The Teacher's Lie

by Brid Cummings, Mia Wasikowska (Narrator)

A gripping Audible Original for fans of Jane Harper’s The Dry and Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium, The Teacher’s Lie is a psychological thriller set on the harsh and rugged South Australian coast, performed by Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right).

It’s been two years since Anna Cartwright’s life fell apart. During her first school trip as a young teacher, a student went missing and was never found. Not only was her career ruined, she was also accused of having an affair with fellow teacher and prime suspect Graham. Facing questions from journalists, police and family, Anna said she didn’t know what happened. She was lying.

Now, Anna has returned to Australia. Her only hope is Land’s End Area School, an isolated concrete wasteland perched on the cliffs. The failing institution is so understaffed that it is the one place her history might remain hidden. But while the eccentric Headmistress seems welcoming, deputy-head Miss Baxter seems determined to expose her secrets.

With new lies spinning out of control, how long can Anna keep her secret hidden? And is she being haunted by her guilt or by something far more sinister?

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery, Fiction, Summer Reads

Audible Audio

Published November 21, 2024

Reviews

[Nina (ninjasbooks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very far-fetched

[Joanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well that was 10 & 1/2 hrs of my life I’ll never get back!
This was a freebie book from audible, the story was so disjointed. The quality of the story and writing was terrible. I kept wanting/hoping it would get better, waiting for a good twist but it didn’t happen. Also, the narration was over dramatised and annoying. Sorry I hate writing g bad reviews but this book was painful.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible Original
Duration: 10 hours and 35 minutes


I think evil can seep into people and into things. And the evil in that teacher somehow seeped into the school, and it's still there in the walls and in the grounds.

The Teacher's Lie tells the story of a young woman named Anna Cartwright, whom two years earlier had to quit her teaching job because a student went missing under her care. Although the girl was never found, everyone in the community suspected that Anna knew more about the missing girl than she was letting on.

Two years later, Anna is ready to begin teaching again. She is accepted into an isolated all-girls school in Australia. She's hoping that it will be a fresh start for her, but as the weeks pass by, she feels like something is off with the school. She gets a feeling that she's being watched. Anna is struggling to determine reality from imaginings. To make matters worse, one of the head teachers is determined to unearth Anna's past and expose secrets that she has kept hidden for years.

______________________________________________


I really enjoyed this audiobook! Mia Wasikowska narrates. I found her voice extremely comforting. It's a bit of a slow burn (which is why there are some negative reviews), but I didn't mind. Mia swept me away in the journey. 😊



The narrator for this book, Mia Wasikowska, is also an actress. 💞

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 3.75 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Mia Wasikowska

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too drawn out for me. I wasn't sure what genre it was neither. I wanted a big reveal, and didn't get it.

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please don’t waste your time. I did, and I regret it.
The novel is farfetched to the point of being beyond belief. It’s all over the place like a fly in a pickle bottle.
But … like a car wreck I couldn’t stop myself looking (listening) and I wish I had.
For one, the author’s idiosyncratic (over)use of the preposition ’upon’ was massively annoying. Brid Cummings’s editors really let her down and need to take a good hard look at themselves.
Mia Wasikowska herself had some interesting pronunciation; generally forgivable to a point, but her consistent (mis)pronunciation of ‘butcher the sow’, amongst other mispronunciation is jarring. In the credits there is an acknowledgement of audio proofing: Shakasonic Limited. I’m not sure what they did, or were supposed to do but they did not pick up Mia’s mispronunciations.
Btw … it ain’t Jane Harper! Just letting the blurbist know.
In brief, and at risk of repeating myself: don’t waste your time.

[Kate Freed · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 2.5 ⭐️…the narration was great, but the substance of the story was lacking in meaning and excitement. Anna, you simp. I’m sorry like nothing happens the entire book then at the epilogue you decide to go home and tell the truth. Then what the hell sis the point of this story?? Nothing happens. Actually nothing. It’s just baffling…..skip unless you love free audibles and want to add to your collection of mediocre free listens like me 😃

[Tiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like not much happened??

[Kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟rounded up. I know I'm in the minority here, but I enjoyed this book for the most part! Somewhere in the middle, I was thinking how corny it was, but overall, it kept me entertained. Anna Cartwright was very, umm, interesting, to say the least. This story had a lot of spooky filled drama to it, which made it kinda fun.

[Lyndsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lesson learned, don’t read a newer release until there are a few more reviews. When I downloaded this, no reviews had been posted. Finally listened to the audio book and was very disappointed, and now I see all of the posted reviews that are extremely accurate.

On top of the confusing/drawn out narrative, I had to look up some of the Australian slang. But I guess that’s the bright spot, I learned what “tracky dacks” are. Lol

[Lynn Tanksley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really? The hair on the back of Anna's neck is standing up again? Good thing you told me because there were no context clues. Yawn. I had to speed it up to 1.8x to get through it.

[Sage Price · Rating 1 out of 5]

Narrator great! Story line long and drawn out and boring.

[Kaya Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

What?

[Kate Ngow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m really confused what the lie was. Sure, we get the point, she lied to herself, but literally this entire story was insane and maybe I just didn’t listen well enough but it just felt like there was no point and no resolution and the author had no idea where she wanted to story to go.

With the exception of this being based in Australia and a school being involved how does this compare to the Dry? I honestly would have DNF’d it but so close to my reading goal for the year I committed. I have no idea how they pulled in this narrator.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Narrators on Audible are great, but I am not really sure what this story is even about. A whole lot of nothing, but with a lot of random things happening. The main character....I can't.

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 3 out of 5]

An atmospheric thriller story with slow-burn psychological suspense, set on the isolated South Australian coast.

This audiobook was 10 hours long, which felt longer than necessary.

[Carah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I suffered through this book to grow as a person. I could not tell if this was turning into sci-fi or a mystery? The story line seemed lost from the start, a bit confusing to figure out what was going on. SO so hard to root for the main character because she was aimless, vague and in her feelings about things. Just all sorts of random characters with no heft and just lots of noise. The narrator did a good job with what she was given, but sheesh. Hard to finish.

[Michele Helvie Porter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t like this book nor do I recommend it to anyone.

[Sophie Breese · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf. Listened to a couple of hours but bizarrely it was badly read and the novel has so many cliches I couldn’t bear it any more.

[Tammy Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving this book 3 stars is more than generous. This book should’ve been called “The Teachers’ Lies”, as it was never clear exactly which teacher, and which lie they were talking about, as several teachers had several lies. Without giving away information, I feel as though the only real mystery this book “solved“. Was the one of the teachers experience prior to coming to this new school. Most of the strange events that happened at the school still remained largely unsolved. I think this book could’ve been half its length and covered just as much information.

[Brooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

What did I even listen to?!? Was there a point to any of that? Don’t waste your time.

[Alexandra Taylor🌸 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just feel like the three storylines didn’t add up at all.. and there was so many unnecessary characters added in for no reason

[Nocturnally Tacit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf

Picked this book because of the amazing narrator. Really couldn't get into it.

[Danielle McNamee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was super boring. It took everything to get through

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately for me, there was no enjoyment and tonnes of frustration in this book, both in the audiobook performance and the actual novel itself. I couldn’t work out why so many of the characters had British accents when it’s set in regional Aus, and all characters were so stereotypical as to be grating. The protagonist Anna had a very difficult time dealing with her grief, but it didn’t feel at all authentic. I hope someone else enjoys this book more than me.

[Megan Antonelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a while to get through this book. I couldn’t get into it and I’m still confused as ever. The ending could have been a lot better and more explained.

I hate giving bad reviews. But this book. I could not get into at all.

[Frances Krohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes we have to be somebody we're not especially when we want to start over. It's what I really like about this book and I would recommend it.

[Moofy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.....just could't do it

[Shay Forbes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I regret listening to this. Long drawn out boring story that goes absolutely no where. I kept listening hoping something would happen. It just keeps build in and then the end was just so flat.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zero Thrills. Boring!