The Examiner follows six students of diverse backgrounds enrolled in a multimedia MA course. As texts, emails, and the students’ essays are discovered that reveals different agendas, the external examiner evaluating the students’ grades has to find out if one student’s life is in danger. Janice Hallett’s unique storytelling technique of utilizing different forms of technology to tell a mystery is absolutely captivating and keeps you turning the pages.

"the installation will be credited to the six of us equally. And if we're all responsible, who is guilty?"

Janice Hallett writes some of the funnest mysteries. The story is told through alternative ways - group messages, private messages, text messages - all kinds of perspectives. But, despite the complexities for the author, the story is layered and compelling. Each perspective is unique and easy to remember who is who.

From the first chapter, learning of the program and their project, their individual contribution along with a group, I was hooked. The fact that we are examiners, there to see at the end - adds an extra element of urgency - we need to know what happened before it's too late.

I've read all of this author's works and every story is a great place to start and won't disappoint. I love the mystery, scratching my head and never guessing any twists and always loving the end! I highly recommend!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

3.5 stars. The twists did really throw me for a loop like finding out Jem is blind and Patrick being a maniac. Otherwise it felt like this was a little all over the place. It was a quick read but I didn’t feel as invested in the story as I did in the Appeal. The book kept me guessing the whole time but not in a “I have to know what’s happening” way and more of a “what the hell is going on” way. The plot felt all over the place.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett is another masterful entry from an author known for her ability to create quirky, fully realized characters that feel as if they’ve stepped out of real life. If you’re a fan of The Appeal, you’ll find Hallett’s trademark style of presenting the narrative through mixed media formats like emails, messages, and diary entries familiar and engaging.

This novel follows six diverse students—Jem, Pat, Alyson, Cameron, Jonathan, and Ludya—who embark on an inaugural Masters art course led by Professor Angela “Gela” Nathaniel. The art program itself is in a state of flux, with the professor under pressure to make the course a success. The story is presented through the eyes of “The Examiner,” a figure employed by the university to ensure the integrity of the grading process.

As the course year unfolds, Hallett gives us a detailed look at each character, with her signature style of quirky yet relatable personalities. However, as the story progresses, you realize that no one is exactly who they seem, and the narrative constantly shifts, revealing only parts of the full picture at a time.

While The Examiner may not have the cozy vibe of The Appeal, it more than makes up for it with its twists, turns, and a journey that keeps you guessing until the end. The characters, the mixed media presentation, and the unpredictable directions make this book a must-read for any Hallett fan.

I will read anything that Janice Hallett writes, but The Examiner may be my favorite of hers (right afterThe Appeal). This book was so easy to become immersed in and I love how easy it is to forget that one woman is writing all of these different characters! They each have a unique voice and the mystery kept me on my toes until the very end. I did not like Jem until the end of the book when she has a very heartfelt moment.

Janice Hallett does not disappoint! The Examiner is a fun mystery. I recommend going into it not knowing too much.

Let me start by saying I really appreciate authors and the work they do and I’m sure writing a book is super hard but….

I HATED this book. It’s not the format that bothered me. It was the storyline. Really annoying characters. A super convoluted art program. A potential murder? Mistaken identity? Half the time I had no idea what they were talking about with paper mache and a tunnel and a giant head. The small twist made me like Jem a little even though she was insufferable. The big twist or reveal felt silly and I still don’t really understand what the radio was. And without giving Too much away, how does Cameron’s phone work when he is sleeping?

Ugh I thought about giving this two stars for effort but then o thought about what was in the resin and where they left it and the phone thing and I’m sorry but I just hated it. Why is it called The Examiner anyway?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC of The Examiner by Janice Hallett. This is not my first Hallett novel and it won’t be my last! She has a way of grabbing you in with the mysteries. I honestly was not able to figure this one out! This book and author is one for anyone who loves a good murder mystery! Great for a cozy fall read!!

Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars so I'll round up - Janice Hallett continues to deliver the multi-media, puzzle box mysteries I've come to love from her. This is page turning, fun, and definitely has plenty of reveals that do not feel like cheats. I flew through this and couldn't wait to see what happened next!
I will say my 2 cons are 1) that I feel like there was a lot of missed opportunity to incorporate more kinds of multi=media elements given it's an art class that we're following (maybe even having soundscapes included somehow? hopefully they do that for the audio book at least), and 2) that the last 30% or so goes kind of off the rails in a way that was not wholly successful for my tastes. It left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied by the ending. That said... I cannot help but admire any author who chooses to Go For It rather than play it safe, and the chutzpah of the choices were still very fun to read.
All in all - a very entertaining read with a shaky ending. Can't believe I have to wait a year for another one from this author!

