Janice Hallett always knocks it out of the park. The style of writing breaks up the monotony of reading large chunks of text, and throughout the course of reading I feel like a detective solving a crime behind the scenes. Her twists have me absolutely shocked, and I could not put this book down. The entire time I was trying to figure out one part of the mystery, all for it to unravel at the end and every knot to be tied. i will always read anything by Janice Hallett, i have yet to be disappointed.

Janice FREAKING Hallett does it AGAIN!!!! I am beyond grateful to our lovely author, NetGalley, and Atria Books for granting me advanced digital access to this mysterious creation before it hits shelves on September 23, 2025.

I have consumed every single JH book and I’ve been anticipating this one for a long time!

Scenario: Dominic Eastwood is writing into a Netflix documentarian with a pitch for a new true crime piece, being sure to attach all the gritty details, which readers get to unpackage and try to solve, adding so much fun to the reading experience.

Dominic’s aunt and uncle Sue and Mal, own a pub called The Case is Altered and they host weekly trivia quizzes which have become quite the buzz, especially after a team titled The Shadow Knights seem to be either the wisest quizzers in the county, or they’ve finagled a way to cheat, angering other teams and the quizmaster.

One evening, a disturbance within the crowd occurs leaving guests on edge and when that same troublemaker’s body is found down the road, a few days later, patrons grow fearsome of their surroundings and hosts, yet the quiz most trudge onward.

I LOVED this book and always enjoy playing detective as all of the evidence unveils itself to me. Many stars, all the stars!

This was so good!!!!
When I tell you I read this book in 24 hours I could not put it down! The twists and turns in this book had my blood pumping and the unreliable characters… 👀
A must read for fans of mystery thrillers!

The Case is Altered pub is empty and boarded up, but it once held lively weekly pub quizzes. Why did the pub shut down, and what happened to its proprietors, Mal and Sue? The reader finds out by reading through a history of emails, texts, quiz sheets, WhatsApp messages, and reports.

I like Hallett's books because of their unusual storytelling format---it's refreshing to get bits of information from various characters and to try and put the puzzle pieces together. It's amazing how much characterization comes through in one's texts or emails. The pub quiz (bar trivia night for US readers) made for an interesting focus, and it was fun to read about the various questions and quiz topics, and to see how different characters reacted to their difficulty (or lack thereof). This isn't my favorite of Hallett's books (I still like The Appeal best); the stakes don't feel incredibly high for most of the book, and while murders make up part of the storyline, they come so late that this book overall has a more lighthearted vibe. I especially enjoyed the youngest character, whose name is completely escaping me now---her texts were very much what I expected from someone her age and often very funny when contrasted with the older adults'. Recommended for any mystery reader open to a little something different.

Man, I love Janice Hallett. Her books are so fun. I was so excited when I saw she was releasing a new book. I love her style of writing, and she does it so well! It cannot be easy to create mystery books in the epistolary style, but she's great at it. If you pay attention, the mysteries are solvable. She gives you plenty of legitimate clues, but it's also not so obvious that you feel bored. There were many twists that surprised me! There were quite a few characters to keep track of, but she made it easy to get to know them by listing which pub and quiz team each belonged to, so after a while, it became easier. If you liked her past books, you'll like this one too, and if you've never read one of her books before, I greatly encourage you to pick this one up or one of her older ones; they're just so good!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for letting me read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Killer Question has the most intriguing premise and it delivered on it. Through emails (which we get to follow throughout) following Dominic’s mission to get his Aunt and Uncle’s pub’s mystery created as a Netflix show, and then texts chronicling that same mystery (and some other events relevant to the plot) we get a fairly wild tale around trivia, of all things.

The story was entertaining, though the format of this sadly wasn’t my favorite. I thought the emails and texts were entertaining, along with the other forms of presenting the story (articles, transcripts, at one point a play), but they were used for all of the book. At no point did we get a character moving the story along directly and while this must have been incredibly challenging to write, it was also challenging to read. The story is so great and I have to believe there was a way to present it, still utilizing this format creatively, that would be more effective. Still, it’s immensely entertaining and if the format would work for you, or if you’re not a straight through, one book at a time, type of reader, I think it’s absolutely worth reading.

