Dead Teachers Don't Talk

Originally a 'Point Crime', Shoot the Teacher (1993) has been re-packaged and re-titled in a new imprint. The plot had proved difficult to promote in the wake of Dunblane and other school shootings, since teachers and pupils do get shot in it. However, to be fair, Belbin does state in his afterword that he in no way advocates massacring teachers! In a private school, not a million miles away from the famous Summerhill, Adam gets caught up in a far-fetched grudge/revenge situation, with plenty of red herrings and blind alleys to go down. Characterisation is rather 2D and plotting rather obvious. Readers who don't require a difficult language challenge and just want to get the pages turned will no doubt find it satisfies them. But experienced readers will feel that the whole thing creaks too much for enjoyment.