Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love the author’s style of story telling and the way all of the clues are there for the reader to try and figure things out. This one was a little far fetched but still very enjoyable

Wow, what a grim dark tale this was at first I couldn’t see what was going on but as the story unraveled the plot became clearer.
Wonderful range of characters and that unique email/ communication style of writing.
What’s not to like- a grim and gripping novel - chilling but a bit funny too.

This is a 4.5 for me but it's a good one.

It reminded me a lot of my academic days and having to work in groups at uni - it's fantastic at shining a light on what teamwork is really like. The writing itself is stellar and the way it's done through messages made it so easy to read.

The first half I was hooked. The middle started to drag a little but the ending was good - Jem's story is the best. I didn't see her plot twist coming at all and her character was strongly well written. There's lots of twists and turns which is great and kept me on edge. There were some parts at the end that I was confused by and I couldn't understand why they had relevance but overall it's a great mystery thriller.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Viper Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

I don't know quite how she does it, but every single book that Janice Hallett releases brings the reader something new, and yet undeniably familiar. Anyone who has read any of her previous books will know that her style is not just to present us with some linear mystery, narrated in first or third person, but to utilise any number of narrative tools to ensure that her story is revealed to the readers, whilst systematically building the mystery and intrigue with every turn of the page. For The Examiner, she utilises a slightly different blend of narrative testimonies, in this instance the Doodle entries of a group of university post-grad students and their (Doole being the intranet site and chat room for the College), WhatsApp messaging and the assignments submitted by the students, along with their corresponding assessments.

I suppose it has a certain feel of The Appeal, in that there are a group of people outside of the teaching group who are trying to unravel the secrets buried within the various chats and assignments, but, other than a sneaking suspicion that something untoward happened over the course of the, well, course, it is not immediately clear exactly what mystery, if any, we are trying to uncover here. The instigator of the 'investigation' as it were, is the course assessor, the independent examiner who is to validate the course grades in order to award the MA to the relevant students, and from one simple comment that they make, I'll admit, I was hooked. If what the intimated was true, then just one short set of conversations in, I already wanted to know the what, where, why, when and, even not really knowing the characters, the who of exactly what transpired over that year.

Now what Janice Hallett really excels in, aside from creating infuriatingly fabulous mysteries, is creating a beautifully diverse, and some might say, seemingly neurotic cast of characters. This rag tag bunch of (mostly) mature students, really didn't have anything in common, creating a complex dynamic, one that was often quite fraught and packed with conflict. Coming from very different walks of life, and with very different motivations for being on the course, you would struggle to understand quite why most of them are even on the course in the first place. Let;'s just say that not all of them demonstrate an overwhelming commitment to gaining their Masters. But that is part of the beauty of the story, that wondering what they really stand to gain from the course. and, to be honest, from seeing the curriculum, I'm not sure what the tutor, Gela, had been hoping to achieve either.

But ... Janice Hallett is, if nothing else, a master manipulator. The reason we read these books is in the vain hope that we will be able to puzzle out her motives and methods in advance of any grand reveal. That we may prove ourselves to be sleuths of Sherlockian capability and that we will be able to read between the lines and just instinctively know which direction she is leading us in. She is so adept in creating a puzzling mystery, that no matter how frustrated the characters might made me - and believe me, the six students, Jem, Cameron, Ludya, Patrick, Jonathan and Alyson really do take some effort to like even the tiniest bit - I felt compelled to read on. And even though some aspects of the mystery are pretty well spelled out to us, Janice Hallett still managed to pull the wool well and truly over our eyes once again. To perfect once more the sleight-of-hand that even the most skilled of magicians would be proud of.

This book really didn't go where I was expecting. With more bends in the road than Spaghetti Junction, whatever you think you may know, it's probably not going to match this story - at least not entirely. Did I suspect certain aspects? Well, yes. I have a very suspicious mind and I read a lot of crime fiction. Did all my suspicions play out exactly as I thought they might? Well, no. I was more Watson than Sherlock, more Hastings than Poirot. In proximity of an answer, but my deductions off by just a fraction. Certainly there are elements of the story that totally blind side the reader, and many things which seem to come out of nowhere, but not in a way that made me feel cheated. Because it seems that everyone in the story is hiding a little something. Apart from Griff, one of the college Technicians. He is most brutally honest and transparent. I kind of respect that.

