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That'll Teach Her
A headmistress is dead. The circumstances are suspicious.
And as every parent knows, being on the school group chat can be murder...
As educators go, Claudia Stitchwell makes Miss Hannigan look like Miss Honey.
But when the reviled headteacher drops dead in the school hall, a group of sceptical parents suspect the nut allergy explanation doesn't add up - they believe someone wanted to teach Miss Stitchwell a lesson.
Only four people could have killed Stitchwell: Hattie, the adored school cook; Kiera, the hard-working teaching assistant; Clive, the loathed school bursar and Ben, the popular deputy head. All of them are liars... but only one is the murderer.
Piecing together evidence from the daily drama and drudgery of the parents' group chat, local press, police reports, school newsletters, and good, old-fashioned gossip, the determined detective parents are doing their homework to crack the case.
Will you spot the clues? Can you deduce whodunnit? And for the love of all things holy, does anyone have this week's spellings?
And as every parent knows, being on the school group chat can be murder...
As educators go, Claudia Stitchwell makes Miss Hannigan look like Miss Honey.
But when the reviled headteacher drops dead in the school hall, a group of sceptical parents suspect the nut allergy explanation doesn't add up - they believe someone wanted to teach Miss Stitchwell a lesson.
Only four people could have killed Stitchwell: Hattie, the adored school cook; Kiera, the hard-working teaching assistant; Clive, the loathed school bursar and Ben, the popular deputy head. All of them are liars... but only one is the murderer.
Piecing together evidence from the daily drama and drudgery of the parents' group chat, local press, police reports, school newsletters, and good, old-fashioned gossip, the determined detective parents are doing their homework to crack the case.
Will you spot the clues? Can you deduce whodunnit? And for the love of all things holy, does anyone have this week's spellings?
553 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 27, 2025
171 people are currently reading
1530 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
February 7, 2025
There are some authors who I will beg, borrow or steal to get a proof of their new books, and the gorgeous @mazevansauthor is one of them, because the minute I read her adult debut, Over My Dead Body, I knew she’d be an autobuy author for me. There are so few books out there which truly make me laugh out loud, but Maz’s are guaranteed belly laughs (and anyone who’s been lucky to meet her will understand why - she’s a bloomin’ diamond!).
I couldn’t put this one down! It’s got that mixed media format that I absolutely LOVE in a book, and which always makes them fly by - and I honestly could’ve read 2000 pages just of the parents WhatsApp chat group 😂 But aside from how hilarious (and relatable!) it is, it’s also such a clever mystery and I truly couldn’t guess who did what and why for love nor money - it’s one of those that kept me guessing right until the very end, and I absolutely loved all the misdirection AND the big final reveal.
There were also such a great range of characters, from the truly vile-I’d-probably-kill-them-myself ones, to those with hearts of gold who I’d totally let get away with murder, and I found the big cast and group conversations endlessly entertaining. Such an easy five stars, and I can’t recommend it enough if you love crime and/or comedy - it’s a great all rounder!
I couldn’t put this one down! It’s got that mixed media format that I absolutely LOVE in a book, and which always makes them fly by - and I honestly could’ve read 2000 pages just of the parents WhatsApp chat group 😂 But aside from how hilarious (and relatable!) it is, it’s also such a clever mystery and I truly couldn’t guess who did what and why for love nor money - it’s one of those that kept me guessing right until the very end, and I absolutely loved all the misdirection AND the big final reveal.
There were also such a great range of characters, from the truly vile-I’d-probably-kill-them-myself ones, to those with hearts of gold who I’d totally let get away with murder, and I found the big cast and group conversations endlessly entertaining. Such an easy five stars, and I can’t recommend it enough if you love crime and/or comedy - it’s a great all rounder!
September 30, 2025
The premise of this crime novel told through a parents WhatsApp group as they try and solve the mystery surrounding the murder of the schools headteacher certainly sounded great.
One of the intresting aspects of the case is that it'd initial assumed that the death was caused by a server allergic reaction.
When she dies after a parents evening having also cosumed some chocolate cake, some of the parents believed that Tania (another parent) who'd baked the cake was to blame.
