I skipped Janice Hallett's last book, "The Examiner," because I thought her storytelling method, which uses WhatsApp messages, emails, interview transcripts, etc., had gotten a little stale. However, when I saw that "The Killer Question" took place in the world of pub quizzes, I was back in. I used to be an avid bar-trivia player, and was proud of my team's string of victories. Trivia geeks take their hobby very seriously, and the participants at The Case is Altered are no different.
The Case is Altered is a slightly down-at-the-heels pub, inconveniently located on an out-of-the-way street called Bell End (which also happens to be a rather vulgar bit of British slang for an annoying person). Publicans Sue and Mal Eastwood are doing their best to turn the place around, which includes hosting a weekly trivia night, something Mal takes very seriously—while other pubs in town use pre-written quiz questions, Mal takes pride in crafting his own. Everything's going well until a new team shows up, smoking the regulars and taking home the prize (a small cash pot).
Readers know from the book's framing device—Sue and Mal's nephew is trying to interest a production company in creating a true-crime documentary about his aunt and uncle—that something about the new team's arrival marks the beginning of the end for The Case is Altered, which shut down abruptly not long afterward. Gradually, the reader finds out what happened through the trove of messages.
Since the nephew is trying to intrigue the producer, things aren't always laid out in a chronological fashion; significant facts are withheld from her (and us, the readers), only to be revealed in jaw-dropping fashion later on. There were some definite clues that I only recognized when I looked back after finishing the novel.
Since pub quizzes rather sensibly don't allow players to have phones, Hallett has to find roundabout methods to narrate some of the most significant action, mostly through after-the-fact WhatsApp chats among the various trivia teams. The ire at Mal's increasingly baroque questions (at one point, trying to foil the know-it-all new team, he asks participants to name every element on the periodic table) is definitely amusing.
When I reviewed Hallett's first novel, "The Appeal," I complained about the fact that all monetary amounts in the U.K.-set book had been changed into dollars for the American edition. I was relieved to find that my advance copy of "The Killer Question" used pounds AND had plenty of Britishisms. Please, publishers, leave these intact for your U.S. readers—it adds to the sense of place, and we can always use Google if we need to know what the dollar equivalent of £12 is.

This new book from Janice Hallett is so good! I was so thankful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this story early. I am a big fan of her work, and this new book didn't disappoint! I love that this book is centered around pub quizzes, trivia teams, and the wild and crazy secrets of "ordinary people". Per usual, there are some big twists and turns in this story that I did NOT see coming! I love all of the competitive trivia players and teams, and highly recommend this book!

Any Janice Hallett story is an instant must-start-reading-right-now, and even this story, which I would say wasn't as good as The Examiner or The Appeal, still is shades better than most thriller/mystery books out there. The twists are really packed in at the end, and it's a treat!

I absolutely loved this book. As someone who goes to a weekly trivia night, I could totally relate to bar scene and the patrons. I also loved how Janice Hallett interwove the police operation within the current time and how it all connected. The ending was a complete shock to me and I loved it.

Thank you Janice Hallett, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!