Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
📚 Book Review: Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
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🛑 Trigger Warnings
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Murder (by teens 😬)
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Teacher abuse / peer pressure
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Violence against elderly (yes, it gets dark)
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Fire / arson
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Guilt, manipulation & psychological abuse
😏 My Take
Okay, am I the only one who got Teaching Mrs. Tingle vibes here?! I literally paused mid-read to Google if they were connected. (Spoiler: apparently not. But the energy? IDENTICAL.)
I actually loved this book — funny, fast-paced, totally page-turning. Yes, it’s YA, but I don’t mind that. Honestly, it transported me back to high school, and I’ll admit it: didn’t we all occasionally fantasize about killing our teachers? 🙃 (Don’t @ me… I had some strict ones who made life miserable.)
It’s wild to me that this was published back in 1978 — no wonder it’s been banned in schools left and right.
🚨 Spoiler Warning
Full plot summary below, including who dies, who kills who, and who gets away with what.
📖 Plot Summary (Full Spoilers)
Meet Mr. Griffin
Mr. Griffin = strictest English teacher alive. Think: no excuses, no extensions, brutally honest feedback. Naturally, the kids hate him.
The Plan 💀
Mark, the charismatic bad boy, decides: “Let’s kill him!”
His friends Betsy and Jeff are in. But then he “softens” the plan to just a kidnapping to scare him. (Because, you know, teen logic.)
They rope in Dave (the class president) and Susan (the nerd with a crush on Dave).
The Kidnapping 🎒
Susan distracts Mr. Griffin after school. Dave attacks him in the parking lot. Mark and Jeff help, and they drag him out to a deserted waterfall.
They tie him up, gag him, and — crucial detail — Betsy finds his angina medication. Mark decides: nope, he can suffer. They’ll only let him go when he begs.
They leave him tied up overnight.
The Death
Susan freaks out and convinces Dave to go back with her to check. Too late: Mr. Griffin is dead.
Instead of, I don’t know, calling 911… they bury him. 🙃
The Cover-Up & Spiral
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Dave steals Mr. Griffin’s college ring (his dad’s alma mater).
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Dave’s sick grandmother thinks the ring belongs to her long-lost son (Dave’s deadbeat dad). She takes it.
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Mark, needing the ring back, murders Dave’s grandmother. 😳
Susan’s Awakening
Susan starts drowning in guilt. She decides: they need to tell the truth.
Mark = absolutely not.
Instead, he ties Susan up and literally sets her house on fire. (Oh, and he casually admits he killed his own dad in a fire years ago. Totally normal.)
The Rescue
Mrs. Griffin (the teacher’s wife) and a detective show up just in time to save Susan.
Mark’s manipulation crumbles, and the truth comes out:
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Mr. Griffin is dead.
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Mark orchestrated everything.
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The group was complicit, but Mark is the real monster.
🎭 Final Verdict
This book is dark, twisty, and way ahead of its time. It nails themes of peer pressure, guilt, and manipulation. And yes — it 100% reminded me of Teaching Mrs. Tingle.
Was it a little over the top? Sure. But it was entertaining, creepy, and kept me flipping pages.
⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
📚 You Might Also Like
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Teaching Mrs. Tingle by Kevin Williamson (screenplay/film tie-in)
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I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
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Lord of the Flies by William Golding (peer pressure + moral collapse)
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One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
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