The way thar some of the parents judge and become suspicious helped move the story along.
Whilst we were introduced to a lot of characters early on, the author gets a good grasp of what these types of group chats are like.
There's a real nice mix people with which you'd expect.
Some of the on-going gags were funny, like lost property and the weekly spelling words - though the 'accidently' posting in the wrong chat didn't quite hit the mark.
It also helped that their were only four prime suspects, so things never got too complicated.
One of the intresting aspects of the case is that it'd initial assumed that the death was caused by a server allergic reaction.
When she dies after a parents evening having also cosumed some chocolate cake, some of the parents believed that Tania (another parent) who'd baked the cake was to blame.
The way thar some of the parents judge and become suspicious helped move the story along.
Whilst we were introduced to a lot of characters early on, the author gets a good grasp of what these types of group chats are like.
There's a real nice mix people with which you'd expect.
Some of the on-going gags were funny, like lost property and the weekly spelling words - though the 'accidently' posting in the wrong chat didn't quite hit the mark.
It also helped that their were only four prime suspects, so things never got too complicated.
March 9, 2025
I’m currently in a reading slump. The only reason why reading hadn’t completely come to a standstill is this incredibly funny book. Anyone who has ever been added to the communication channels of their kids’ school (especially the parent chat and the school weekly) will find joy in this murder mystery.
I absolutely adored Over My Dead Body, so I instantly pre-saved That’ll Teach Her when it was announced and now I’m a solid Maz Evans stan.
It’s the combination of humor, a cozy crime, and human beings being human that make these books so much fun to read (even though That’ll Teach Her touched on some darker topics). I like how justice was served.
That’ll Teach Her starts with the head master dying in front of everyone. While the police investigates the incident, the parents group chat explodes. Whodunnit, but also, what are the spelling words for this week?
4.5 stars!
I absolutely adored Over My Dead Body, so I instantly pre-saved That’ll Teach Her when it was announced and now I’m a solid Maz Evans stan.
It’s the combination of humor, a cozy crime, and human beings being human that make these books so much fun to read (even though That’ll Teach Her touched on some darker topics). I like how justice was served.
That’ll Teach Her starts with the head master dying in front of everyone. While the police investigates the incident, the parents group chat explodes. Whodunnit, but also, what are the spelling words for this week?
4.5 stars!
November 29, 2024
When a loathsome headteacher dies unexpectedly, the whole school community is shocked. Some are also relieved, and only a very few will miss her. As the parents of children in Tiger Class chat online and the school gears up for the rigours of the Christmas term, life goes on but not as anyone had expected.
I absolutely loved this, I flew through it and, having worked in both a junior and senior school, recognised many things! The parents, children, staff, and environment were all drawn brilliantly and were totally believable.
I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Headline, but the opinions expressed are my own. Highly recommended doesn't disappoint in any way.
I absolutely loved this, I flew through it and, having worked in both a junior and senior school, recognised many things! The parents, children, staff, and environment were all drawn brilliantly and were totally believable.
I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Headline, but the opinions expressed are my own. Highly recommended doesn't disappoint in any way.
March 27, 2025
This book was exactly what I needed after a couple of heavier books. I picked it up at my local bookstore just because I liked the cover (I do judge a book by its cover). This book had me laughing out loud every ten pages. A classic who dunnit story inside a primary school solved in the parent group chat. So relatable if you have kids at school yourself. The story is mixed media and told from different pov’s as well as, group chats, school newsletters and the sleepover tiger (logeerbeer) reports. It was so funny (if you like british humour, like I do) but also such a sweet and lovely story. I had such a good time with this book and hope more people will pick it up and enjoy themselves!
January 25, 2025
3.5 stars.
May 15, 2025
Fun times!
June 16, 2025
What a fun book!! Made me frequently burst out laughing - loved it 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
November 9, 2024
Couldn’t finish this. I didn’t like the style of all the WhatsApp messages, the characters were all unlikeable and there were so many of them it was hard to keep track of who was who.
May 14, 2025
Too many mediums to get your head round. Texts, letters, memos… got bored almost immediately by the mummy chatter.