I adore the writing style of Janice Hallett and how everything is told through written communication. It makes the books so much more intriguing because there are obvious gaps in what we know. This book is no exception!

I loved the slow burn of introducing the reader to the characters. Everyone has such strong personalities from the get go but they're all hiding something! The storyhas such sharp twists and turns that it's impossible to see them all coming. When I finished this book I felt like reading it all over again to see how I could have missed so much!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of The Examiner by Janice Hallett in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll start with what I liked about this book:
* I thought the use of text messages, diary entries, and emails was a unique and creative way of telling the story
* The characters were fully Forbes and each had their own voice, which made it easier to follow along throughout the book. I enjoyed reading about the events of the book through multiple perspectives.
* Some of the reveals were very surprising and I did not see them coming.

What I didn’t like as much:
* It was a very slow burn with almost no action for the first 30-40% of the story. I felt there was a lack of tension that did not properly set the tone for the rest of the book.
* I wish there was another layer of storytelling, such as dialogue told through interviews or phone calls. Reading the messages became a bit redundant and it was difficult to stay engaged at times.
* The ending felt a little flat. I was hoping for a little more shock value and a final big reveal.

Thanks to Atria Books, Janice Hallett and NetGalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first of Janice Hallett's novels I've read and I have to admit that I really enjoy the format she's adapted for telling her stories. For those unfamiliar with Janice Hallett's novels, I've come to understand that her writing style is through essays, texts etc. This book is no different - this is a page-turning thriller set in the world of academia told via essays, forum messages and WhatsApp.

A new year-long MA course at the fictional Royal Hastings college combines the creative arts with the real-world marketing and financial requirements of a business. The reader follows six students from the beginning of the course to their final installation at a tech company's new solution's launch event. It's apparent to the reader from the start that something has gone wrong during the course as a student may be missing. The style of writing makes learning about each student very interesting as it creates that dichotomy between how one perceives themselves and how they are perceived by others. I pride myself in being able to figure out twists and turns in mystery novels well before they are revealed, but I can truly say that I didn't predict the twists here. As the story progresses, the reveals become wilder and wilder, finally culminating in the installation evening. While the reveals were crazy, they didn't seem completely out of the blue as there were enough clues to reach the conclusion it did- however, it did leave me feeling a bit dissatisfied with how it was resolved. Saying anymore would be introducing spoilers so I'll just say the events did seem a bit far-fetched.

This was a easy and quick read, and would be enjoyed by those that like mysteries told in a unique format.

I had so much fun with this twisty mystery, written in Janice Hallett's signature unique 'mixed media' style! She can truly do no wrong in my book and has become an auto-read author for me. Personally, I think Hallett has gotten better and better with each one of her books when it comes to truly developing her characters and their personalities alongside a propulsive plot, all while staying within her contemporary epistolary style. I’m going to continue to look forward to everything she writes!

This sharp, puzzle of a story is best gone into blind, but the set-up at least is fairly straightforward. We follow a group of six students, all very different from each other, who have enrolled in a one-year Master’s degree program for multi-media art. The program is overseen by their tutor, Gela, and because it’s a brand-new program, all of the students’ work and grades must be reviewed and validated by an unbiased “examiner” not involved in the course. In order to ensure they can appropriately validate the students’ grades, the examiner is given access to all of the various methods of communication used between the students and Gela during the course, largely on a messaging type of platform known as Doodle and via WhatsApp messages, as well as access to all of the students’ assignment work and Gela’s critiques. It’s these Doodle messages and coursework that we, the readers, get to read along with to see the story unfold. It is not long before the examiner comes to realize that things are not what they seem in this course, and that one of the people involved may be in real trouble, if not already dead.

The Examiner is a super ambitious and masterfully plotted story, full of well-developed characters. The plot was meticulously multi-layered, twisty in the best possible way, and none of the characters are really who they seem, which made it so hard to put down! While the pace did admittedly seem to sag just a little bit in the middle for me, it was otherwise perfect to keep you turning the pages but not too fast that you lost track of what was going on. The combination of great characters with unique personalities, a propulsive storyline and the perfect number of twists and turns made for just a darn fun read! Finally seeing how everything was going to come together in the end was addictive, and I wish I could experience it all over again for the first time!