I tore through this book, finishing it just a day, and it's probably one of my favourite of the author's books to date. It has also made me doubly glad that I never did take that Arts degree in College. Between this and another book I read recently, that field seems far too fraught with danger and petty jealousy. I'm rather glad I stuck with the far more transparent world of American Literature and Politics that I came to study instead ... Another absolute belter of a read, packed with mystery, misdirection and misinformation. Loved it. Highly recommended.

We all know that special hell that is a group assignment, but this one takes the cake!

I love the way that Janice Hallett structures her books with a non-traditional format - in this instance, the story is primarily told through messages on a university’s internal messaging system. It seemed like chaos at the start, but I soon came to grips with each character & was absolutely hooked with the drama that this small group of people created. We begin to see that something is bubbling away under the surface, and trying to figure out what is going on becomes part of the fun. There’s so many reveals, big and small, that you’ll guess some things but you won’t guess everything. There were so many times that I thought I knew what was going on, only to find out on the next page that I was completely wrong.

I was hooked with this riveting read & devoured it in one sitting. I can’t wait to see what Janice Hallett comes up with next!

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback, thank you NetGalley and Viper Books!

Janice is a a master of her craft. Her background in screen writing means her books set themselves out as a play, I always think of J.B Priestly’s “An Inspector Calls” which I read in school because her work reminds of this so much, we’ve got unreliable characters telling their versions of the story until the truth unfolds. The way the plot is written so that it tells you things if you read between the lines will always fascinate me. There’s always little hints throughout and then when the real story of how the character met their fate is revealed and you’re literally gasping at the revelation thinking, “of course! Why didn’t I see this sooner?”

The characters in this book are diverse and quirky in their own regards. They all have secrets or things that aren’t quite the truth. You only know the important details about certain characters when the plot needs you to know, and it’s so clever!

It was around the 60-70 percent mark where the stakes for all the characters really began to ramp up and the final third of the book I was completely immersed in. I did not expect the plot twists throughout and the ending truly shocked me.

I really enjoy the format and the pace of Janice Hallett’s work, the use of texts emails and other formats in story work is really hard to make convincing and keep the reader engaged, but Hallett has mastered this structure in her work and for that reason I will always recommend to my friends to read her books.

I greatly enjoyed The Appeal so was very excited to read this book. I liked the plot and the mystery kept me wanting to read on throughout. At times I did feel like the characters were ‘too much’ in a sense and I felt myself growing bored of their attitudes but would recommend for the plot none the less.

I really enjoyed this one. In fact after the appeal it might be a new fave from Janice Hallett. There is a reveal around the 300 page mark which literally had be stunned. Very clever.

I jumped at the chance to review The Examiner a month before its release date, thank you @netgalley and @viper.books

I’ve been a huge fan of Janice Hallett from The Appeal and her format of writing just works for me. It lends itself to a fast paced thrilling ride of deceit, intrigue and mystery. This didn’t let me down. The second half really ramped things up for me post-Somerset visit and I found myself gasping after some of the twists and turns we were taken on. I loved it.

This latest book by J Hallett is every bit as gripping as previous ones. I like her style of writing via messages, emails etc, and quickly got to know the various characters. Layers of deceit and manipulation are gradually resealed, and the story takes some quite horrific turns. I definitely recommend reading this book.

I did like reading this book and found the storyline interesting. It’s about a group of students on an MA Art course at a university, and the external examiner is not sure if something has happened to one of the students. We are presented with a huge pile of Doodle and WhatsApp messages to read through to try and make sense of what has happened. I have read all of Janice Hallett’s books and this is one is an interesting take on society today and what happens when people get too caught up in their own emotions.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reading copy.

So far, I've felt that Janice Hallett has consistently put out compulsive and clever books and I'm pleased to say that The Examiner is no different.

Told through a combination of emails between an independent examining body and correspondence between the tutor and students of an Art MA course, this book tells a highly entertaining and engaging story that has had some surprising elements and had me desperate to pick it up and see what was going to happen. We follow the course throughout the year to an event on which the students' final grade will be based and uncover what motivates each of the students and their tutor and what they will do to succeed.

I have read everything Hallett and am yet to be disappointed. If you have been a fan of her previous works, then you're going to enjoy this one!

'The Examiner' by Janice Hallet uses the author's characteristic epistolary style to unpick events on an art masters program at Royal Hastings University. Told through texts, email messages, essays, diaries and tutor feedback, the reader gradually comes to understand how a course with six students, focused on combining arts and the corporate world, could go so wrong and lead to murder.