Read
June 13, 2025It was funny!
The unpopular/evil headmistress is bumped off by triggering her nut allergy, in front of a school meeting, the police and unbothered but the parents group chat investigates… The horrors of the school gate are all there, and everyone has secrets within the small town. The group chat really tickled me, thank goodness we didn’t have them in my school gate days….
The unpopular/evil headmistress is bumped off by triggering her nut allergy, in front of a school meeting, the police and unbothered but the parents group chat investigates… The horrors of the school gate are all there, and everyone has secrets within the small town. The group chat really tickled me, thank goodness we didn’t have them in my school gate days….
January 6, 2025
Loved this! There’s so much school stuff in this that made me laugh! Especially when I’m now on holiday away from work. Maz just gets funny whether it’s for kids or adults. This was a brilliantly written, interestingly presented story and I loved (and hated) the characters!
February 20, 2025
When Claudia Stitchwell, the reviled headmistress of St Nonnatus, drops dead in the school hall, there are four possible suspects: Hattie, the adored school cook who has been around forever, Ben, the popular deputy headteacher all the parents love, Kiera, one of the parents who also works as a teaching assistant, and Clive, the unpopular school bursar. In the Y6 parents group chat they discuss each of the suspects and their possible motives. Can they piece together the clues and uncover Claudia’s killer?
Darkly funny, quirky and inventive, That’ll Teach Her is a gripping whodunnit that I consumed in just a few hours. Skillfully written and cleverly plotted, Maz Evans has crafted a suspenseful and pacy mystery that keeps you guessing. Told by multiple narrators in mixed media, Evans uses the parents’ group chat, police witness statements, local press articles and school newsletters alongside traditional narration to tell the story, and I found myself trying to solve the clues alongside the parents. The book is filled with the familiar playground politics, parents trying to figure out homework and juggle their busy lives. It’s been quite a few years since my kids were at primary school and there was no group chat back then, but the story still took me back to the days where gossip spreads like wildfire and I loved the idea of using it as a tool to help amateur sleuths to solve a murder.
There’s a large cast of characters, with some playing a larger role than others, but all of them leap from the pages and pull you into the story. The group chat was filled with all of the different kinds of parents we all recognise such as the pushy parent, the parent who seems to have everything together, the chilled parent, the disorganised parent, etc, and their chats felt like they could have actually been lifted from a real parents WhatApp group chat. The staff working at the school also felt familiar and I enjoyed trying to figure out which one of them could have killed Claudia.
Entertaining, witty, original and heartfelt, this is a murder mystery that will make you laugh while keeping you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommended.
Darkly funny, quirky and inventive, That’ll Teach Her is a gripping whodunnit that I consumed in just a few hours. Skillfully written and cleverly plotted, Maz Evans has crafted a suspenseful and pacy mystery that keeps you guessing. Told by multiple narrators in mixed media, Evans uses the parents’ group chat, police witness statements, local press articles and school newsletters alongside traditional narration to tell the story, and I found myself trying to solve the clues alongside the parents. The book is filled with the familiar playground politics, parents trying to figure out homework and juggle their busy lives. It’s been quite a few years since my kids were at primary school and there was no group chat back then, but the story still took me back to the days where gossip spreads like wildfire and I loved the idea of using it as a tool to help amateur sleuths to solve a murder.
There’s a large cast of characters, with some playing a larger role than others, but all of them leap from the pages and pull you into the story. The group chat was filled with all of the different kinds of parents we all recognise such as the pushy parent, the parent who seems to have everything together, the chilled parent, the disorganised parent, etc, and their chats felt like they could have actually been lifted from a real parents WhatApp group chat. The staff working at the school also felt familiar and I enjoyed trying to figure out which one of them could have killed Claudia.
Entertaining, witty, original and heartfelt, this is a murder mystery that will make you laugh while keeping you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommended.
May 21, 2025
2.5
This book was boring. It tried to be like mixture of different medium but still had to resource to normal form of narration paragraphs. I was quite bored after reading about 30% of the book. A whole lot of characters who played so unimportant roles in the book (aka, the parents) except for 4 main characters Ben, Clive, Kiera and Hattie - who were main suspects. The other characters, including I don't think the mixed media worked well in this book. I would rather the author just had written the book in the traditional form instead, which would have been more coherent and clearer in the plot development.
