Drama Teacher: A Novel

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

By the New York Times bestselling author of Mother, Mother and Smashed, a propulsive new thriller featuring a devious and unreliable narrator who will do anything to give her family a better life Gracie Mueller is a proud mother of two and devoted wife, living with her husband Randy in upstate New York, her life complicated by the usual stressors and tedium-young children, marriage, money-and she's settled down comfortably enough. But Gracie, underneath all that's marked her life as average, has a lot to hide about where she's from, who she is, and who she's been. And when Randy's failing career as a real estate agent makes finances tight, their home goes into foreclosure, and Gracie feels she has no choice but to return to the creatively illegal and high-stakes lifestyle of her past in order to keep all that she's worked so hard to have. Gracie learned from her manipulatively charming father how to steal identities in order to survive, and she eases back into her routine of lying and cheating with a wicked skillset and gritty resolve. Things begin to slip out of her control, though, when her web of deceit lands her a job as a private school drama teacher--a role that demands emotional honesty--and soon more questions about the truth of her past are raised, including all the ones she never meant to, or even knew to, ask. Written with the style, energy, and penetrating insight that made her memoir Smashed a bestselling phenomenon, Koren Zailckas's next novel confirms her growing reputation as a psychological novelist that can stand up to the best of them.

Reviews

Advance praise for The Drama Teacher:

"MesmerizingFascinated readers will keep turning the pages.
Publishers Weekly

"An unusual female perspective defies expectations and, ultimately, entertains."
Kirkus

"A fast-paced, perfect poolside read."
Library Journal

The Drama Teacher is the story of a woman unraveling heart-stopping secrets and endless feats. A crackling examination of the difficult, dark, and familiar forces that exist within a family and within a parent, Koren Zailckas has captured the terrifyingnarrative of a family on the brink. Blazingly smart and hugely entertaining, The Drama Teacher is a psychological page-turner not to be missed.
Elizabeth L. Silver, author of The Execution of Noa P. Singleton and The Tincture of Time

"Koren Zailckas has written a riveting psychological thriller with a deeply sympathetic female con artist at its heart. Her protagonist knows how to work the systems of social class to her advantage in fascinating ways, but discovers a terrifying truth buried in her own past that could destroy the life shes built for herself. A darkly funny novel with surprises on every page, The Drama Teacher is an electrifying story of hidden identities and shattering family secrets."
Blair Hurley, author of The Devoted


Praise for Mother, Mother:

2014 Winner of the Alex Award

Superbly unsettling...Provocative...A haunting meditation on family, love and unimaginable loss...A firecracker thriller full of whip-smart psychological insights.
San Francisco Chronicle

Zailckas is a writer to watch and treasure...fiercely disturbing...one of the most profound and insightful books about mother-child relationships when they go devastatingly wrong.Dallas Morning News

It is a while since I've read anything as darkly funny as Koren Zailckas'sMother, MotherSuperbly paced and structured, with dialogue worthy of Lena Dunham,Mother, Motheris an engrossing, and finally shocking, read.The Guardian(UK)

"Koren Zailckas'sMother Motheris disturbing in the best possible way: believably. The slow, subtle darkness at the core of this book starts as a trickle and grows to a flash flood, and not once does it stop feeling absolutely authentic. Zailckas has written a gut-wrenching exploration of narcissism, dependence and family. It's an amazing book." Kelly Braffet, author ofJosie and JackandLast Seen Leaving

A riveting fiction debutits the kind of book that keeps you up at night, featuring a mother to rival Medea or Mrs. BatesThe shocking and violent denouement shows Zailckas to be a consummate storyteller.Publishers Weekly

Richly imagined and bring[s] to mind Susanna Kaysen'sGirl, Interrupted... An excellent page-turner recommended for those who enjoy psychological thrillers and aren't afraid of narratives that look evil in the face. Library Journal

Zailckas crafts an intriguing mystery surrounding this family that will keep readers on edge as she slowly peels back layer after layer of deception. Booklist

Author Bio

KOREN ZAILCKAS is an internationally bestselling writer and has contributed to The Guardian, U.S. News & World Report, Glamour, Jane, and Seventeen magazine. She currently lives with her family in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The Drama Teacher is her second novel.