The Schoolgirl, Her Teacher and His Wife by Rebecca Hazel

Description

The Teacher's Pet podcast was a phenomenon with more than 80 million downloads across the world. Teacher and former rugby league player Chris Dawson appeared to have it all -- a loving family and a beautiful home in Sydney's Northern Beaches. But in the summer of 1982 his wife Lynette disappeared and not long afterwards Dawson married a much younger woman a former student. Less than a decade later this young woman escaped the marriage and went to the police to record her suspicions that show more Dawson had been involved in Lynette's disappearance. A homicide investigation followed but got nowhere until 1998, when Detective Sergeant Damian Loone was handed Lynette's file. For nearly two decades he made it his business to honour Lynette and to find out what had happened to her. His work led to two coronial investigations, but no charges. Around this time Rebecca Hazel was working in a women's refuge on the Northern Beaches when a colleague shared her story of enduring coercive control at the hands of Dawson, when she was his student, and then wife and she shared her suspicions about the fate of his first wife Lynette. These revelations affected Rebecca, and eventually she decided to investigate. Over years, coroners, police and journalists all shared with Rebecca their knowledge of the case, and disappointments that it remained unsolved. Until, in May 2018, Hedley Thomas launched the Teacher's Pet podcast, and in December 2018, Chris Dawson was charged with murder. He was convicted in August 2022. Rebecca Hazel has spent ten years working to ensure that the stories of two women who were misused by Chris Dawson are heard, that their perpetrator was brought to justice and that Lynette's family can properly honour their much-loved sister, aunt, cousin and mother. show less

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emeerly 106 reviews

The story is about JC - and the suspected murder in January 1982 by her schoolteacher Chris Dawson, of his adoring wife, Lyn.

What a train wreck. I had high hopes for this book, but it fell short. One of the things that drew me to this book was that it was to be the schoolgirls side of things. It wasn’t. Author, Rebecca Hazel isn’t even in close contact with the girl.

Hazel asked the questions we were all interested. They never got answered though. One of these was how JC’s daughter felt about her father. Why put it in and lead the reader on but not actually do anything with it.

I want the time back I spent reading this. Poor writing and didn’t stay on track. I really wanted to like this.

Jan 7, 2025

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