The Examiner is a multimedia whodunnit following six students taking a multimedia art master course and the head of said course. Upon completion of the course, the university has hired an examiner to go over the student's final exam and he uncovers through the school's email and message board that one of the students may be in danger, if they aren't already dead.

Janice Hallett is a genius when it comes to storytelling. Every time I read one of her books I am blown away on how she is able to create such distinctive voices through emails and messages. All seven characters involved in the art course felt so fleshed out and real that it made all their drama and squabbling come to life. Which in turn meant that when the reader finally grasps what has been unfolding on the pages it is jaw dropping.

I picked this book up on a whim and then could not put it down. I was constantly reading it for two days because I was so engrossed in this world and the characters. I audibly gasped a few times because I could never predict where exactly Hallett was going to take the story next. I highly recommend going into this book knowing as little as possible and just letting the story sweep you up.

Many thanks to my friends at @atriabooks and @simon.audio for the free #gifted copies of this book.

Witty. Clever. Astute.

I love playing armchair detective, and I know when it comes to Hallett’s books, my skills will be put to the test in the most entertaining manner.

With a modern spin on epistolary format, Hallett’s storytelling always feels fresh and unique. This dark academia mystery utilized texts, emails, group chats, dairy entries, and assignment reports to unravel suspicions surrounding a missing student.

I’m always blown away by the depth of plot and characterization in Hallett’s novels, and The Examiner is no different. On the surface, this is a novel about teamwork, various forms of art, and modern classroom dynamics. But as the layers unfolded and characters came alive, much more was revealed of both the storyline and messaging.

I felt the plot slow towards the middle with a depth of details to unpack. But as the end approached, twists unfolded at a quickened pace and kept me on the hook right up to the surprising end.

🎧 With a full cast of characters, this is a TREAT of an audiobook. I partnered the audio with my print copy for a full-bodied experience, and it did not disappoint. Each narrator brought a fullness to his/her character, well portraying them as individuals and members of a group. I highly recommend grabbing the audio to pair with the physical book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Atria Books, for an ARC of this book.

I enjoy Janice Hallett's style of writing- the investigate, "found footage" style of transcripts, essays, and text messages. She has once again succeeded in her signature style with The Examiner. Each character has a distinct voice and clear motive throughout. There are twists and turns at every turns and characters double crossing one another like it was a spy thriller. It was a wild ride of a read, one that I couldn't put down. But this wasn't her best work... There were too many "coincidences" that needed to happen in order for the plot to progress and for the storylines to be wrapped up neatly with a bow. There were also many storylines/ characters' personal narratives that were hard to follow at times. This is still a stand out novel, but definitely not Hallett's best.

Janice Hallett has very quickly become an auto-buy author for me. I'm now officially caught up on all her books (sad!) because I completed her backlist before diving into her new release, THE EXAMINER. Hallett always writes in mixed media or epistolary format so you spend a lot of the initial pages wondering where all of these emails or texts or audio notes will take you. 

THE EXAMINER is much of the same, except for a little bit longer... It takes a while to figure out what the mystery actually is. The premise is a bunch of students are taking a Masters course in art at a college and something goes haywire, or someone goes missing, or someone dies. You don't really know right away as the messages are just the students getting to know each other and eventually having disagreements.

The story evolves into a lot of wild revelations. I've always thought some of Hallett's premises are a bit far-fetched (primarily the TWYFORD CODE in some ways as well as ALPERTON ANGELS). That hasn't affected my enjoyment of these books though, as one of them was five stars. I will admit that the EXAMINER was a bit too wild for me. It didn't feel realistic that all of this would actually happen. I'm not saying all of my books need to be super realistic (ex: I read cozy mysteries or books like FINLAY DONOVAN where the amateur sleuth figures complex mysteries out) but with each reveal and twist, I kept thinking...really? They all did this?


I don't know if this book will stick with me quite as much as her others did but I still really enjoyed the reading experience. It just took a little longer to get into (and took me a long time to read compared to her others, which are usually completed in like one sitting) and the reveals felt very unrealistic.

