that take centre stage, in large part through the excerpts of group chats, emails, news bulletins, and other written sources that make up the bulk of the narrative. The mixed-media format is fun and immersive, scratching a real gossipy itch and creating ample opportunity for ongoing in jokes (who has the spellings? Why are all the kids inexplicably wearing each other’s clothes?!), but it also works incredibly well for teasing out means, motive, and opportunity and leaving clues in plain sight for a satisfying mystery. Though it did occasionally feel as though the crime solving was taking a back seat to various subplots, the characters were all so entertaining that I didn’t really mind, and I fell in love with several of them so thoroughly that I’d read a sequel immediately if given the chance. Thoroughly clever, riotously funny, highly recommended!
Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the ARC.

That'll Teach Her by Maz Evans

The much reviled headteacher of St Nonnatus primary school, Claudia Stitchwell, dies in suspicious circumstances. A group of parents tries to solve the mystery with many twists and turns along the way.

I loved this book and didn't guess the mystery at all! The class group chat was so funny and I'm sure everyone will recognise the type of school parents in it.. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.