Teacher’s Pet: A tale of lust, loss, and treachery about a vulnerable schoolgirl and a missing wife. From the journalist who pursued a killer

If you thought you knew the story of The Teacher’s Pet, get ready to be shocked. Hedley Thomas takes you behind the scenes with a blow-by-blow account of one of the most intriguing and enduring murder mysteries of our time – the crime, the podcast investigation, the sexual exploitation of teenage students, the courtroom drama – and how justice was finally delivered.

Lynette Simms disappeared from Sydney’s idyllic northern beaches in 1982 and was never seen again.

Lyn was a caring nurse, a loving mother and devoted wife. Her husband, Chris Dawson, was a rugby league star, a popular teacher, and exceptionally close to his identical twin brother, Paul.

This facade of domestic bliss shattered as Chris became infatuated with the family’s babysitter, his 16-year-old student, a girl he moved into Lyn’s home and bed just two days after her disappearance.

Thirty-six years later, investigative journalist Hedley Thomas revisited the story in a record-breaking podcast series that captured the unconditional support of friends, colleagues, neighbours, family and an international audience. With fresh leads and old evidence resulting in a public groundswell for authorities to take action, Chris was arrested in late 2018 and after a dramatic trial was found guilty of murder in August 2022.


Praise for The Teacher’s Pet

‘A monumental work. A burrowing, twisting, spine-tingling, genre-defining tribute to the power – and the cost – of asking questions. If you think you know this story, think again. No Australian, alive nor dead, has given more to journalism than Hedley Thomas. True crime storytelling as we now know it begins with The Teacher’s Pet.’ Trent Dalton

Format: Paperback
Pages: 512
Imprint: Macmillan Aust
Publication date: 10/10/2023