It is always a treat to read Janice Hallett. I admit, I was on the fence about this one until I got to the end—there are several delightful twists that make the long buildup worth reading.

It is a little more realistic than The Examiner (though that is one of my favorites) with the true crime angle of Alperton Angels and the community spirit of The Appeal. Lots to enjoy here, especially if you enjoy a good quiz.

Janice Hallett returns with another cleverly constructed mystery told through her signature format—emails, voicemails, and assorted documents—inviting the reader to become the detective. This time, the story kicks off with an email to Netflix from a curious nephew suggesting they adapt the unbelievable events that took place at a sleepy rural pub, where weekly trivia nights are the biggest attraction.

At the heart of it all are Sue and Mal Eastwood, a seemingly unremarkable married couple who run the pub—but with a hidden past. Both are former police officers, something they go to great lengths to keep under wraps. When a man is found dead near the pub following a very public altercation with Mal, the layers of deception begin to unravel. Interspersed flashbacks reveal a shadowy police operation from their past that may hold the key to everything.

The title, The Killer Question, is a nod to a final tie-breaking trivia question that Mal saves for the most competitive quiz nights—though it soon takes on a much more sinister meaning.

Hallett’s epistolary style once again proves perfect for this kind of slow-burn mystery, keeping readers piecing together the truth right up to the final page.

📚 Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you haven't read a story by Janice Hallett - you are missing out!

A pub a bit off the main path but with cheap drinks and great Monday night trivia. Who would think this would the place of a huge drama?

This isn't your average mystery. Not only does the author perfectly construct twists and turns I never see coming, but it's told through Whatsapp conversations, text messages, emails and more! It's a full experience read, with no real "chapters" and long paragraphs of story and reflection. But the story is perfectly relayed, just enough to really keep you guessing and wanting more. It's hard to stop once you start and it's hard to stop guessing - as each new clue is revealed. I love that this one was set up as a pitch for a true crime documentary. It really told you something juicy was just around the corner and kept the pages flipping. The end was so deliciously devious - I loved this one! Now I can't wait for the next!

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.

I love all of Janice Hallett's mysteries! The Killer Question was such a fun experience learning the story through pub quizzes, texts and transcripts.

Janice Hallett's twists are always killer, but the greatest impact of her work lies in the ways she explores the human experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and setup of the work, and I found it utterly compelling.

When it comes to Janice Hallet books, it’s all about the format. Either you hate this format…. Or you love it. I do love it. There is no narrative- the entire text is made up of text threads, emails, newspaper clippings, and other communications- absolutely no prose-narrative. I find myself reading quickly and internalizing the character building very well. It’s a fun change of pace and it has to be a challenging way to craft a story.

This one is about 2 ex-police officers who own a pub. They run a weekly pub quiz and there are several minor characters and quiz teams who all have their own group chats. A new team comes to town and wins everything. Everyone thinks they must be cheating- but why go through this and be so secretive?

There are a few twists that are surprising and a satisfying ending. Some of the quiz team drama got to be a bit much, but it was a surprising mystery and a refreshing format. If you like cozy mysteries, this is a lot of fun!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC. Book to be published 9/23/25

What a fun ride! This is my third Janice Hallett book, and it didn’t disappoint! I love her format, and the book flowed so well. And the twists were delicious! So much fun!

Janice is great at sucking you into the story, and makes you immersed in her thrillers. I LOVED this! The plot was a page turner and each character was just as interesting as the last. The trivia setting was really fun and I loved the unique format.

I have read a few of Janice Hallett's books in the past - I usually enjoy the format of email/text communication. This one was just too convoluted for me, and I found it pretty boring and hard to get invested in the characters,

I would first like to thank net galley and Atria books for this EARC in exchange for an honest review.
4.25⭐️
The killer question follows the owners Mal and sue at their Pub called The Case is altered. Who host a weekly trivia games. All is well until one day a body is found and a Mysterious new team trivia team shows up scoring top points every week.
This book was a really fun read. The whole story was told through text threads, emails, and what’s app messages. This type of format I usually do not like, but Janice Hallett did a great job executing this. The Chats between the quiz teams were highly entertaining and to see some members get so worked up over a weekly trivia was entertaining.
Great read, fun and mysterious.

