As always, Janice Hallett does not disappoint!
The unique structure of Hallett's novels always works for me. It feels like being a voyeur into others' private emails and messages, and who hasn't wished they could be the fly on the wall at one time or another?
The Examiner is about a group of art students working towards their Master's Degree, along with their tutor and the examiner reviewing their final project grades. While this may seem harmless, Hallett involves intrigue and murder with perfect twists you never see coming.
Hallett is an auto-read author for me. I will always love her books and waiting to what she writes next!

A very unique reading experience - I loved the format which was told solely in messages, texts, and classroom documentation. Though the subject matter started out a bit slow for me I was hooked by the end and was definitely blindsided a few times. Though there are very few likable characters it was a compelling read.

I read this on a e reader and I would say this book would be more enjoyable in hard copy - I could see myself flipping back and forth to catch things I had previously missed or read differently if it was a bit easier to do so.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I think we can all agree that group projects are a crime.

This was one of my most anticipated fall reads so I’m a little deflated to have mixed feelings. I loved the idea of a mystery set in academia - especially an art program - because art people, like theatre people, are messy and dramatic (this is a self own, believe me.) But I think this was the wrong setting for the espionage that Hallett ultimately plotted because the pacing of this book was so uneven. Nearly a third of the book is students bickering over coursework (thanks for the flashbacks to every horrible group project I’ve ever had) and while I enjoyed the art talk and course details it takes too long to get to any hint of intrigue. The actual motivations behind things are barely explored and left for the last 30%, which makes things feel unsatisfying. By the end we are fully in zany territory with the cascade of reveals. I love whacky, but the first half of the book feels too grounded for me to let the absolute barrage of crazy twists just wash over me, smooth brain style.

It’s hard to talk about this book without spoiling anything, so I’ve done my best, but consider this a warning for vague spoilers:
This was entertaining and compulsively readable, but after The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels my expectations for a satisfying mystery were sky high. For me, the appeal of epistolary novels, particularly epistolary mysteries like Hallett’s, is the ability to play detective in what feels like real time. I take notes and highlight passages to refer back to. This time I felt like the reader was prevented from playing along at home because of the way things are structured. Here, there was only one reveal that changed how I had read everything previously, and the reason the information was kept from us for so long felt a bit arbitrary. I suppose in real life that situation happens all the time, but in a puzzle box mystery I am less charitable.

And finally I was annoyed that there was a repeat of an unreveal from a previous book of Hallett’s. I think it would have been more interesting and (hilariously) less convoluted to play that angle straight this time.

Sometimes a mystery can be about the journey and not the destination, but to me the perfect mystery is both. In <i>The Examiner</i>, both the journey and the destination fell short of my expectations, but at least I still had fun.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This new epistolary mystery from Janice Hallett starts off like an episode of the podcast "Normal Gossip" -- you think you're enjoying an insider's view of the squabbles and personality ticks of a group of graduate students, but at the halfway mark you realize you're in for much, much more. Every time I had to set this down, I was racing to pick it back up again. This would be a great book for someone who likes puzzles, unlikeable characters and nonlinear timelines. I have loved all of this author's works and this newest is no exception.

Kiss-kiss

Hallett's books have been hit or miss for me (loved Twyford Code, not so much Alperton Angels), but this one was great!

The characters are well-developed - the kind where you want to both shake them by the shoulders and/or give them a hug, depending on the chapter. The plot is interesting - twisty and full of misdirection. The style is fun - the same emails, text and messages you now and love with Hallett's work.

And, everything comes together so nicely at the end. I think that's one of my favorite things about books from #janicehallett Just when I'm wondering about a last plot thread that hasn't been explained, there's one more email to wrap it all up.

Thank you @netgalley for this #arc out September 10!

Synopsis:
University professor Gela Nathaniel must make her new master’s program in multimedia art succeed. If it doesn’t, then Royal Hastings University will cut her funding and she’ll be out of the job she loves. The six students in this inaugural course will be key to that success…but how well has she selected the team?

At the end of the academic year, when the examiner arrives to grade the students’ final project, he finds himself asking what happened. Because if someone in that course isn’t in mortal danger, then they are already dead. But who, and why?