I have really enjoyed Hallet's previous books. The writing style is clever and in this one, the combination of public and private messages, enables Hallet to play with what people want to portray about themselves and the reality. The twists and turns were good and the conclusion satisfying. For me though, there were too many times I had to suspend disbelief, such as when the students submitted long essays that shared a lot of information about what was going on. I also felt certain characters were under-developed and as a result this was not an emotive read. However, it was a fun one and sometimes that is all you need!

Another enjoyable crime novel from Janice Hallett, The Examiner is full of twists and turns (some more predictable than others). I'm all for a bit of madness in a mystery, and one of the things I like most about Hallett's writing is that she doesn't take herself too seriously. But I found I really wanted more from her characterisation this time round: the whole disparate cast come across as two-dimensional with unrealistic voices - even making allowances for the expected double-bluffing and disguises.

The Examiner is a wild ride and a fun read, but not Hallett's best.

'The Examiner' by Janice Hallett.

Six Students. One Murder. Your Time Starts Now.
The students of Royal Hastings University's new Multimedia Art course have been trouble from day one. Acclaimed artist Alyson wants the department to revolve around her. Ludya struggles to balance her family and the workload. Jonathan has management experience but zero talent for art. Lovely Patrick can barely operate his mobile phone, let alone professional design software. Meanwhile blustering Cameron tries to juggle the course with his job in the City and does neither very well. Then there's Jem. A gifted young sculptor, she's a promising student... but cross her at your peril.
The year-long course is blighted by accusations of theft, students setting fire to one another's artwork, a rumoured extra-marital affair and a disastrous road trip. But finally they are given their last assignment: to build an interactive art installation for a local manufacturer. With six students who have nothing in common except their clashing personal agendas, what could possibly go wrong?
The answer is: murder. When the external examiner arrives to assess the students' essays and coursework, he becomes convinced that a student was killed on the course and that the others covered it up. But is he right?

I read this book over 2 days, I couldn't put it down. All my guesses for what might of happened or who was killed or got murdered were wrong. That's a good mystery.
Janice Hallett has done it again, another brilliant book. The way she writes her book is so unusual but it just works.
Anyone a fan of murder mysteries, give this book a go or any of the authors previous books.
Thankyou to NetGallery UK, the publishers and the author for letting me read a copy in return for an honest review.

Enjoyable read but sadly fell flat for me. Didn’t have the magic of Twyford Code and didn’t live up to the originality of The Appeal. I raced through it enjoying the familiarity of Hallett’s writing style but it felt weak as a story. I had started to feel this with Alperton Angels, too many moving parts that made me feel that the bigger plot would be exactly that, bigger, but it wasn’t and left me feeling underwhelmed. I think if this was your first Hallet it would be enjoyable but not one I would recommend.

Once again, Janice Hallett has created a novel full of suspense, humour and drama - and one where the twists just keep on coming!
In The Examiner, the setting is Royal Hastings University and a new art course aimed at mature students. Our motely crew consist of:
Alyson, an acclaimed artist
Patrick, who struggles with the required technology
Cameron, who is disinterested,
Jem, who is gifted but suspicious of those around her
Jonathan, whose family owns a gallery
and stressed single mother Ludya.
Also, we have course tutor Gela Nathaniel.
The discussion all takes place via Doodle (the university internat chat), group chats, professor feedback and personal diaries of the students as the course progresses. And we soon discover the individual cliques, and personalities of the group. Along with the smaller mysteries that are occurring.
And the reader is soon drawn into the darker puzzle of the storyline as we and 'the examiner' endeavour to determine what has really been happening during the course duration and if there really is something to fear on the night of the project revelation!
Just brilliant!

WOW! Janice Hallett is an auto buy author for me every single time and this book continues that for me. I absolutely loved it and will be recommending to everyone as a must read for summer 2024!

I’ve read all of Janice Hallett’s previous books so was really pleased to receive a review copy of The Examiner. As with Hallett’s other novels the book is written as a serious of texts, blog entires, diary posts and WhatsApp messages, this time between students on an M A course.

The story had my gripped from the beginning, which was a good thing as clues to the mystery at the heart of this are dropped casually throughout, so a reader has to have their wits about them. I read a lot of crime fiction so usually see twists and turns coming but there were a number on here that surprised me, a couple that made me gasp out loud.

To summarise, this is a really well constructed novel. The characters are so believable. It’s funny and clever and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Janice Hallett has a unique style for her books. Just like her other books, The Examiner is set out as both private & group messages, student essays & tutors reports collected together to form a story. While everything seems to be going well on the surface apart from a clash of personalities, one of the students suspects something isn't quiet right.

Every time you think you know where the story is going, the next set of documents change everything you thought you knew. With twists right up until the end, this is a must read!