I always look forward to Hallett’s books, so of course I dropped everything when I got approved for this DRC and began it immediately! It’s another fun epistolary mystery and has one heck of a twist to it. I felt like this wasn’t quite as strong as Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, especially in terms of using a variety of media types. It starts and ends really strong, but the middle section dragged at times with some repetitive bits or long winded emails from side characters that go off on random tangents. I think trimming it back a bit would have made it a more engaging read.

I appreciate the unique story and quirky cast of characters. There are quite a few to track but there are helpful lists with who belongs with which quiz group at the start of each new quiz week, though on ebook I found them somewhat hard to read as they were lighter colored and very small (and didn’t change with font size).

While it wasn’t my fav by the author, I really enjoyed it and would most definitely recommend it. Thanks Atria Books & NetGalley for the DRC!

This one is written in the same way as her others, fully in mixed media format. The entire story is told through email and text threads and I just love this format. It moves so fast and Janice is incredibly clever.

This book was the first time I felt a lack of planning evidence itself in the story. Because this one was great in the first 20%. I was IN> But the middle 50% were incredibly tedious. The characters were flat, the story sort of dull and we just kept doing the same thing over and over and over until I was actually looking at the table of contents to see if I could tell by the chapter titles when we’d move forward.

When we did, we went into a faster-moving last 30%, which did include at least one twist that was pretty darn great. But overall,. The entire book was just mid. It felt rushed and sort of … thin?

It doesn’t escape my notice that she’s now pumping out a new book every year and now is when we’re seeing this lack of quality show itself.

But also, this could be a one off. I remain a Janice Hallett evangelist and highly, highly recommend several of her books, as they are nothing short of incredible.

This one, not so much.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC copy!

I powered through this book in 1 day, and I can’t decide if that was a mistake or not 😂 I think it definitely helped in keeping the slightly tense atmosphere going, but overall I’m not feeling as satisfied as I normally do after finishing a Janice Hallett book…

This story is about quiz night at a local pub, told through found documents by the nephew of the owners of said pub. The fun part is we get to experience a whole bunch of quiz nights before the mystery is solved, with a lot of drama and interpersonal bickering mixed in! The not-so-fun part is there is a LOT of setup to get to where we need to go, which is a common occurrence with Hallett’s books. Usually, I find the payoff is worth the lengthy setup! Here, I think it’s not quite as explosive as I’d have hoped.

I will say, I LOVE mixed media novels, and I’m no stranger to Hallett’s work, but even so I found this one a bit more boring and less intense than expected. It wasn’t as juicy as the gossip in The Appeal, and the mystery wasn’t as thrilling as in Alperton Angels.

However: this was still very well written, and a tight mystery! I was surprised in the end, and I overall enjoyed the journey to get there. I think it just needed a little extra to get it to the level of the other books I’ve loved from this author.

I would absolutely still recommend this! Don’t let the critiques fool you 😂

Mal & Sue are enjoying retirement running "The Case is Altered", a pub off-the-beaten-track from the others in the circuit. They have their regulars and weekly pub quiz to look forward to, and retired life is treating them well. Enter: a dead body, a new team at their quiz that is causing discontentment among their regulars, and trying to hide their past involvement in a police operation - what could possibly go wrong?

Janice Hallett is a master of her craft - she found her niche and completely perfected it. The way that she writes mysteries is so unique. The mixed media would easily become muddied and clunky in anyone else's hands, yet she manages to still write clearly, and keep the reader in suspense throughout. The short-form makes her work extremely bingeable and easy to digest, yet she somehow retains the British charm and culture throughout the story. Her plots are layered and complex, with an easy-going humor & coziness laced throughout.

This one had me flipping pages desperately trying to figure out how everything would be resolved. I think I enjoyed this story even more than The Appeal, and as I make my way through her backlist and keep my eye out for new releases in the future, I could see her becoming a favorite author for me.

JANICE! I am flabbergasted! The Killer Question is probably going to end up on my top reads of the year. This book is freaking fantastic. It reminds me so much of The Appeal and thats the book that made me fall in love with Janice Hallett’s writing. The cast of characters are all so fascinating. You can really tell Janice put her heart into this one.

