Free eARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher for reviewing purposes!
I have been blessed to be approved for all the Janice Hallett books since she published The Appeal and I can only hope that I am lucky enough to have this pattern continue on forever.
The Killer Question is another hit- Janice Hallett writes again in her epistolary/"found footage" style, where the entire book is composed on letters, text messages, transcriptions, and other forms of media rather than a traditional narrative. This time, the murder mystery takes place around a weekly trivia night hosted at a pub called The Case Is Altered, owned and run by married Sue and Mal Eastwood, former cops. I loved seeing the group chat interactions between the owners of the various pubs in the town, and the group chats between the trivia teams discussing what to study and rehashing answers (I admit my own bar trivia team has a similar group chat). I also enjoyed the more and more ridiculous trivia challenges as the proprieters try and figure out if teams are cheating. And of course, as promised with every Janice Hallett, the underlying mystery is full of more twists and turns than your average roller coaster (kudos to anyone who figures it all out, I usually get some of it but not all) and the denouement is as satisfying as ever.
Overall, 4.5 stars out of 5, and I hope we get at least 50 more Janice Hallett mysteries.

There has never been an author whose books I want to love more than Janice Hallett, and I always love them when I start them, but I can never seem to get through them. I feel like I’m reading and reading and reading and reading and getting nowhere.

Her books are insanely creative! They’re insanely cute and fun! But they’re so long!! I read this book for an entire week and only got through 25%! And all that really happened was people arguing over the quiz.

I really truly wanted to love this book, but I lost all interest and decided to DNF. Maybe if I had this in print it might make a difference. I read her first book called The Appeal, I did finish it and really liked it, but I read that one in print not digital

I love each of her books. I love the style. I love the characters and all the twists and turns. I knew something was amiss but I couldn't figure out what fully. I just knew people were lying about some things. Another great book!!!

Janice Hallett does it again.
Like all of Hallett’s other books this one is told through messaging logs (and the occasional police report).

What I enjoy about her writing is that she really understands the medium she’s working with (IE she writes in a way that accurately captures how people talk on group chats, but she’s also able to use this limited medium to advance the plot further).

The book itself centers shot a brother and sister duo who run a trivia bar, and who are unfortunate enough to have a murder occur near their orbit. There’s a suspicious team that keeps coming in and winning all the quizzes at the same time (do they have anything to do with the murder?). It’s told through the texting logs of a WhatsApp group of bars owners of a chain, personal conversations, and police logs.

Like all her other works there’s always twists that have been staring the reader in plain sight.

Janice Hallett says she writes “entertainments” which is true. She is focused on keeping the reader engaged versus writing the next War and Peace. But the attention to her work definitely pays off at the end.

Another winner for Janice Hallett! She writes it, I read it. I can't explain how she does it, but each character comes to life through her writing. You can hear just exactly how each character would talk and their personalities come off the page. I love this style, I loved the plot, I loved the characters. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Thanks to Net Galley, who gave me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Janice Hallett is a master of the epistolary mystery. Reading her novels gives one the impression of finding a juicy reddit thread with all the receipts BUT is actually carefully paced and curated. She puts so much thought into how things like format (cell phone texts, advertisements, interviews, and body cam footage) influences how the reader interprets data or fails to fully interrogate it.

While the premise of this particular mystery--murder amidst a pub quiz--is not as nail-biting as the pseudo-supernatural events of Alperton Angels or as addictive as the slow burn of The Examiner, it still kept me engaged and spending my free time reading on my phone.

Her novels are such great stand alone pieces because they really pull you into their world-- the experience of finding "clues" and pawing through primary sources is basically the jolly postman for millennials.

If you have some upcoming travel, any one of her books would be a great companion for a plane or train--a fun and immersive puzzle for folks who want to play detective with no stakes.

Review also posted to goodreads.

Although not as captivating as previous works, The Killer Question was enjoyable to read! Loved the twists as per usual. I think the epicness of Twyford Code and Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels has yet to be created again though.

What turned me off was the afterword. I know, a little late in the read to start forming contrarian opinions. However, Hallett mentions using ChatGPT to inspire the names for the book, then tells people that she doesn't plan to use it in the future and that she doesn't give permission for her work to be used to train AI. The fact that she mentions using it in the first place is disheartening, especially from an author, when creative spaces are currently being invaded by computer generated slop. Had she not mentioned it in the first place, I would be none the wiser.

𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓𝘌𝘙 𝘘𝘜𝘌𝘚𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕
𝘉𝘠 𝘑𝘈𝘕𝘐𝘊𝘌 𝘏𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘌𝘛𝘛
𝘙𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘋𝘈𝘛𝘌 09/23/2025

Dominic is gearing up to unveil his pitch for the next Netflix crime documentary, and he’s confident that the twist will leave viewers guessing right up until the closing credits….