I love an epistolary book and Janice Hallett is the queen of them! I was so excited to get a chance to receive this ARC from NetGalley and Atria Books. This book follows Sue and Mal, owners of a pub in the UK who host weekly trivia. A body washes up one week and soon nothing is as it seems! The amount of characters in this book is astronomical, but Hallett is able to give them each their own voice and unique personality which made reading this so fun. There were so many twists in this book and I was actually surprised by them! I'd highly recommend this book if you love this genre.

Janice Hallett is out of this world amazing.

She has SIX books now of these complex mysteries, both in format and plot, and they are fun, funny, and always have some jaw dropping moments!! Truly doing something different, and I can’t get enough!

Can’t wait to recommend this book to patrons!

This was a very interesting mystery, full of random plot twists. Like most Janice Hallett books (especially The Examiner), the storyline and ending is a bit ridiculous, but it's kind of fun because of that. While some parts of the ending were a little confusing (I don't think it was clear enough on exactly what was going on/what had happened), it was good for what it is (a silly mystery). In any case, I'll look forward to the author's next book!

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria for the ARC!

This book was so cool! I've never read anything like it before. The author has written the entire book based on emails, texts, transcribed conversations, statements made to the police, etc.
It was an interesting story based on a young man, Dominic, trying to sell his aunt and uncles story to Polly who makes documentaries for Netflix. Dominic sends Polly the entire documentary in snippets that he thinks would make perfect episodes. The snippets are made up of all the emails, texts, etc.
I really enjoyed this format and this book has put this author on my radar. I can't wait to discover her other books.

After reading The Appeal by this author a couple of years ago, requested the new book from Hallett from #NetGalley. Thanks for the approval, in exchange for my review. The book will be published September 25, 2025.

Synopsis: Janice Hallett returns with a fresh, edge-of-your-seat mystery that takes place at a pub’s weekly trivia night, revealed through quiz categories, phone messages, and email correspondence.

Review: I attend weekly trivia with my team. We have been together since 2018, so this book caught my attention. T
he book, written similarly to The Appeal, is told in emails, texts, and police notes. While the format kept the book moving, there were parts that dragged. There was too much back and forth with the trivia groups that got in the way of advancing the story. In the end this reader was ready for the book to be over. Maybe 50 less pages would have done the trick. My rating 3.5⭐️.

This is such a smart and funny read. The story is set in the world of pub quizzes -and like the quote about academic politics being so viscous because “the stakes are so low” - Janice Hallett describes the back and forth between these characters with great insight and humor. And then a quizzer shows up dead. I couldn’t put it down and I await patiently for her next book.

This author writes such easy reads. This novel in particular was great because the formatting of the book was so unique. You never know what you are going to get with her. This novel centres around a trivia night and when I tell you you are going to have a fun ride I mean it. It made me, introvert hermit extraordinaire want to join a trivia team. Of course it would have to be a trivia team of one because I am insufferable but a team nonetheless.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a miss for me. I found it quite boring and the characters fell flat. I guessed the big twist and was let down by it.

I had such a good time with this book! Historically, I've really loved Janice Hallett's books, especially because of the mixed media format she uses to tell her stories. While this one had that with text messages, emails, transcript recordings, etc. it also had a story that kept me fully captivated. It was such a smart story while still being fun, and although I had some guesses where it was going, there was a lot that I didn't see coming at all!

Thank you to Atria and Netgally for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked the format of this novel. It makes it easy to read and provides an interesting way to see the "action". Definitely some twists and turns I didn't expect.