Only one thing is certain: nothing about this course has been left to chance, and each of these students has their own very different agenda.

Thank you to the publisher and author for an advanced reader copy in exchange for honest feedback.

I am a Janice Hallett fan (and completionist). The Appeal and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels were both favorite books of mine in the years in which they were released. The Examiner is another well-plotted, mixed media/epistolary novel. Unfortunately, for me, it didn't reach the heights of Hallett's other works. The Examiner was missing some of the wry observational humor of The Appeal. Nevertheless, I would recommend the book to mystery fans. It is certainly inventive and you want to keep turning the pages.

I love this author’s books - she always has such creative ideas and I love epistolary novels that make full use of the format.

It’s a bit of a slow start in this one. The concept is that an external examiner who reviews university grades for a masters course to verify all they were acceptable and fair… I think. 😂 I missed the variety of media types used in Alperton Angels (my fav by the author) - here it’s mostly limited to DMs, emails, and a few grade sheets and project reports.

The characters were kinda annoying, especially Jem who I felt like we could have had less examples of her strong personality and still understood her. They do get better as the book comes along though which made for easier reading. There were some surprises at the end of the book but I wouldn’t say it was overly twisty. The pace is slow to steady for most of it until the last 10% when it speeds up considerably.

I split time between the physical and audiobook. I started with the physical and used it to get to know the characters better. I felt like I was making slow progress though and switched to the audiobook which surprisingly I liked better here! I was worried how the format would translate but it was really well done with separate narrators for each character and some sound effects for the media type.

While this wasn’t my fav by the author, I did enjoy it and think fans of her previous books will too. 3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

Thanks Atria Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

I’ve read a few of Hallet’s books to know the epistolary format and how the reader comes in blind and reads past correspondence and is figuring it out as the detective/examiner is.

This was a different set up with a master’s program in art. It was interesting but I felt like they didn’t have enough assignments. But I liked how it all played out and the twists and revelations that came at the end it’s almost spooky!

This releases in 2 weeks and if you love her past work or murder mysteries and puzzles with a diverse rag tag group of characters then this is the book for you.

Content: some language and a few F 💣, mild violence, mild action, death, some gruesome moments with the dead body

I absolutely loved this book! The many twists and turns, the building tension - each email or message sent me further and further into the mystery. Did someone die? If so, who was it? Which one of these "students" is not being honest? Janice Hallett is a master at epistolary novels - she gives just the right amount of clues and red herrings. I can't wait for her next book!

While not always my favorite genre, I will always read a Janice Hallett book and this one didn't disappoint. As always, this book brought the epistolary writing and twists and red herrings that make me wish Hallet wrote dozens of books a year. I am so greedy for more of these. While taking some of the darkest turns yet, this book feels realistic without glorying in the dark details. This is very much a realistic look into academia, and the very strong personalities that clash and interact with the added hint of doom and dark as all the twists start layering in. Hallet's books always have those twists that instead of taking you broadside, instead still shock you but make you realize it was staring you in the face all along.

Epistolary writing (emails, text messages, graded assignments) adds an amazing layer to this beautiful puzzle of a narrative. I read almost every epistolary book I come across, and it is a pleasure to read books like Hallett's where the author has truly mastered the form. It's a thing of beauty to read, and I will quickly grab up any more books she chooses to share with us.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Examiner captured me immediately in the same way my first Janice Hallett book, The Appeal, did. The format of reading sucks you in and makes it hard to put down—just one more message—since you feel like an active investigator.

The pacing was quick and consistent, with each email or conversation feeling like it could be a key clue.

This book is perfect for anyone who:
-Thinks they’d be a great detective themself
-Finds the idea of sifting through a group’s texts and emails exciting

6 students enrolled in a master’s art course all come with different experience and lives. Readers experience the story through discussion forums through the class, email messages, and WhatsApp messages. This mixed media style is so much fun and makes for a quick read. Readers know at the start of the book that there is a murder so I was on the edge of my seat and making guesses on who it would be- the know it all 21 year old student? The already famous artist? The single mom of two? …no spoilers! It’s up to you to find out in this 5 star read!

