Samantha Downing author of For Your Own Good Joins SI Meeting Recap

Samantha Downing’s For Your Own Good isn’t a who done it thriller; it’s a will they catch the killer thriller. And with a complex set of intertwined, fallible characters, that indeed is the question: will someone catch Teddy, and if so, who will survive to catch him? Samantha herself didn’t know how her thriller would end when she set out, or who would still be alive by the end. And neither did we!

What makes Samantha works so pleasant to read (or listen to) is Samantha herself; she’s a pleasant person in general, and she’s very open about her writing process. With a laugh, she admits that she had no idea that her detail about Teddy’s after work drink being milk would garner such a visceral reaction. Milk is supposed to do a body good, right? Our takeaway: milk drinkers must be sociopaths (sorry Becky!).

Teddy was Samantha’s favorite character to write, and whether you see him as Joshua Jackson or Joseph Gordon Levitt (beauty is in the doll’s eye of the beholder, after all), he is certainly a fun character to read. He only wants to chill out the overly stressed teacher or give perspective to  the over privileged student…for their own good, of course.

Oddly enough, a book about a sociopathic teacher made us all reflect on our own experiences with teachers, specifically with really bad math teachers. But then, knowing what teachers have to face from students and parents, maybe some of those teachers deserve a break, even the math teachers. Samantha herself stated that she heard from teachers who could totally relate to Teddy. Not that they believed poisoning students, parents, and other teachers was the answer, but perhaps there was some vicarious enjoyment of payback for some of Samantha’s teaching readers.

Time will tell how producers and TV casting will tell this story, but we hope they do For Your Own Good proud. One does wonder if they’ll offer Keurig coffee pods on the set? Or cold milk in glass bottles?

In the meantime, we can look forward to another thriller coming from Samantha sometime in 2023. Shelf Indulgence will be eagerly waiting to read, review, and discuss another great story from Samantha Downing!

Posted by book lover: Jessie T.