However, I quite liked how the murderere committed the crime. It was unique, and while a bit unbelievable, but still convincing enough.
This book was boring. It tried to be like mixture of different medium but still had to resource to normal form of narration paragraphs. I was quite bored after reading about 30% of the book. A whole lot of characters who played so unimportant roles in the book (aka, the parents) except for 4 main characters Ben, Clive, Kiera and Hattie - who were main suspects. The other characters, including I don't think the mixed media worked well in this book. I would rather the author just had written the book in the traditional form instead, which would have been more coherent and clearer in the plot development.
However, I quite liked how the murderere committed the crime. It was unique, and while a bit unbelievable, but still convincing enough.
March 2, 2025
I am not, as a rule, a massive fan of epistolary novels, and it was not what I expected, especially after having read the previous novel by this author. However, I am happy to say that this was neither what I expected nor a disappointment.
The characters were both tragic and hilarious. Even through the text message/chat room, witness statement internal reflection and moments of conversation (the latter two styles being rare), I was able to get a clear picture of who the characters were, their motivations, possible motives and everything else.
It's a wonderful, amusing, and sometimes moving novel and though it's not my favourite style of novel, it's one I would recommend.
The characters were both tragic and hilarious. Even through the text message/chat room, witness statement internal reflection and moments of conversation (the latter two styles being rare), I was able to get a clear picture of who the characters were, their motivations, possible motives and everything else.
It's a wonderful, amusing, and sometimes moving novel and though it's not my favourite style of novel, it's one I would recommend.
November 10, 2025
3 ⭐️ ik weet het niet zo goed met dit boek. Ik wilde dit direct lezen doordat ik het andere boek van haar 5 sterren heb gegeven. Dit boek pakte me niet echt. Een leuke mystery waarbij je ook de groepsapp ziet tussen ouders, dat vond ik super leuk/nieuw aan dit boek. Ik vond alleen alle personages gewoon niet leuk. Dat was ook niet perse de insteek, maar maakte het voor me niet echt interessant om te volgen. Dit was gewoon niet een boek voor mij, maar ook niet slecht.
June 2, 2025
way too long for what it was but i had a good time reading it. lots of parental dramas that just make me relieved that i haven't got kids. idk if i was meant to find it as funny as i did. the actual murder mystery was dull though...
plus there was a really weird spanking scene 68% through which was really...odd.
plus there was a really weird spanking scene 68% through which was really...odd.
June 22, 2025
A school with lots of secrets. The setting, a primary school in a village where people tend to stay, many of the parents went there themselves and everyone knows everyone. The head teacher dies on stage after an allergic reaction, was it an accident or murder? The group chats go wild and the rumours start. Lots of interlinked secrets start to unfold and the incidents start racking up.
September 26, 2025
Very good. Very funny. I loved the WhatsApp group chat as it’s so relatable as a parent but was also hilarious as a primary school teacher! Ticked a lot of boxes for me and I really enjoyed it. Kept me hooked and definitely unpredictable!
December 18, 2025
Foi funzinho
Quis ler este livro pq dizia que tinha notícias, mails e entrevistas, a realidade é que tem mas maior parte das coisas são descobertas nas partes que são prosa normal.
Gostei de toda a história mas não foi nada demais por isso a nota.
Quis ler este livro pq dizia que tinha notícias, mails e entrevistas, a realidade é que tem mas maior parte das coisas são descobertas nas partes que são prosa normal.
Gostei de toda a história mas não foi nada demais por isso a nota.
September 9, 2025
So deeply charmed by this!
June 1, 2025
This story was so full of twists and turns I almost got whiplash. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
June 29, 2025
Light hearted funny read.
November 22, 2025
Not as good as Evans' debut adult novel but a fun read. Cosy, suspending of disbelief required at times bordering on slightly silly but enjoyed. Loved the narration but quite a few characters to keep track of and don't feel the mixed media translated well to audio book.