All in all, The Examiner was a super fun, sometimes dark, and even humorous ride and Hallett’s best yet in my opinion! Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

** “I love change. When something that was good turns bad, I don’t hesitate to move on. The trick is recognizing that moment when it happens, because it might be something very small that gives the game away.” **

Janice Hallett once again offers a uniquely told thriller with “The Examiner.”

When a group of six very different individuals are offered a position in a new Multimedia Art MA program, personalities immediately clash and strange things begin occurring.

Directly overseen by tutor Gela Nathaniel, the group is made up of: youngest member Jem Badhuri, who works primarily in clay and sound, and just might be a bit of a snitch; Jonathan Danners, who runs a gallery with his father but doesn’t seem to have much artistic ability; oldest member Patrick Bright, who runs an art supply shop and is trying to reveal more of his abilities; Ludya Parak, a single mom and graphic designer who has very little time for the program; Alyson Lang, a professional artist; and Cameron Wesley, a burnt out financial marketer who also seems to have very little time for the project.

As the team must work together to create a real-life project for a communications company, strange occurrences start happening. And when some students begin to worry about other students and their whereabouts, things suddenly aren’t what they originally seemed.

Told by using message boards, e-mails, tutor and student reports, and other written formats, Hallett fills “The Examiner” with twists and turns and a unique band of characters. She keeps the reader guessing and even adds some unexpected developments with extremely unexpected plot twists.

She does also reveal some great themes, like both the highs, lows and dark side of teamwork; life can take strange turns (“It started weird and stayed weird. I’m not adverse to strangeness. Strangeness is just life, right?”); learning from bad times and moving on from them; and the power and danger of secrets.

“The Examiner,” which is due out Sept. 10, does include curse words, for those concerned about that.

Five stars out of five.

Atria Books provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I wanted to give this author another chance after I was unsure how to feel after the first book. I am sad to say, I’m not impressed. I was bored for majority of this book. I like the way it’s written through different mediums, but the story just never hooked me.

I've previously read Hallet books (primarily as audiobooks) and this is the first print I've attempted. I really believe physical print for Hallet's work is the way to go. Her ability to develop and sustain suspense through intranet messages, emails and student reports is remarkable. I loved this book up until the very end. She kept me on my toes wondering what was going to happen. Fully recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a complimentary copy of this novel! This is the fourth book I’ve had the pleasure of reading written by Janice Hallett! I always look forward to reading them and this one was especially interesting! It was definitely a wild ride! This novel follows the same unique pattern of a Janice Hallett’s storytelling. The story Is built through what’s app messages; emails; text messages; a private college app called Doodle; and papers/essays submitted by the students. Gels, who is in charge of six students picked from across the UK, is the head of the Multimedia Art course at Hastings University. The class consists of Jem, Jonathan, Ludya, Patrick, Alyson, and Cameron. As they each work to complete their assignments, things begin to run amuck! They then escalate from bad to worse as the course progresses. There is also a final character, The Examiner, who is hired to grade the student’s final project. And he has a message of his own…someone is about to be dead or may already be dead!!!
Look for this exciting new novel from Janice Hallett AVAILABLE September 10, 2024

The Examiner is a clever and engaging mystery -with a unique format- that keeps readers guessing until the very end.

I cannot remember the last time I read a thriller where I couldn’t guess a single twist, and for that, I absolutely love this book! I had no idea where the story was going and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The story unfolds through a series of emails, documents, and texts, immersing the reader in an investigative experience that feels refreshingly interactive.

The format is unique and adds layers to the storytelling, making it a standout in the genre.

The characters are well-developed, and the plot is intricately woven with twists and turns that are both surprising and satisfying.

However, the unconventional narrative style might take some time to get used to, and at times, the sheer volume of details can feel overwhelming. Despite this, the author manages to pull everything together in a way that makes the journey worthwhile.

Overall, this is a brilliantly constructed puzzle that will appeal to fans of modern mysteries looking for something different. A strong 4-star read!

I have read and loved Janice Hallett's previous novels, but this one was unbearably slow and boring. The pacing felt off compared to her prior stories.

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.