The Teacher

The Teacher is a psychological thriller by New York Times best-selling author Freida McFadden that follows the stories of Eve Bennett, a math teacher at Caseham High School; her husband, Nate, an English teacher at Caseham High School; and Adeline “Addie” Severson, a student in both Eve’s and Nate’s classes. Their stories become intertwined when Addie becomes Nate’s star pupil and Nate manipulates Addie into an inappropriate relationship. McFadden has written 22 novels, and The Teacher is her 19th thriller. McFadden’s books have been chosen as Amazon Editor’s best books of the year, she has won the International Thriller Writers Award for best paperback, and she is a Goodreads Choice Award winner.

This guide refers to the 2024 e-book edition published by Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include discussions of sexual relationships between teachers and students, psychological manipulation, and abuses of power.

Plot Summary

Eve Bennett seems to have it all. She is married to the handsome, mild-mannered Nathaniel “Nate” Bennett, has the perfect house, and has a satisfying career. Despite appearances, Eve’s marriage is passionless, her home feels destined to always be childless, and her career has been rocked by accusations of an inappropriate relationship between her mentor, Arthur “Art” Tuttle, and a young female student, Adeline “Addie” Severson.

Addie is struggling in school because she’s been ostracized by students and teachers alike in the aftermath of rumors and innuendo stemming from Mr. Tuttle’s sudden resignation the year before. To make matters worse, Addie and her childhood best friend, Hudson Jankowski, have had a falling out. In the aftermath, Hudson has befriended Kenzie Montgomery, a popular girl who has made it her mission to torture Addie. Every moment is miserable until Addie makes a connection with her English teacher, Nate Bennett, over a shared love of poetry.

Eve runs into Art at a local grocery store, and he tells her that Addie is not what she appears to be. Although he is clearly drunk and struggling with his inability to find a new job, Eve takes his words to heart and warns Nate against being too kind to Addie.

Nate encourages Addie to join Reflections, the school’s poetry magazine, and dazzles her with constant praise for her poetry-writing skills. After Addie has a particularly bad day, Nate is the first to notice her struggling and gives her a pass to leave school early. They run into each other at a restaurant later that night. Nate approaches Addie, offering her a makeup assignment: write a revenge letter to her bullies.

Kenzie’s bullying escalates when Kenzie fills Addie’s locker with shaving cream. Hudson attempts to come to Addie’s aid, but she pushes him away, reluctant to come between him and Kenzie. Addie wants only the best for Hudson and accepts the blame for the end of their friendship. They stopped talking because Addie’s father, who had an alcohol addiction, came home one afternoon while Hudson and Addie were studying, picked a fight with Hudson, and died when Addie pushed him down the stairs in defense of Hudson. Addie hid what she had done and allowed her father’s death to look like an accident.

Addie is struggling in Eve’s trigonometry class. During the midterm exam, Addie caves to her desperation for a passing grade and steals answers from another student’s paper. Eve catches her and threatens to report her to the principal, but Nate convinces Eve to go easy on Addie. The following afternoon, Nate reveals to Addie that he is the reason Eve changed her mind about going to the principal. When Addie hugs him in gratitude, Nate reveals his physical attraction to Addie. Hesitant at first, Addie, reveling in Nate’s attention, shares her first kiss with him. They begin sneaking off to the school’s abandoned darkroom, only kissing at first but soon becoming intimate.

After a dinner party in her home, Eve takes the trash out and sees Addie watching her from the bushes. Eve goes to the principal the following day, but based on advice from Nate, Addie denies being at the Bennett home. Eve is frustrated when the principal refuses to do anything because she feels like Addie is stalking her like she did Art Tuttle. However, Eve’s friend Shelby suggests that Addie wasn’t at the house to see Eve but was there to spy on Nate. Eve goes to Nate’s classroom to talk to him about this possibility and is shocked when she finds him in the classroom kissing Addie. Upset and unsure about what to do, Eve calls Jay, a shoe store clerk she has been having an affair with. She tells Jay what she saw and asks for his advice. Jay encourages Eve to leave Nate.

Eve confronts Nate when he comes home. She demands that he give her a divorce and the house, end his relationship with Addie, quit his job, and promise to never teach children again. Nate agrees to all but the last demand until Eve tells him that she has a picture of Nate and Addie kissing. Nate packs his things and leaves. That night, Addie breaks into Eve’s house in an attempt to convince her to allow her and Nate to be together. When Eve realizes how deeply Nate has manipulated Addie, she tells Addie that it would be best for everyone if she goes to the principal. Addie hits her on the head with a frying pan. In a panic, Addie calls Nate. They decide to dispose of Eve’s body rather than call the police and risk Addie going to jail. As Addie looks for a sheet to wrap Eve in, Eve wakes up. Nate strangles her.

Nate and Addie go to an abandoned pumpkin patch to bury Eve. Nate abandons Addie to bury Eve alone. Addie buries her but covers her with only a thin layer of dirt and leaves. Addie calls Hudson to pick her up. Nate reports Eve missing and accuses Addie when asked about who might have wanted to harm Eve. However, when Addie is confronted with proof of a previous relationship between Nate and Kenzie, she goes to the police and tells them everything. At the same time, someone is using Eve’s shoes and imagery from Nate’s favorite poem, Poe’s “The Raven,” to frighten him. Nate believes that only Eve knows him well enough to do these things, and he goes to the pumpkin patch to reassure himself that Eve is dead. It turns out that he’s wrong; Eve woke up in her grave and lured him to her burial site to kill him. Eve has realized that Nate seduced her when she was a student in his English class, just like he did with Addie and Kenzie. With Jay’s help, Eve buries Nate alive.

Six months later, Nate is suspected of being on the run, and Eve has left town. Addie, Kenzie, and Hudson are all friends. Addie hopes that her relationship with Hudson—whose friends call him Jay—will blossom into a romantic relationship now that his prior relationship is over.