If competition in academia is typically so fierce because the stakes are so low, what will happen when the stakes are raised to murder? It’s a question every bit as thorny as the conundrums facing the venerable British institutions—amateur dramatics, children’s literature, niche religious cults—skewered by Janice Hallett in previous novels. With The Examiner, she applies her trademark wit and signature cutting-edge epistolary style to the secrets, rivalries, and betrayals within a university setting.

Higher education funding cuts have hit Royal Hastings University and esteemed lecturer Gela Nathaniel has been left with just one course for the 2023–24 academic year: the new MA in Multimedia Art. To prove the course’s worth to university management, she has handpicked six students for the trial run: Alyson Lang, established artist; Patrick Bright, retirement-ready art shop owner; Ludya Parak, single mumtrepreneur; Jonathan Danners, gallery owner; Cameron Wesley, corporate burnout; and Jem Badhuri, recent graduate.

They’re a motley crew to be sure, and it’s not just their different art specialisms that set them apart. Given their diverse characters—not that Gela ever gets round to filling in the diversity forms—tensions bubble from the “getting to know you” stage as egos and styles collide, and after artwork has been incinerated, clay thrown and accusations of both theft and infidelity raised, there seems little chance that the final group project will be a success. Perhaps it’s even worse than that, however, as the group seems be down one student by the end of the course.

Indeed, The Examiner is related through the students’ instant messages, emails, diary entries and coursework submitted via the university’s Doodle information management system, as well as correspondence from certain members of staff, as accessed by the course’s external examiner. That unfortunate individual is meant to use data available on Doodle to audit the students’ final grades but soon comes to suspect that something terrible has happened during the course.

The canny formatting favoured by Janice Hallett means that the reader occupies the position of the external examiner—that is, the detective. All of the course materials are set out in chronological fashion for the examiner to work through while verifying the grades awarded by Gela, which means that events of the academic year are slowly revealed, as are the personalities of those involved, as The Examiner progresses. This renders the story attention-grabbing from the outset, and it’s impossible not to attempt puzzling things out alongside the examiner.

But, while the fact that something peculiar has happened is immediately clear, before the examiner can get to the details and unpicking of the mystery, the intricate character- and world-building are frontloaded in the style of a freshers’ icebreaker event. Interestingly, the mixed media narrative style means that the students and Gela first get to introduce themselves through their welcome messages and stated aims for the course, and then their true natures are revealed through their interactions.

As a group and individually, taken at face value, the six students are thoroughly unlikeable. They’re a perfect storm of shameless egomaniacs with fragile self-esteem who are all willing to ruthlessly pursue their (professional) goals. This means that there’s next to no chance of them sacrificing their plans and pulling together to complete a group project, which really calls into question Gela’s thinking in selecting guinea pigs for a new course centred on diversity, inclusion and cooperation. Still, all the bitching, back-stabbing and attempts at sabotage are really very funny.

Plus, once enough communiqués have built up to allow for a more nuanced interpretation of comments and behaviours, the genius of Hallett’s characterisation becomes further apparent. The group is entirely comprised of anti-heroes, which allows for plenty of schemes and double-crosses and means that its impossible to fully get to grips with what’s going on. When it’s feasible that the entire bunch are unreliable narrators, the layers of the mystery deepen and the intrigue mounts.

Although they’re all perfect for their roles, a couple of characters stand out. Relative youngster Jem comes across as a friendly keen bean who is particularly committed to furthering her art career. However, she has a will of iron and a tendency to pursue her curiosity to quite extreme lengths. Her desire to assert herself and willingness to stoop as low as necessary to even a score also give rise to some of the best—both the funniest and the most startling—moments of the story.

While his people-pleasing attitude initially gives him the appearance of Jem’s opposite, the humble Patrick has surprisingly depth and his everyman nature means that his messages to the others reveal things that the stronger characters would never tease out. The two of them also work well together as a dynamic-ish detective duo, hunting for evidence of their fellow students’ misdemeanours almost from week one. Ultimately, the hijinks, shenanigans and skullduggery of them all are a joy to behold.