March 19, 2025
3.5 !!
I actually laughed out loud multiple times very mum humour but I ate it up
I actually laughed out loud multiple times very mum humour but I ate it up
September 5, 2025
-quick to read and I know Maz Evans would be funny from her kids' books
-some really meaningful bits too
-some really meaningful bits too
August 23, 2025
This book definitely gets graded "Greater Depth".
Brilliantly plotted, and full of heart. teared up in a few places. laughed out loud. Flicked back through in response to twists and revelations. Loved it!!
Brilliantly plotted, and full of heart. teared up in a few places. laughed out loud. Flicked back through in response to twists and revelations. Loved it!!
May 13, 2025
1.5 stars, generously.
Content warning for on page blackmailed SA.
TLDR: This is far more of a soap opera than a thriller, starring a bunch of characters I couldn't even begin to care about. The actual story is 4 people lying and having interpersonal issues in the power gap that the dead primary school headmistress leaves behind while 1-3 parents do some half-hearted armchair speculation in the background.
I was so excited for this premise but literally nothing delivered.
Humour: There are a lot of Okay jokes in this with the newspaper headlines and parents in the group chat, but the main thing the humourous tone does is produce a bunch of annoying, flat characters and situations. The four POV characters we get are all just slightly too exaggerated for their drama to have emotional stakes, but not actually funny either. The result is really grating character voices and serious drama that feels tonally dissonant to what the story sets itself up to be.
This is especially true for the (CW) It's so over-the-top and uncomfortable to read, and is never properly addressed afterward -
"Group chat solves the crime": most of the group chats aren't about that in the slightest, and the group that are actively investigating we just check into every so often so that they can discuss the stuff we just found out through the POV sections. They always happen to have just learned this info so that they and the reader can be on the same page.
In the end Wow great work team.
The rest of the group chats are mostly unrelated mini-plots about two parents starting to date or one parent being a bit of a bigot, with a cast of parents that is so large and under-characterised I can't care. Again, not enough funny and not enough depth.
Mystery? Thriller?: Nope. I got 150+ pages in and suddenly had the realisation that I wasn't even invested in the mystery. Stitchwell is so cartoonishly evil that it leaves no desire to find out exactly which scorned character killed her for which bad thing she did. There aren't any immediate repercussions to her death to keep us hooked or any real need to find out who killed her. The character drama plots are unrelated to the mystery. If it had never been solved, nothing would have changed.
Ben's storyline feels so half-baked and twist-for-the-sake-of-it, Kiera's has no consequences, Hattie's ending feels so over the top, and Clive is as flat as they come. Why was Andy even there. Why does this book exist.
Positives: it was quick to read. 👍
Content warning for on page blackmailed SA.
TLDR: This is far more of a soap opera than a thriller, starring a bunch of characters I couldn't even begin to care about. The actual story is 4 people lying and having interpersonal issues in the power gap that the dead primary school headmistress leaves behind while 1-3 parents do some half-hearted armchair speculation in the background.
I was so excited for this premise but literally nothing delivered.
Humour: There are a lot of Okay jokes in this with the newspaper headlines and parents in the group chat, but the main thing the humourous tone does is produce a bunch of annoying, flat characters and situations. The four POV characters we get are all just slightly too exaggerated for their drama to have emotional stakes, but not actually funny either. The result is really grating character voices and serious drama that feels tonally dissonant to what the story sets itself up to be.
This is especially true for the (CW) It's so over-the-top and uncomfortable to read, and is never properly addressed afterward -
"Group chat solves the crime": most of the group chats aren't about that in the slightest, and the group that are actively investigating we just check into every so often so that they can discuss the stuff we just found out through the POV sections. They always happen to have just learned this info so that they and the reader can be on the same page.
In the end Wow great work team.
The rest of the group chats are mostly unrelated mini-plots about two parents starting to date or one parent being a bit of a bigot, with a cast of parents that is so large and under-characterised I can't care. Again, not enough funny and not enough depth.