I loved how this book was written in emails and messages which made me fly through it and kept me entertained until the end. I will definitely be checking out her other works!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an early copy in exchange for review.

The Examiner was a unique, engaging example of Janice Hallett’s specialty: British mystery with a quirky twist and a ton of mixed media. The examiner follows a group of students in a Masters art program. We learn about them through the eyes of the third-party course examiners who have access to their assignments and course-related messages. While reviewing these materials, one of the course examiners starts to believe that something has gone wrong during the course.

The author does an incredible job of weaving together the motives of a several characters while gradually revealing unsettling details. I was not expecting the twists and turns in The Examiner, so it was very effective. At some points, the story verged on slightly unbelievable, but stuck close enough to reality to be enjoyable.

I read The Twyford Code earlier this year and loved that. I enjoyed The Examiner even more! Hallett takes the classic epistolary format and updates it from the letters of yesteryear to texts, WhatsApp, and more for a fresh, contemporary take on the mystery genre.
 
As a reader, you'll follow along with "The Examiner" - the person in charge of final grading, who is deeply concerned that a student has gone missing. The Examiner has acquired all relevant encrypted conversations over the course of a school year and invites you to help determine where everything went wrong. And just when you think you've gotten all the info you need - then come the *other* conversations.

The Examiner offers up more juicy drama than the Mean Girls' Burn Book! The conversations are shocking. Most of the art students (and even the professor) are terrible people, and the epistolary set-up means you're often left wondering what's being left unsaid.

Thank you to Atria Books, Janice, Hallett, and NetGalley for my digital review copy! The Examiner was an absolute delight and I can't wait for Ms. Hallett's next book.

I was so excited to read this based off of the other books that I have gotten to read by the author, however this one did not hit the mark for me. I feel like we could have had other elements to the story rather than this chat group that was used for a good majority of the story. Beyond that, I found that I did not care about the art program or what was really going on behind the scenes.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for this arc copy.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett is a great read with great character development and plot points. Loved it!

Honestly, a super interesting method of delivery for a story. I haven’t really read a multi-media type story in ages, so this was a cute throwback to my middle school ages (Kate Klise anyone - Dying to meet you?). I was very invested in this and did not guess the surprise ending, nor some of the other reveals that occurred towards the end.

I was hooked for a majority of the book, and it was interesting, entertaining, and the whole time I was trying to figure out wtf was going on. Really great story and definitely will be checking out more of her works :)

The Examiner by Janice Hallett follows 6 students enrolled in a Multimedia Art MA course at Royal Hastings University. This was such an interesting read! Absolutely loved the format of the book with all the emails, journal entries…
I really enjoyed the plot twist!
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for the ARC.

Early in this book I thought the format might not work for me - transcriptions of online messages and posts between students and the teacher from an art class.
I was quickly grabbed by the mystery and the very intricate plotting. Connections between students, backstories, and secrets made this a very propulsive read. The crime/climax has a complexity that I was not expecting and while I don’t think this will become a re-read for me, I give 4.5 stars for the clever format and plotting - few writers could pull this off.
Thank you NetGalley for advance copy for review.

Six strangers are brought together when they enroll in a master's degree program in multimedia art. Told through a series of emails, letters, assignments, and online correspondence, The Examiner mystifies readers from the start. What has happened?
From the first chapter I loved the manner in which Hallett unfolded this story. It made me eager to get to the next back stabbing message each student shared with one another.
In addition to the refreshing storytelling, the author created a cast of characters that genuinely felt like they were from different worlds. It gave a very interesting spin when paired with how the story was told.
What did not work for me was the story was heavy in the multimedia lingo. I found myself getting lost in unfamiliar verbiage and having to reread complete paragraphs to try and gain some kind of leverage as to what was going on.
I commend Hallett's knowledge and undeniable research on the subject, but I found myself losing interest in a story that had immediately grabbed me.

This was a fun, differently structured different type of mystery. I did like that the answer was not obvious, but I had a hard time following the different pieces of information which made my engagement drop on this one.