Moreover, despite the limited locations, the world-building is just as good as the character-building. In creating Royal Hastings University, Hallett has drawn inspiration from her time at Royal Holloway, University of London, and she has the environment and atmosphere of a university down to a tee. From the petty squabbles to the unnecessary bureaucracy, the lack of resources to the threat of publish or perish, it all rings true and works brilliantly well as a background for a mystery novel. The mundanity of it all really highlights extraordinary turn of events.

And what perplexing events they are. The external examiner has concluded that one of the students has met a terrible end, but who? How? And why? After the setting and characters have been richly evoked, Hallett allows the mystery to unfold in a tantalising way, dropping intriguing clues into the students’ humdrum messages and providing twist after revelation after twist. Most similarly to The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, the story takes a number of highly unexpected and almost preternatural turns.

The Examiner makes for a riveting guessing game from the outset, combining key aspects of the classic whodunit with near-impossible puzzles more closely related to a howdunit and whatexactlywasdunanyway. It all makes for an unexpectedly macabre mystery that delivers surprise after surprise as the six students do their best to one up, show up and cover up their way through a course that proves memorable for all the wrong reasons.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 4*
Writing skill : 5*
Characters : 4*
Plot: 3*
Format: 2*
Uniquness: 4*

Its taken me some time (sleeping on it) to articulate my thoughts on this book. Right off the bat the writing is absolutely stellar. I invisioned thats art lab with such clarity. Im now desperate to read her back catalogue if this books anything to go by.
The characters were fab, loved Jem right off the bat, Pat too, and without any spoilers, I knew there was something fishy about Alyson.
The format blew my mind at times, I dont think the ebook I recieved from Netgalley will be anything like the finished article, as I really struggled to work out what was going on quite a lot of the time; whether it was emails, or whatsapp messages or diary entries, they all kind of looked the same.
The plot was great however and as said before the writing took me right there, and back to UNI.
really really liked this one, but would perhaps recommend waiting for the finished version, and picking it up physically.
As ever, thanks to Viper for this ARC.

I think I loved it :) The format was a bit off because I read an advance digital copy, and I believe this would've been better read in physical format. Having said that, I did enjoy the different episcopal format that the book is written in. I don't often read stories written this way, in fact I think the last one I did was TGLAPPPS which was many moons ago.

I loved the pacing - very, very fast paced. And I loved the characters. All so so different, so easy to keep track of. A few of them I absolutely hated, which made it so much more fun. A few twists caught me off guard, a couple I saw coming a mile off. But basically a super fun read and I think I'll recommend it.

One point, the main driver for the storyline, I didn't really like - because of it's implausibility - but it was tiny really, so doesn't affect my enjoyment of the book overall.

I'll look into more of this authors work. Well done JH.

I do love Janice Hallett’s signature style of writing her novels, and for anyone who hasn’t yet read one (why not?) this latest book is written in the form of emails, texts and essays and follows six students studying a Multimedia Arts Masters program at the Royal Hastings University. Wonderfully written, quite labyrinthine and enormous fun trying to solve the mystery. The clues are there and the reader has to find them and the clock is ticking…

Briefly, Gela Nathaniel, head of the Arts centre has chosen six very different, and rather unusual students to take part in the new course. Accused of having favourites her gradings are in question. Some of the students appear not to be who they are purporting to be and one of the examiners believes that somebody’s life is in danger. Just another normal day at the office!

It took me a while to get right into this but when I did I was so invested I had a notebook and pen at the ready! The characters are excellent and you couldn’t find a more unlikely group if you tried, from the seemingly overqualified Alyson to the struggling Cameron they have little in common. This really is a very clever book with plenty of the authors trademark wit to keep you smiling and a cracking, if rather complex, plot to uncover. Great fun and very entertaining.

4.5⭐️

Janice Hallett is an absolute genius! I loved the Appeal and the Christmas Appeal and The Examiner is as every bit as witty and clever.

