Two Times Murder by Adam Oyebanji (Mystery)

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 4.5/5 Characters: 4.5/5

Greg Abimbola is a multi-racial Russian with British citizenship who is trying to stay under the radar by teaching Russian at a small private school in Pittsburgh. But the book would be pretty dull if he managed to achieve that goal! He’s got an interesting and twisted history that unwinds slowly in response to the events brought to his doorstep despite his reluctance to accept them. There are several independent but connected plot lines — an apparent suicide, an unidentified body tossed in the river, and a DEI triggered clash at a neighboring elite school — all leading down some pretty engrossing paths. The writing is clean, the characters are diverse (in more than color) and have depth that is both quirky and sometimes inspiring, and I appreciated the (fairly) unbiased inclusion of a specific instantiation of the DEI/woke culture war.

This is the second book in the “Quiet Teacher” series. I look forward to reading future installments and will try to go back and catch up on whatever I have missed. I’ve seen the series labeled as “Agatha Christie meets John le Carre” and that’s not a bad tag line!

Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on November 5th, 2024.