I thought the layout for the book was unique. Having the essays and digital chats. Overall I feel like the sorry fell flat somewhere in the middle. It became harder for me to want to finish the book. I did want to see how it ended. The plot wasn’t bad and kinda kept me invested enough. However I thought it was longer than necessarily and not as shocking with the twists that I think it was meant to be. This was my first from this author.

This was another delightful entry into Hallett's oeuvre of epistolary mysteries. I really enjoyed the slow unfurling of the murder mystery and the many red herrings that resolved by the end. Hallett does a fantastic job of throwing the reader small bits of information, reeling in our interest and curiosity and sending us down the wrong paths before always tying it up perfectly in the end. This wasn't as fun as the Appeal, but I loved the insider art focus and thought the characters and motivations were interesting- and ridiculous in a fittingly mysterious way. Four and a half stars for this latest compilation of notes, grading reports, and mayhem.

If you've read Janice Hallett and enjoyed her work before, then you will definitely love this one! Her epistolary styles shines in this book as we're following six students on a Fine Arts MA course, and we are seeing their interactions on the college message boards. We're also introduced to the story through the lens of the external examiner who is reviewing the final grades on the course, because he is concerned that one of the students went missing somewhere in the year.
I didn't see a single plot twist coming, and the ending was chaotic and a little horrifying in the best way, so this is an absolutely must recommend to mystery readers, especially those who like an epistolary style!

Having finished this one I'll be waiting again ... for the next Janice Hallett book ! I loved my reading.
Told in her usual style of found documents, a chat, a chat between investigators, whatsapp messages, and email communication, Janice Hallett weaves an intricate reconstruction of a crime!
This book follows the students on an arts Masters class who are tasked to create an art installation for a real world client as their final project. The papers and art work they hand in is not just looked over by their tutor but also an independent impartial „examiner" who is asked to notices that a crime may have occurred or may still be occurring.
In the course of reading all the documents I began to think that maybe not all the students were what they seem, and after then I drove myself mad by questioning everyone and their intentions.
I am a big Janice Hallett fan. I love puzzling until the pieces fit. I couldn't put this book down. Really excellent.

#TheExaminer 🦂🔎🩸⁣
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Thank you @atriathrillers (#AtriaPartner) and @simon.audio for my gifted copies.⁣
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“Yet what you see can be deceiving and he wasn’t that innocent after all.”⁣
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I’m obsessed with Janice Hallett’s storytelling. This mixed media is absolutely hitting the itch my brain gets and it is just perfection. I love a good mixed media, but missed media WITH. A full cast narration?! Say less fam, I’m there. ⁣
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I feel like when I read her books, I never guess who did it or what is going to happen next, which is wild for a mystery fan. That’s usually the first thing I do! But for Hallet, I just read and enjoy the ride. It’s the master storytelling that gets me forgetting I need to find out what will happen next and keeps me in the present. ⁣
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Jem Badhuri was that girl and probably what the kids mean by “BRAT”. At first I was so annoyed by her, but by the end I was helling like I was in a movie, “Yeah Jem! Ask them again! Make them answer!”⁣
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I was thoroughly entertained as always and will always pick up a Janice Hallet book. The Examiner is out now and not one to miss!⁣
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QOTD: Name a “new to you” author you enjoyed in 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

THIS BOOK!! It started and then in WENT!!! I couldn't put it down and read it in two days. Told through emails, text messages and a shared message board, this one was SO GOOD!!

A new kind of graduate arts degree progam is being tried at Royal Hastings University, thought up and administered by University professor Angela Nathaniel. She personally chooses six students for this inaugural course: a recent BA graduate sculptor who is determined to make her mark on the world of ART, a burned out marketing executive looking for a new start, a gallery owner with little actualy art experience, a world-renowned artist who is a recluse, a single mother who is already making her living in art, but looking to branch out, and a arts supply store owner who has always dreamed of being an artist.

From the very beginning this group doesn't really get along, but they do the work and manage to put together a project for a telecommunications company's launch of a new project. But getting there is NOT half the fun, it is ALL OF IT, but it really isn't fun.