This was unfortunately not one of my favorite books by this author. I found some of the plot to be repetitive and did not enjoy the way that the characters acted around each other.

While I wanted to love this book, it just fell for me. I absolutely LOVE Janice Hallett’s writing style. The format of texts, emails & diary entries make her stories so much fun to read. However I wasn’t a huge fan of the plot. The tech & multimedia just wasn’t something I was excited about but that’s a me problem not the book! Hallett does the “annoying” character so well & I always loved reading Jem’s bits! I enjoyed the not knowing and wondering wtf actually happened.

"The Examiner" by Janice Hallett is a crime novel uniquely told through emails, text messages, and essays. It centers on Gela Nathaniel and her efforts to manage a small group of students in a pilot art master's program at Royal Hastings University. As tensions rise and secrets come to light, a third-party examiner uncovers that someone is in grave danger through their final projects.

I thought the modern epistolary style would be a good fit because I'm nosy and my favorite middle-grade books were Kate Klise's "Regarding the Fountain" series. However, I think this would work better as a YA novel. It somehow felt both boring and farfetched, with the storyline and characters' actions often feeling implausible. While the assignments and communication methods were realistic and reminiscent of my own online college learning experiences, the plot dragged on until it finally picked up around the 60% mark. It did end with several unexpected twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy.

*3.5 stars rounded up*

Janice Hallett is back in a series of emails, texts, IMs, and this time grading assignments! What starts out as just the records of a MA course, slowly becomes sinister as intentions are called into question, students seemingly go missing, and the final project becomes more and more unlikely to succeed.

***

Per usual, Hallett creates such a fun and intriguing story at the beginning. Our heroes and/or antagonists (you never know with her!) are clearly flawed. Everyone has secrets. The pacing of the emails vs. the texts, vs. the different assignments works well as usual. She really is the master of this format and creating a series of characters with strong personalities.

The one really good twist was SO GOOD. It turned the entire story on its head. While all of her stories deal with an unreliable narrator, the ability to hold on to that twist and make it seemed earned was flawless in this story. Hats off.

Also, as usual, Hallett does not stick the landing. Something about the final wrap up of her other stories (The Appeal for example) is never satisfying to me and The Examiner is no different. I feel let down by the ultimate motivations of the characters. The conclusions never really speak to me.

That being said, Hallett always writes an intriguing and different kind of story that I will keep returning to time and time again. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was a bit undecided initially on this book however all I can say is Wow! I had a difficult time reading Halley’s first title because of the unusual writing device. Enjoyed the second title and here I thought initially-is this a new technique that’s worn out its welcome? Some of the messages are a little too long and involved however the complexity of the plot eventually overrides any concerns that I had.

I loved The Appeal and was so excited to see a new Janice Elliot book was coming… And it did not disappoint! This is definitely a book you read through quickly to figure out what’s going to happen next. There’s a lot of information to take in, so I felt like I had to be very present with this book and would reread a few pages back if I felt like I missed something. Because the story starts with you knowing something has happened but not what has happened, every bit of information I got had me guessing crazier and crazier plot twists. I was able to predict one of them, but the way everything came together remained a mystery to me until the end. If you enjoy “who done it” books, you will likely love this one!

Janice Hallett remains one of the cleverest writers and I don't want to spoil anything but there are a few twists within this book. I've read all her books and this still managed to surprise me with one of its twists. After the end of the book I had to go back and reread some passages to see it through a different lens.

The whole story pivots around a new degree being offered to Masters students to see how they can bridge an art degree and the modern-day workplace. Gela Nathaniel is in charge of spearheading this class, and has recruited 6 students, of various backgrounds, ages and areas of expertise.

At some parts the book dragged for me- this is often a hard line to toe for thrillers because they need to wait until the end to reveal everything. Once things reached a climax at the unveiling of the year-end art installation, I didn't want the book to end. But some of the repetition of the art project synopses and email exchanges were just padding for the good stuff.

Thanks to Atria books and Netgalley for the chance to review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is now the third Janice Hallett book I've read, and they just keep getting better. Hallett can write such a twisty, edge-of-your-seat story that I find I can't put her books down. In this book specifically, I love how the narrative was told through instant messages and the coursework the students submitted. Every theory and conspiracy taking place is unveiled at the perfect time. This is a great book to pick up if you just want to spend an afternoon curled up and guessing what will happen next.

