Gela Nathanial is creating a new multimedia course at a local university and has found six perfect students. The students have six assignments and one final project to get through. Slowly, class members stop showing up to class or provide a myriad of reasons why they can't be there. At the final showing of the project, everything comes to a head.

Having read another Janice Hallett novel, I had high expectations but I did not enjoy this one as much. I found this to be far too slow a mystery to have me turning pages. I did not feel that by stepping away from the book to do other things, I was missing anything. All of the characters bothered me as they were full of themselves and had many annoying qualities. I'm hoping I enjoy other novels by this author more.

Having read two of Janice Hallett's other epistolary mysteries, I hope I can count myself in her fan club. I can't decide if she's getting better with every book, because each novel has had its own ingenious twists, creepy moments and hilarious moments, and characters just complex enough to be believable. Her ability to channel so many unique voices is a talent she leverages with finesse. Some reviewers find her plots thin or silly, but I'm so engrossed by the unfolding developments I happily buy in to the absurdity. Indeed, the absurdity might be part of the delight of reading Hallett, especially because I'm more serious moments when she gets close to the bone with characters haunted by dark secrets, it can suck the breath right out of you. I would read anything she wrote.

This was my favorite Hallett since The Appeal. I was a fan of the university setting and the wide cast of characters. I enjoy Hallett's style of presenting her stories using mixed media.

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Janice Hallett for the ARC of this book, which comes out on September 10th!

Fun novel that puts puts the reader in the detective seat as an external examiner trying figure out what happened during the course of an Arts Master's program that goes dangerously off-kilter.

Told in the author's unique format of text messages, emails, essays, and chat rooms, this novel gives a fun spin on the mystery novel much like the rest of the author's works. It is refreshing and ingenious the way it is written and really makes you think outside the box. Writing was wonderful and had some interesting characters. It created fantastic moments that made me go back to earlier pages to see how I could have missed the surprising revelations. While overall I liked her book The Appeal a little bit more, The Examiner is still worthy of consideration to read for any novel sleuth out there. Highly recommend this book and this author!

I absolutely love Janice Hallett's writing style. The mix of emails and texts makes this such an easy, fun read and kept me reading into the night. With this format, I never want to put the book down because I always want to see what happens next. I like the setting of the story taking place in an art program at the University level.

Janice creates such interesting characters; some I love and others not so much. And the twist at the end makes this book such a fun read. I highly recommend this book and all of Janice's books. Just love her style.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book.

I am a huge fan of Janice Hallett and her brilliant storytelling style. This book was phenomenal and a diamond in the crime genre.
I was hooked from the early pages and was never lost or confused. Even though the story is told in messages and board posts it was clear and easy to understand. The cast of characters was relatively small which made it easy to follow.
All characters were distinct and had unique characteristics and the twists were fun. Some I guessed and some were surprising to me and introduced at the exact right time to shock the reader, but also to hint at "what is next".

Highly recommend it to all crime and mystery readers.

3.5. Hallett's writing is impeccable and realistic. I will NEVER get sick of a mixed media book. However, and I don't know if maybe some of it is a cultural thing - because sometimes the heaviness of understanding how universities/etc. work in non-American places is a bit much for my clearly pea-sized brain - but some of this just felt so convoluted and confusing. Without going into any specific plot details, so as not to ruin the book and what happens, I am even confused by little details such as why someone whose art project sounded great, according to what the tutor, Gela, said in her reviews, would receive a C or a D. Like... ???

Overall, I think that this is an objectively good book. I do think it was a bit too long, and I would have to reread it and take notes to fully understand all the plot points and character motivations; however, Hallett's writing and some of the little twists were good enough for me to rate it a 3.5.

This is another classic Janice Hallett novel, it is written in a mixed media style. I think she manages to do this brilliantly, I really enjoyed this story.

A very unique writing style: the story is completely told through emails, texts and essays. I’ve never read anything like this and was skeptical at first. Well, I ended up really liking it and enjoyed following a group of art students by reading their course essays and their messages to each other, their technicians and their tutor. It was almost like spying on them while at the same time trying to figure out what was happening.
Six students signed up for a multimedia arts course tutored by Gela. She is desperate to keep her funding for the class. The group of students is from very diverse backgrounds and different age groups. Matter of fact, their individual personalities are quickly clashing, and something doesn’t seem quite right. The external Examiner is supposed to make sure that the students’ grades are fair and unbiased but soon he suspects that one or more students may be in danger.
I’m truly amazed how gripping and suspenseful this book is especially when considering that there is no real ‘narrative’. It’s impressive how the characters develop, and some of the twists simply blew me away. I couldn’t put the book down and liked that it was a fast read with short ‘chapters’ The end was jaw dropping. I’m a thriller and mystery reader, and this book was exactly along my line. A solid 5⭐️ for me. I’ll be looking for more of the author’s books written in this style.
I’d like to thank NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for the opportunity to read this advance copy. I consider it an honor, a pleasure and quite an experience. The above is my honest review and my own opinion.