The Killer Question takes a little bit to get into because of the format of the story but once you get into it it’s so worth it. I was truly obsessed with the quizzers and their POVs so much so that I found myself not caring about the other timeline but trust me you need to care. The way this book kept hitting me with twist after twist in the end! I truly can’t say enough good things about this book. I can’t wait to see what everyone thinks when it comes out. I need more people to talk to about that ending!
5/5 Stars

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.75⭐️ Really fun and twisty! Loved the cast of characters, and once I got used to the format of the book, I really enjoyed it. The first half is a bit slow and confusing with all of the different characters to keep track of, but I still had a good time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

A super funny read! Janice Hallett at her best, with a really satisfying ending. Lots of twists and a really immersive setting!

Janice Hallett is fantastic at writing mixed media mysteries! The Killer Question follows a group of pub quizzers and pub owners whose route is rocked by the discovery of a body and the appearance of an amazingly good quiz team soon after. The story is told through WhatsApp messages, emails, transcripts, and pub results.

I really enjoyed this and had a lot of fun with it! Plenty of twists and turns and I found the overarching plot of a nephew trying to spin this story into a Netflix documentary to be compelling and a good grounding hook. Highly recommend to mystery fans, particularly those familiar with Hallett’s work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for access to this work. All opinions are my own.

I tend to love Janice Hallett’s mixed media approach to murder mysteries (The Appeal is still my favorite of hers), and this one was such a delightful premise. It revolves around a weekly pub quiz in the English countryside (are they really that cutthroat? Do the same people do it every single week? I feel like it’s different in the states!), the two owners of said pub who are (naturally) hiding secrets, and a dead body that turns up in the river next to the pub. This mystery is told via text messages, largely, with the occasional pub quiz leaflet or or online review or police report, etc. included. I just had a good time with this. I feel like this is the “coziest” of Hallett’s mysteries, maybe because of the setting? You know what you’re getting with this, and sometimes that familiarity is what you need as a reader!

Although I enjoyed the first several books that Janice Hallett wrote, I have not been nearly as big a fan of her more recent work. Unfortunately, I found this book a little dry. I did enjoy the variety of ways that the story was told (emails, police reports, etc.) and the book did such a good job describing trivia nights that I am tempted to find and try one in my area. Other than that, though, the story was too slow moving for my taste and didn't keep my interest.

This was another hit from Janice Hallet! I love her books and the interesting formats, but also the mysteries always keep me entertained and guessing.

What a clever, twisty delight. The Killer Question is one of those books that plays with your expectations at every turn—and does it with a wicked sense of humor and sharp intelligence. Janice Hallett knows exactly how to keep a reader guessing, not just about who did it, but about what’s really going on underneath all the surface charm.

The format is inventive without being gimmicky, and the story unfolds in a way that feels fresh and dynamic. I had so much fun trying to piece together the clues, constantly shifting my suspicions as new layers were revealed. The voice is distinct and biting, and the pacing is spot-on—it’s the kind of book you tell yourself you’ll just read one more chapter of... and then suddenly it's 2 a.m.

But beyond the cleverness, there’s also a deeper exploration of how stories are told, how public perception shapes truth, and how easily people can be misunderstood—or manipulated. It’s funny and fast-paced, yes, but it also left me thinking.

If you love mysteries that are smart, surprising, and just a little bit sly, this one is an absolute must. It’s a puzzle box of a novel, and I loved every second of solving it.

Another winner by Janice Hallett! Hallett has become a must-read author for me. I loved this one as much as her previous books. I particularly enjoyed the humor at the beginning of the book as we got to know the trivia teams and the pub owners who run the trivia games. As a fan of epistolary novels, this contemporary version with text messages and group chats worked very well for me. I flew through it. The mystery part of the book had lots of twists and turns and red herrings. Nothing I predicted took place. I also thought the device of having the story be pitched for a true crime series was a very clever way to tell the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining book and highly recommended it!

I've read a couple of Janice Hallett's other books, and this one lives up to the author's reputation for intricate mysteries with interesting twists. I enjoyed the inside look at the quizzing community and the colorful characters in this novel, and found the ending to be pretty satisfying.

That said, I only gave this book 4 stars because I found the format of the story -- Whatsapp group texts, emails, and audio transcripts -- to be a little confusing at first, then tedious after hours of reading, and kept hoping the format would change partway through the book. There were also a heck of a lot of characters and name abbreviations to keep track of (dozens!), taking away a little of the enjoyment of the mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide honest feedback!