I've devoured and loved all of Janice's previous works and I know this one will be no exception. Her mysteries are always so fun, engaging, and unique in style. Thank you so much to the publisher and NG for this opportunity!

After reading "The Appeal", which is my go-to gift for anyone who enjoys thrillers or mysteries, I fell in love with Janice Hallett's work. I've since adored "The Christmas Appeal", "The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels", and now..."The Examiner", coming to the US in September 2024.

Janice Hallett's works are absolute masterpieces! They're smart, high-minded, elaborate literary mysteries where the reader finds things out in what feels like real time through reading source documents, text threads, e-mails, and more. Layers are revealed slowly as we learn more and more about individuals and their circumstances - and the twists; you will NOT see them coming! You, the reader, are tasked with finding out what exactly is happening through your examination of the materials presented.

In "The Examiner", we first meet the end-of-course Examiner meant to be validating the grades of those that are just finishing a new, year-long course to get a Masters in Multimedia Fine Arts. Only, the Examiner feels certain that something in the course has gone very wrong, and he needs our help to discern if he's being inventive, or if there is something more than quickly meets the eye. Through his documentation, we are introduced to the diverse students in the cohort, who seem to clash from the very beginning - and their tutor, who seems obsessive about making the course a roaring success. As the year unfolds, so does the cohort...in all the most dastardly, disturbing ways! What exactly did happen in the inaugural year of the MMFA course?

This book was an absolute joy ride. It's thorough and involved, but you won't want to put it down - I missed much-needed sleep to keep experiencing the story unfold. You don't read Janice Hallett's novels - you experience them. You're a part of them. And you'll definitely want to play the part of The Examiner!

Add to your TBR now for a September 2024 release! Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Janice Hallett has absolutely become one of my favorite mystery writers and I have loved each of her previous novels. Thankfully, "The Examiner" lives up to its predecessors by being an engaging, clever story that I found impossible to put down.

The summary sets the book up well. Six students enroll in a mixed arts master's program at Royal Hasting's University. However, as the year progresses, group dynamics quickly devolve and come to a head on a ruinous road trip. The group must balance rising tensions and a final group art project for a tech client, all while not being sure who they can really trust. As with Hallett's other work, the story is told through message boards, emails, and texts between characters, leading to an engaging storytelling format.

I can confidently say that I did not see most of the twists coming in this book, but I will also admit that a few of the reveals toward the end felt a bit far-fetched. I will echo a previous reviewer in saying that the reveals are not ones that the reader is likely to put together on their own. Nevertheless, this was still a fun, shocking read and will continue to keep me coming back to Hallett's work. I have seen other authors attempt the distinct narrative style that Hallett employs, but I have yet to find anyone who cracks the code as well as she does.

If you are already a fan of Hallett's or enjoy creative mysteries, then I highly recommend giving "The Examiner" a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book to review!

Ms. Janice has done it again. I am always instantly hooked whenever I start a new Hallett mystery. I never know where the story will turn next, but that does not keep me from rapidly turning the pages to find out. You can really tell she spends a great deal researching the premises of her mysteries because the detail is so stunning and really makes you feel immersed into this chaotic group of "art students." Wow. What a crazy plot, but I am here for it!

i've read five janice hallett books in the past six months which is maybe silly of me because I haven't really ~loved~ any of them...
Hallett's writing style and fondness for multimedia make these books so much fun to read and snoop through. I always fly through them and I think she uses this format in such unique ways. Even though all of her books are written similarly, each plot is unique and the "grad school course mystery" unraveled through passive-aggressive group texts sounded right up my alley.
Unfortunately, as has been my experience with her other books, it just went a teeny bit too off the rails for me. There always comes a point (around the 75% mark) where I am completely lost and I'm waiting for the grand finale where she just puts all the pieces together for me. With "the examiner," though, even the end left me scratching my head. this was such a long book (maybe slightly too long), yet the ending and reveals felt soooo rushed.
this will, of course, not prevent me from picking up a sixth janice hallett as soon as I get the chance.

I love every book by Janice Hallet! If you love a detective mystery vibe this is for you! Her writing is refreshing and will keep you turning the pages!