Another solid read by Hallett. She’s really come to nail her trademark style of telling an entire twisty story through electronic correspondence. The characters in this one were well crafted and Hallett does an excellent job with their characterization just through the casual exchanges between course mates.

This was a fairy long book and definitely more of a slow burn. There’s very little action on the pages (just a few recollections here and there) so some may struggle to stay invested, but as usual there’s an awesome payday if you can stick with Hallett to the end.

I enjoyed all of the characters. Jemisha was awesome and I loved her tenacity. All of the other characters felt solid and there’s some of Hallett’s typical wit mixed in throughout the novel. I wonder if those diversity forms ever did get submitted?

I always enjoy reading Hallett’s books, especially in between heavier reads. Her books are captivating and don’t rely on a ton of action and gore to tell their tales. This is one that would be fun to go back and reread once you’ve finished and are able to pick up on more in the early half of the book. Highly recommend to those that enjoy this method of storytelling.

The Examiner is the first Janice Hallett book I've read, and I'm so happy that I enjoyed it. I love the unique writing style. Everything is written in emails, notes, and chat messages. It's definitely a page turner. I can't wait to read the author's backlist. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for the arc. I'll share my full review closer to the publication date.

Janice Hallett’s storytelling is like a jigsaw puzzle. I really do love the email / texts narrative. I first read The Appeal and could not put it down. The way she writes is so clever. There’s always an “annoying” character, that you may think you have figured out. Just wait and see.

This would be my third book from the author. Though it was entertaining and had many twists you didn’t see coming, it dragged a little bit for me.

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

As a lover of mixed media thrillers/mysteries, this was right up my alley. This book was so engaging, and all the twists and turns at the end had my head spinning.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett--This new novel releases on 9/10. It has the same multi-media style as Hallett's previous books. Through group chats, DMs, and emails the reader follows a group of 6 adult students in a masters of multimedia arts course. As the course proceeds it becomes obvious that things are not as straightforward as they seem. Several of the students are acting suspiciously or not participating in the final group project at all. I did not see the actual twist coming and found it somewhat unbelievable but overall this was a fun read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance digital copy.

This was the most unusual book I have read in a long time. I wonder what it would’ve been like as an audible book and hearing all the six voices the style in which it was written with sometimes hard to follow. Saying that, I would have to recommend this book with caveats.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital advance reader copy.

This is a page-turning thriller set in the world of academia told via essays, text messages, and WhatsApp.

A new year-long MA course at the fictional Royal Hastings college is the setting. The course purports to combine the creative arts with the real-world marketing and financial requirements of a business.

We follow six students from the beginning of the course to their final installation at an internal tech company's new product launch event.

We know from the beginning that something appears to have gone off the rails during the course, as a student may be missing, but even that is a bit unsure.

As we read through the papers and messages, we learn more about about the individual students and discover their secrets and what really happened during this course.

This is a quick read. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, particularly go-getter, ambitious, rub-everyone-the-wrong-way Jem. I think we all know a Jem or have been a Jem at some point in our lives.

As the story progresses, the reveals become wilder and wilder, finally culminating in the bonkers installation evening.

I didn't really mind the craziness, as the plot moved so fast that I was willing to go along for the ride, but if you're looking for an academic thriller fully grounded in reality, this may not be for you. This definitely leans more toward over-the-top fun.

Although, group work really does suck, and this story clearly demonstrates why. ;)

*language, violence (mostly off-page)

I love the style of Hallett’s writing. The constant cycle of thinking you’ve figured everything out to realizing that every character is unreliable is a delight for mystery fans. Each character’s secrets and passions drive the story in multiple ways, with layers of development and character depth. Highly recommend!

(4.5 stars) Told in the format of texts, emails, reports, etc.; academic setting with a dysfunctional small group; the characters were a trip and most (if not all) are unlikeable, yet they were so entertaining; not a huge fan of the direction the story took, but I loved the complex and multi-layered plot; a bit of a slow burn but there was so much tension and mystery that it was hard for me to put down- I just wanted to know what happened so bad.

Special thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore Janice Hallett’s style of telling stories through emails and texts; it makes for a stay-up-all-night, page-turning experience! This book is perfect for anyone looking for a good, old-fashioned mystery told with a modern twist.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read!