I think The Appeal will be my favorite book written by this author, but I did enjoy this one more than the other one of hers that I read. I love how unique her writing style is and it really takes a lot of craft to write a story like this, and one that makes sense. I didn't love the ending and how everything was turned around. The characters were well done and not who they seem to be.

Overall, a fast-paced, quick read with some twists!

Review live now on GoodReads and TheStoryGraph

The Examiner
By Janice Hallett
Release Date 09/10/2024

Told entirely through a series of documents – emails, texts, and transcripts – this unconventional format invites readers to become not just spectators, but active participants in solving the mystery. Hallett's clever use of language and meticulous attention to detail creates a sense of urgency and intrigue that will keep you hooked from the very first page. With red herrings aplenty and a narrative that twists and turns at every corner, "The Examiner" is a literary puzzle waiting to be solved. An ingenious and refreshing take on the traditional whodunit that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about storytelling.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️S̤̈T̤̈Ä̤R̤̈S̤̈

#booklover #bibliophile #bookstagrammer #bookblogger #booklovers #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagrammers #booknerd #booksofinstagram #bookstack#thrillerreads #theexaminer #atriabooks #atriathrillers #janicehallett #arcbooks #viperbooks #netgalley

What a wild ride! I love Janice Hallett's stories with my favorite being The Appeal. This is even better! It takes the best of what worked in The Appeal, her first novel, and then takes it up another level. We're introduced to the six students of a new multimedia art course at Royal Hastings. The students are a wide variety of ages and disciplines, making for an interesting group dynamic. The reader gets insight into the communication and assignments that the students work on throughout the year, leading into their final group project with a local company. While the story started out slow, getting to know the characters and their relationships with one another, it picked up quickly after the climax. Hallett's structure of this story kept me wanting more and stayed up late to finish it! I couldn't believe everything that happened, but I loved it regardless. Highly recommend for lovers of mysteries and puzzles!

Emails, texts, and essays reveal a fiendishly clever murder mystery involving six students in a new multimedia art master’s program. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end.

See full review at https://michelleardillo.com/2024/08/25/book-review-the-examiner-by-janice-hallett/

Atria eARC
I love Hallett's storytelling through mixed media, and this was a hit for me. At first, it took me a moment to get oriented in this story, but once I did, I didn't want to put it down. These are the messages of students and their tutor in a MA arts program, but everything isn't as it seems. While reading through all of the correspondence, the reader is slowly let in to this dysfunctional group of people. As I've come to expect from her stories, the mystery build up and reveal are a slow burn, but theres enough smaller things happening for the page turning to happen quickly. I so enjoyed how flawed these characters were. They each had passion for different reasons, yet all showed it differently which gave a suspense filled atmosphere through the whole story. I can't wait to see what she does next!

The Examiner was definitely not what I was expecting for my first book by Janice Hallett. I was first surprised by the format of the storytelling because the book is written through a series of text messages (doodle), journal entries, emails and reports which I had never encountered before. This format allowed for the book to be a page turner because of the quick-read format, but it was the storyline itself where I found some difficulties really enjoying the book.
There were a lot of different elements within this story because there were examiners looking in on the master's program that our main student characters are taking part in along with the professor herself. All of these characters had different backstories that played into the climax of the story which sometimes was hard to keep up with when reading the various text chats, emails and journal entries that were presented. The climax of the story itself was rushed and left me feeling like the build up to it wasn't needed if that was how it was going to end. I wish there would have been a "slower burn" to finding out "who" was murdered and "how" it happened instead of it being all laid out in just a few text chats and journal entries. It still was an interesting story to read because of the format of the writing, but I was left wanting more out of the book.

This was the first book I read (although I own a few) by Janice Hallett. I really enjoyed this book. The style that this book was written was new to me but I throughly enjoyed. It made it feel like I was reading this book from an evidentiary stand point. There was so many twist that it was hard for me to predict the outcome. The characters were all perfectly written, I really dislike Jem in the beginning but toward the end it became evident why she behaved the way she did. I would highly recommend this book.