Janice Hallett is back and better than ever! What a romp - thank you so much to Atria Books for this galley. The Examiner follows a group of MA students at Royal Hastings - a diverse group of students (in age, ability, background, and interest) to pioneer the new Multimedia Arts masters intended to provide a practical real world education for artists including a real life client project. They must work together over the course of a year to stretch their skills under their tutor, and will create a final project for a mysterious tech company to achieve their degree. But not everything, or everyone, in this cohort is as it seems.
I’m a huge Janice Hallett fan, and have read all her novels to date. I’ve enjoyed them all, but I’ve been waiting for a book that hooks me in the same way her debut, The Appeal, did - it was the perfect gossipy cocktail of a small cliquey group with a backdrop of a theatre company (perhaps suited to me specifically as a former theatre kid). Though The Appeal remains untouchable to me, The Examiner has a similar magic to Hallett’s debut, with its gossipy feel despite focusing on a group of strangers thrown together by their shared degree and tutor, with the backdrop of academia. Hallett paints a vivid picture of strong personalities clashing, and delivers on her truly unguessable twists - she even elevates this story with higher stakes than one could imagine when you first pick up the novel. This book is truly a page-turner - I downloaded the galley the same day I received it, read late into the night and then finished it first thing in the morning. So excited for the book to release so I can recommend it to my family and friends who I can’t stop talking about The Appeal with.

Janice Hallett is back! Better than ever!

In the Examiner we read transcripts of the doodle messages between Gela Nathaniel, a woman trying her best to save her job and create a new Masters program of Multimedia Art at Royal Hastings University and her recruited first cohort. The group is a motley bunch to be sure with the young Jem who is anxious to make her mark, Jonathan, who is older and seemingly inexperienced, Ludya, who can barely find time to attend due to her duties as a single mom and full time worker, Alyson, a well known artist, Patrick, an older many and a business executive named Cameron. The group divolves into arguments frequently as they trudge through the program.

There are a few others people to note, the custodian and an outside examiner have some thoughts to chime in and of course YOU as we always have a hand in determining what the story is when we read Hallett!

Plenty of surprises and lots to reveal. I actually read the story slower and slower so it would never end. AS with all of Janice Hallett's tales, you have no choice but to truly know the participants in the story until they are practically old friends. I loved it, and you will too!

#atria #theexaminer #janicehallet

Janice Hallett is back with another fun mystery told through emails, texts, and essays in The Examiner.

Six students have been thrown together in the Multimedia Art course at Royal Hastings University. Coming from all walks of life, they bring chaos to the course from day one. While they work on their group art installation, tempers flare, especially with the youngest member of the course. When it becomes clear something darker is at play within the group, it is up to the reader to determine who can be trusted through the various forms of communication.

As with her earlier work The Appeal, Hallett uses forms of communication as narration to give the reader insight into the many personalities involved. This allows the reader to form immediate opinions of each person; it also allows the reader to change those opinions as more is revealed. There are some definite surprises along the way.

One challenging aspect of this book is how much focus is on the coursework itself. Many explanations could have been cut down to focus more on the mystery, which was interesting, if not convoluted.

I personally loved The Appeal, and so I enjoyed The Examiner. They are fairly similar; the interactions among characters lead to interesting dynamics and occasional humor, and the pacing makes for a fast read. This is a great choice if you are looking for a book to read on vacation.

I love Janice Hallett's books. The style is unique and inimitable. From the first book I read by Hallett, I fell in love with her stories.
Her stories accompany readers on this journey to discover intrigue, murder and betrayal. It makes us feel a bit like a detective, and
in my opinion it's always a little difficult to do in books. Discovering the events, chronologically, makes you attach to the story in a "hungry" way, personally once I start I can't put it down, there is no social event that can compare with these stories. I'm sorry, not really.
This book will be released on Sep 10 2024.
Read it! You won't regret it.
Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books and the author, for this arch, in exchange for my honest review.

I almost dnf'd this twice. What kept me going were other reviews that spoke of the twists and turns that happen in the second half of the book. While I did enjoy them, it was painstakenly mind numbing to get to the 60% mark for the book to finally get interesting. I think because of the storyline, mixed media was not the correct format. Its unrealistic that every single conversation would happen through messages. Especially certain conversations that you would think the main characters wouldn't want in writing. 2 stars.

Funny, gripping, and puzzling all at the same time. Janice Hallet never fails to throw in a twist no one could expect. I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page. Quick and entertaining read, I will never pass up a Hallet book!