I don’t know why I put off reading A Quiet Teacher by Adam Oyebanji. Perhaps it was the cover, which just didn’t appeal to me. Maybe it was the summary. However, the book wasn’t at all what I expected, and I found myself rooting for the protagonist, Greg Abimbola.
Abimbola is a black man teaching Russian at the prestigious private Calderhill Academy in Pittsburgh. He can live with the snobbery and attitude of some of the white parents, including Ms. Delcade. He just won’t put up with the behavior of some of the students who deface his expensive models of Russian ships with words such as “Go home, nigger.” Abimbola is a smart man who finds a shrewd way to uncover the perpetrator. When Ms. Delcade is found murdered, stabbed and left in the school basement, he’s not a suspect despite his run-ins with the woman and her family. Then, a friend asks for help.
Andrea Velasquez makes an easy target in a white privileged school. She’s Hispanic, an assistant custodian, has access to the school basement, and lied about her whereabouts at the time of the murder. Greg Abimbola is reluctant to help her, because he has his own secrets to hide, and needs to keep a low profile. When he agrees to help, and uses his channels, he opens himself up, and becomes prey. But, Abimbola still remembers a few tricks from his past before he became a teacher.
My mistake in waiting to read Adam Oyebanji’s A Quiet Teacher. Greg Abimbola is a likeable, intriguing protagonist with some interesting tricks up his sleeve. I don’t know if he’ll ever appear again, but, if he does, I’ll be waiting.
Adam Oyebanji’s website is https://adamoyebanji.com/
A Quiet Teacher by Adam Oyebanji. Severn House, 2022. ISBN 9781448309429 (hardcover), 224p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley because I was moderating a panel with the author on it.