Sue and Mal (Dominic’s aunt and uncle ) eagerly anticipate the upcoming trivia game at their beloved pub, The Case is Altered.
As teammates prepare and exchange homework, they can hardly wait for the weekly discussions on events and questions. Plus, Sid’s life lessons promise to add a whole new layer to the experience, making each week more thrilling than the last.
However, tension is brewing as a body is discovered near the pub, casting a shadow over their beloved establishment. Just as the regulars are trying to process this unsettling news, a new group arrives, winning every night and stirring up frustration among the locals. What will unfold as these events converge?

Janice Hallett's books appeal to crime aficionados and those who enjoy a good mystery. She presents facts like an attorney would, including emails, texts, and conversations for readers to piece together the story.
It’s probably one of the coolest ways to read a book 👏🏼👏🏼
4 .5 ✨✨✨✨S̤̈T̤̈Ä̤R̤̈S̤̈

#janicehallett #atriabooks #atriathrillers #atriapartner #thekillerquestion #lovetoread #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #pageturner
#twistybooks #viperbooks #simonandschuster

1.5 - thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I had read a previous book by this author and thought that the structure of how she writes was an interesting/novel approach..and an engaging one. This is also written in a unique style - series of texts, reports, phone recordings, etc.
But overall I found it somewhat tedious and never could tell if this was meant to be a comic mystery or to be taken seriously. There were some interesting/somewhat surprising twists to the plot, but it took a very long time into the book before some of those were revealed and kept one reading to learn more. The first half was quite tedious and somewhat silly with all the quiz commentary, back/forth - don't think it was all needed to set up the various premises.

This started out slow for me & took me a bit to get into the story. Once we started to get more into who Sue & Mal were it became much more interesting. There were a lot of characters to keep track of.
My favorite part would be the twist that I did not see coming at all. It was a huge surprise! I still can’t believe it. Overall, really enjoyed this one as much as the author’s past books!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Atria Books, for providing this review copy.

I've read every single book that Hallett has written and I think this is one of my top ones. This was also the first book of hers where I've been able to predict several of the twists. It was still a very interesting and compelling mystery. There are a lot of characters in this book, since the cast is made up of several quiz teams. At the beginning, the large cast was a bit overwhelming and it was hard to keep everything straight. As the story went on, it became clear that not all the characters were equally important to the story. Frankly, I think some characters could have been cut without changing the story. I don't think these characters detracted from the story, but it may have been more streamlined without them.

The characters that did feature majorly in the story were quite realistically rendered. Like with all her past books, I felt like Hallett did a great job of writing very realistic written communication and giving all her characters distinct voices. Once I learned the major players, I found them easy to differentiate from each other. This book is the same style as all of Hallett's books, where you are reading emails, texts, and transcripts. I love this style, so it's always a bonus for me.

As I said, I liked the plot of this book. In some ways very similar to her other stories, particularly The Appeal, but still distinct enough to not feel derivative or anything. We're following a group of regular pub quiz participants after a murder is committed outside the pub. There is also a subplot about a mysterious new quiz team and whether or not they're cheating. I enjoyed this set up. There were a lot of threads to pull on and I felt reasonably satisfied that they were all wound together by the end. There were a few things I didn't love about the ending, the last 2 pages felt a little cheap and some characters felt a bit underdeveloped but I didn't feel like there were major unanswered questions.

I almost always reach a point in Hallett's books where I can't believe how much more book there is to go. It feels like the falling action starts with like more than 100 pages to go. This can make the endings to some of her books feel a bit drawn out. I think this is somewhat a symptom of the epistolary style. It wasn't as bad here. There were enough to do at the end to fill the space. As I said, I did predict some of the twists before they were revealed. I didn't predict them way before they appeared so it wasn't a problem or anything. Without giving too much away, there was something I picked up on within the first 3rd of the book that made it a bit easier to put some of the pieces together. I think dropping enough hints to give the readers a chance to solve the mystery is a credit to the author and I actually think that was done better here than in some of her previous books.

I will definitely continue to pick up Hallett's book as they're released. I love that we have an author regularly releasing epistolary novels and I hope she keeps up the great work!

The Killer Question is Janice Hallett getting back to all the reasons I fell in love with her novel, The Appeal. We have a village community involved in a local past time. We have a varied group of characters that are unique and quirky that you either love or love to hate and we have Hallett writing it to a final twist we did not see coming. While I do enjoy most of her books, when she sticks to this vague outline of setting and characters, I find she does her best storytelling. So happy to have read this.

Janice Hallet does it again! I admit I had my doubts at first as this one was a bit on the 'cozier' side than some of her previous work, but as always the ending floored me with it's complex, twisty, brilliance all while being flawlessly plotted and executed.

Okay, I’m this close to being a Janice Hallett completist—just one more to go! And while she’s been a bit hit or miss for me (two of her books were just not it), I’m happy to report that The Killer Question might be tied with The Appeal as my favorite.