Mystery? Thriller?: Nope. I got 150+ pages in and suddenly had the realisation that I wasn't even invested in the mystery. Stitchwell is so cartoonishly evil that it leaves no desire to find out exactly which scorned character killed her for which bad thing she did. There aren't any immediate repercussions to her death to keep us hooked or any real need to find out who killed her. The character drama plots are unrelated to the mystery. If it had never been solved, nothing would have changed.
Ben's storyline feels so half-baked and twist-for-the-sake-of-it, Kiera's has no consequences, Hattie's ending feels so over the top, and Clive is as flat as they come. Why was Andy even there. Why does this book exist.
Positives: it was quick to read. 👍
January 17, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love Maz's books - adults and children - and so this was one of my most anticipated reads.
I wasn't sure how I'd cope with this to begin with. It's a similar format to Janice Hallet's books, made up of newsletters, emails, and messages, which I like. But the formatting on my Kindle made it a little difficult to keep on top of.
There are a lot of characters; perhaps a bit too many. They're not all main characters, but I was still having a little trouble keeping on top of them all. Our main suspects are:
Ben - he's the dashing Deputy Headteacher. He's charming and handsome, but there's a dark secret hanging around him.
Clive - the school bursar who is not well liked. I really didn't like him. He was so full of himself, very misogynistic, and just a horrible character.
Hattie - she was my guiltiest suspect. She kept trying to cover something up with humour. She was rude and gave the sense she was above everyone else, even if she is well liked by some of the characters.
Kiera - a much-loved teaching assistant and lunchtime worker. She's put under a lot of stress at work and at home and I really felt for her.
Overall I found the dialogue to be nice and natural, and sometimes all over the place, but that adds to its natural feeling. Funny conversations are had, there's a bit of flirting, and no shortage of anger and hatred.
It is a murder mystery at heart, but it has a thrill and a romance. It's more of a character heavy story for me, rather than any of the aforementioned genres, and so I felt the mystery element got lost a bit.
I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. It was very good and I found it an interesting way to tell the story, and it does have twists and surprises in it - some I figured out and some I didn't. But it was just a bit too complicated for me to fully lose myself in. I was brought out of it by the formatting. It's a fine line. You want to create something unique and interesting, but it also makes it really easy to lose the story amongst the formatting, and I think that was the case for me.
I do love Maz's work and I wouldn't say I disliked this, because I didn't, it just didn't hit the heights I was expecting. But I will still look forward to her next one.
I love Maz's books - adults and children - and so this was one of my most anticipated reads.
I wasn't sure how I'd cope with this to begin with. It's a similar format to Janice Hallet's books, made up of newsletters, emails, and messages, which I like. But the formatting on my Kindle made it a little difficult to keep on top of.
There are a lot of characters; perhaps a bit too many. They're not all main characters, but I was still having a little trouble keeping on top of them all. Our main suspects are:
Ben - he's the dashing Deputy Headteacher. He's charming and handsome, but there's a dark secret hanging around him.
Clive - the school bursar who is not well liked. I really didn't like him. He was so full of himself, very misogynistic, and just a horrible character.
Hattie - she was my guiltiest suspect. She kept trying to cover something up with humour. She was rude and gave the sense she was above everyone else, even if she is well liked by some of the characters.
Kiera - a much-loved teaching assistant and lunchtime worker. She's put under a lot of stress at work and at home and I really felt for her.
Overall I found the dialogue to be nice and natural, and sometimes all over the place, but that adds to its natural feeling. Funny conversations are had, there's a bit of flirting, and no shortage of anger and hatred.
It is a murder mystery at heart, but it has a thrill and a romance. It's more of a character heavy story for me, rather than any of the aforementioned genres, and so I felt the mystery element got lost a bit.
I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. It was very good and I found it an interesting way to tell the story, and it does have twists and surprises in it - some I figured out and some I didn't. But it was just a bit too complicated for me to fully lose myself in. I was brought out of it by the formatting. It's a fine line. You want to create something unique and interesting, but it also makes it really easy to lose the story amongst the formatting, and I think that was the case for me.
I do love Maz's work and I wouldn't say I disliked this, because I didn't, it just didn't hit the heights I was expecting. But I will still look forward to her next one.
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