Janice Hallett

Janice Hallett has a distinctive style and employs it to craft another outstanding mystery. The Killer Question is my favorite book of hers so far and one of my favorite books of the year!

The framing device is Dominic Eastwood pitching a documentary to Netflix about his aunt and uncle, Sue and Mal Eastwood. The couple runs a pub, The Case is Altered, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The pub is located in a remote area at the end of an unfortunately named road, but it hosts a weekly show more Monday Quiz, which is popular with many locals. Mal takes great pride in crafting each weekly quiz and is a stickler for the rules, especially that the quizmaster's decision is final, even if he is subsequently proven to be wrong.

The pub is starting to do well, in part due to its popular quiz, when a new quiz team shows up, the Shadow Knights. Their exceptional performances start winning them the weekly quiz, which is a modest prize, much to the consternation of the local team that had been regularly winning. An even bigger wrinkle happens when a body is discovered in the river near the pub, and it happens to be the body of a man known for cheating in quizzes at all the local pubs. Dominic's emails capture the attention of the Netflix producer as more and more details dramatically unfold.

I find Janice Hallet's style incredibly engaging. Told through emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, trivia topics, and scores, Hallett builds an incredible amount of suspense and thrills. She is also able to convey a good sense of character using this method.

The seriousness with which the quiz participants take these quizzes is both hilarious and relatable. Text conversations among team members, between the teams and Sue and Mal, between Sue and Mal and other pub owners, who run their own quizzes, are funny and revealing. The style makes the book very fast-paced, and just when you think you have a grasp on things, Hallett introduces a jaw-dropping twist, and another, and another. Every move is ingenious and the plot is intricately constructed. Janice Hallett exceeded my already high expectations with this book.

This is one of the best books I've read this year, and Janice Hallett is on my must-buy list.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. show less

Janice Hallett’s novel is a triumph. It is presented as a series of documents, featuring emails, WhatsApp exchanges and SMS messages from a number of characters, all of whom have been involved in the events which culminated with the death of Samantha Greenwood, a former nurse who, after working with her husband Kel for many years in sub-Saharan Africa with a humanitarian aid organisation, has returned to the UK and taken up residence in the small town of Lockwood.

The premise of the novel show more is that someone (we don’t discover who until near the end of the book) has been wrongly convicted of murdering Sam. The book is presented as a dossier compiled by the accused’s legal team. The barrister representing the client has asked two paralegals at a firm of solicitors to review the papers, with no prior knowledge of the case, to see whether they spot any irregularities or inconsistencies, that might be exploited in any appeal process.

The plot revolves around the actions and motives of the members of the Lockwood Amateur Dramatic Society, which in turn revolve around the Haywards and Reswicks, the community’s self-appointed leading family. Martin Hayward is owner of The Grange, a large hotel complex within the town, and has been leader of the Drama Society for years, while his wife Helen has always taken the leading female roles. As the story opens, the Society is about to start preparations for a presentation of Arthur Miller’s play, All My Sons. However, soon after preparations begin, martin announces to the membership of the Society that his two-year-old granddaughter Poppy has been diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer, and that her only hope is newly discovered wonder drug that is only available at huge cost from America. On this news, the Society is galvanised into action, and an appeal campaign is formed.

The correspondence is cleverly presented – we don’t always see both sides of an exchange, and all sorts of sub stories emerge.

The characterisation is great, too. For instance, Isabel ‘Issy’ Beck seems very needy, and is desperate to make friends, unaware of how ‘clingy’ she appears. Sarah Jane MacDonald emerges as the lead administrator of the Appeal Fund, and is full of drive, and ideas, but not always patient with those upon whose help she comes to rely. Martin Hayward is sometimes imperious, and also prickly, likely to resent being questioned too deeply about Poppy’s condition. Almost the only person from whom we never hear is his wife, Helen, who (we learn) has studiously avoided engagement with modern communications technology, and apparently ‘doesn’t do email’.

All in all, this works wonderfully – far more effectively than my clumsy synopsis might suggest - , and all sorts of subplots and strained relationships emerge. When I first encountered the book, I had my doubts about the format, wondering whether it might simply be gimmicky. That could not be further from the truth. The drip feed of information, like an old fashioned epistolatory novel, works excellently.

Janice Hallett manages the plot adeptly, too, and I lost count of the unexpected twists and turns, all of them entirely plausible. show less

The Fairway Players theater group returns! I absolutely adored Janice Hallett's mystery, The Appeal. I was thrilled to discover that Hallett has written a Christmas novella, again starring the myriad members of the troupe.
The Christmas Appeal is written in one of my favorite storytelling methods - epistolary. The entire novella is told only through emails, messages, police reports and more, just as The Appeal was. There's a large group of players, but it's easy to keep track of who's who. show more There's also a handy list at the beginning of the book.

The group is constantly bickering amongst themselves. The battle for leadership has spanned many years. The level of 'snark' is off the charts and me laughing out loud more than once - and that's hard to do! Things go wrong more than once, but the 'can do' attitude is the group's motto. Each and every characters has a chance to 'speak'. And yes, I had my favorites (looking at you Sarah-Jane). It was easy to imagine being in the midst of the group.

Is there a crime? Of course there is, but I'll let you discover what it is. Clues are dropped all the way to opening night and are slowly revealed from differing viewpoints. Two law students and a retired lawyer are going through all of those missives, also looking for the final answer! I felt like I was in an Agatha Christie novel, trying to ferret out the damning piece of evidence, ready to point my finger with a satisfied ah ha! Well, point I did, but at almost every character along the way.

Hallett is such a clever, clever writer! Her writing is addictive and so very entertaining. Perfect as a stocking stuffer for yourself and/or a friend!

AND Janice Hallett's new novel - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels - releases on January 24, 2024. I can't wait!! show less

"Funny, the closer you get, the further away you are."

If you haven't picked up a [a:Janice Hallett|20523461|Janice Hallett|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1641132243p2/20523461.jpg] story, YOU NEED TO! The books area always an experience. They are puzzles - where you are given pieces through text messages, emails, phone call and recording transcriptions and other unique items. You don't just read the story, you are fully immersed and you are tasked with solving the mystery.

This is my show more 3rd read from this author and I've loved every one. In this one, you are along for the ride as a journalist, Amanda, researches an old case for a new true crime book. A story about a gruesome night when the police stumbled on a girl covered in blood with a baby in a bag and a building of dead bodies in what looks like a ritualistic cult suicide.

I loved the characters in the story. You wouldn't think you'd get to know them so well but you do because you see their little chat exchanges and little messages. You see the ups and downs of the research as well as the dead ends. You see strings and you wait for Amanda to link them to a conclusion. You are just as much a part of the team as Ellie, her transcriber, is. As the story shaped it's self around 50%, I was completely sucked in and was not stopping until I knew the answers. I loved the twists, never guessed the turns, and am amazed at how well crafted the reveals and ending were. I love that I'm done but sad I don't have another of [a:Janice Hallett|20523461|Janice Hallett|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1641132243p2/20523461.jpg] to immediately start reading. I'll definitely be looking for her next release!

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. show less