As someone who takes Tuesday night trivia at my local bar (shoutout to Taps and Barrels!) a tad seriously, I was immediately sold on the premise. A murder mystery wrapped in pub trivia chaos? Yes, please. The teams, the rivalries, the over-the-top competitiveness—it was hilarious and weirdly relatable. Hallett really nailed the vibe of people who treat trivia night like the Olympics, and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know the entire quirky cast. (Although one of my critiques of her books is there are always a LOT of characters to keep straight!)

The mixed media format made this super readable and fun, though I do wish she’d tighten things up a bit— my second critique of her books, trim 50-100 pages and we’d be golden. But overall, this was a great time, a clever mystery, and a reminder of why I keep coming back to Hallett’s books. Can’t wait to knock out that last one and officially earn my completist badge. Definitely get your hand on this one when it publishes in September!

Maybe my favorite of all of Janice Hallet's books. It's not a traditional whodunnit, I wasn't really trying to solve it. I just enjoyed it all unfolding. The writing style makes it super easy to read and I would always say to pick one of her books up. Entertaining, funny, and a satisfying ending.

Alright, this is a super fun on. If you’ve not read a Janice Hallett book before a) this is a great start and b) you’re in for a treat.
I’d say the thing Hallett is best known for is unusual writing styles. One book was entirely transcripts from a recorder. One was news clippings and letters.

This book is made of text messages, emails, and police reports compiled to craft a phenomenal murder mystery. The characters are solid, plot is VERY good, with plenty of classic Hallett twists throughout.

There were moments where I wished the middle were a bit condensed, but the resolution of the book made it worth it. If you like murder mystery, cozy British, etc, you should definitely ready this. Disclaimer: Hallett’s books and unique style are usually not good for audiobooks, though I’ve not tried that with the killer question. Read a hard copy!!

Special thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Janice Hallett is back with another twisty turn-y mystery, this time with the backdrop of a cozy pub quiz. Hallett’s signature style is shaken up again, with the story being laid out by Dom, the nephew of our main characters, the Eastwoods, pitching a Netflix show. We are immersed in the seemingly petty drama of the weekly quiz at The Case is Altered, a small town pub run by a sweet couple doing their best to meet the expectations of their management company. The Killer Question takes a while to make it to the heart of its story, but once it does, it’s a non stop sprint to the finish. Much like The Examiner, Hallett takes her time immersing us in the novel’s community, for almost too long before looping us into the heart of the mystery. If you’re willing to stick with it, though, the pay off is a jaw dropping set of twists! Hallett continues to impress me with her creativity, and I’ll be reading anything she comes out with!

This book sagged a little about halfway through but picked up and really accelerated to quite a conclusion. I think there could have been slightly less of each trivia night: we got the idea after a couple. I enjoyed piecing the clues together and the format makes for a quick read.

The Killer Question by Janice Hallett

For me, this was the funniest of the five Janice Hallett stories I've read so far and I've thought some of the others were funny, too. This also felt the most assessable story for me, with most of the happenings being in connection with various pubs' weekly trivia nights. Mind you, just reading about serious pub trivia contestants gives me anxiety, I know I'd never want to actually participate in such an event because I'd just sit there with my brain spinning uselessly in a sort of caught in the headlights way.

Sue and Mal Eastwood are new to pub running but they are making it work. Their pub is called The Case is Altered and they have their regulars now. Although not really NOW, just the now of the past. NOW the pub is shut down and abandoned and Dominic, the nephew of Sue and Mal, wants to make a documentary about Sue, Mal, their past career, and why the pub is closed in the present time. We get the story in pieces, through quiz categories, quiz results, quiz ads, phone messages, and email correspondence as Dominic tries to sell the idea of the documentary.

Dominic has an interested ear in me and in the person to whom he's trying to sell the story. At some point, the story moves outside of the pub setting and we find out more about the past career of Sue and Mal and how they managed to supplement their income back in the day. Now they seem to be trying to make amends by taking in someone who needs a place to live and just by being better people than they might have been in the past.

There are so many funny lines despite that a murder takes place near The Case is Altered and everyone is a bit spooked, especially those who ride their bikes to the pub for game nights. Then there is the tension of some team members changing teams, teams dumping team members, and members or teams possibly cheating. Mal runs a tight ship and doesn't like for there to be a chance of impropriety. All the while Sue irks him by being too friendly with a member of the newest team. Not all is really well at The Case is Altered and we'll find that there is a really good reason for the place to be shut down. Not all fun times for the characters but I did have fun discussing this story with Jayme so check out her review.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC

The Killer Question is another great addition to Janice Hallett's catalog. Told through a series of text messages, emails, and WhatsApp messages, The Killer Questions tells the story of the Eastwoods who are the managers of a local pub and run a quiz night every Monday. When a body turns up after one of the quiz nights, hijinks ensues and like previous books you're left trying to figure out how everything connects and what twists are in store. I don't know how Hallett does it, but she always has a way of pulling one over on the reader in the best possible way. I thoroughly enjoyed this one much more than her last book, The Examiner. This was an entertaining, quick read-mainly because you keep flipping pages to figure out what is happening and why. I highly recommend this one!