Although the writing style of broadcast messages, emails and texts takes a bit of getting used to, it just works.

A brilliantly concocted group environment of art students and their background stories lead you into a web of mystery and misconceptions.

The storyline is great, the plot and twists are fantastic and the author’s ability to draw you in and lead you down the garden path is just insane.

What I also love about this author’s books is her extraordinary observations of human behaviour and her skill to create those characters with certain traits that we all recognise in someone.

I can't wait for the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author this ARC.

I have read all of this authors books, and I am resigned to the fact that despite all the clues laid down, I will never guess who did it and why!!
The titular examiner is the person who assesses exam grades at a college or university. The course tutor will follow a marking sheet, then an essay is chosen at random from the three groups of grades they have given to the students, usually Pass, Merit or Distinction, to be reassessed to see if the criteria has been followed and maintained. I used to find this aspect very stressful when I was teaching over thirty years ago.
The course in this novel is a MA degree in Art multimedia at Royal Hastings college. It is a debut course, there are six students, Jen, Patrick, Jonathan, Alyson, Ludya and Cameron. The tutor is Gela. There is a mixture of practical assessments, and essays, which will culminate in a final project. that has been requested by a local sponsor. So far, so normal.
The story is told via the medium of email messages between the students and their tutor. We are quickly aware of clashing personalities and back biting behaviour. There is a fire, equipment goes missing, a trip to Somerset to work on a project appears to be where the rot sets in, and there are concerns that a student may have died. A radio is key, and those diversity forms that never get filled in are clues, but it is a very complex story, I found this to be the most difficult book in this series to get to grips with, it will test your sanity at times! It is a mark of this authors ability to befog and confuse the reader that meant even as I read the denouement, I was still lost and none the wiser of what had happened!!
A deserved five star read. I think I am looking forward to any future books by this author.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Serpents tail/ Viper/ and Profile books for my advanced read, freely given in exchange for my honest review.
I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

Janice Hallett definitely knows how to take you on a full twists and turns journey with puzzles within puzzles and I had fun reading this one.

It’s set following Examiners reviewing documents and coursework submissions for an MA course where we also follow the students and the relationships and plot that unfolds.

I will say, this isn’t far favourite on Hallett’s work and felt that at times that I was just waiting for things to happen and for the puzzle to unwind. I think previously there’s been little ‘omg’ snippets spread throughout the book with a big number of reveals at the end where this all felt it lead to the final 50-80 pages instead so there was a lot of building up (not necessarily a bad thing! I was maybe just impatient).

If you’re a fan of Janice Halletts work and race through these books due to the ease of reading, the drama, mystery and the construction of writing then I would recommend. Overall it was fun read.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed other books by this author I was really looking forward to this story. I did really struggle with the mixed media format on this one though. Instead of making the story faster and more intense I found it almost too detailed on the course content. I think if I hadn’t read others it may well have been a dnf. Maybe it was just a very slow start, but it did pick up about half way through and improve. I did find the story quite far fetched but equally there were some good twists. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

This is another gripping page turner by Janice Hallett that is full of twists, turns and misdirection all in the form of transcripts.
I really enjoy reading this sort of book, it's full of opinions from each 'voice' and little atmosphere from the variety of settings due to the nature of the 'evidence' that we have been presented with. This means that it feels similar to the reality of solving this sort of case, I was presented with all the available evidence and left to figure out what, if anything, had happened to one of the group and if something had happened, who had it happened to?
The ideas and subject in this book is quite different to those I have read by Janice Hallett previously as those revolved mostly around a certain dramatic arts group! But this was equally as gripping to me as the group involved were all hiding things from us initially and as those secrets were revealed, it changed my opinions on what I had been told previously and lead me away from a few wrong turns. I really liked that about this book particularly, my thoughts on what might have happened was almost constantly evolving with the new information I was receiving until I discovered how wrong/right I had been in my deductions and assumptions!
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more by this author in future

Wow. This book threw me for a loop. Wait, is that the saying?
No matter.
I thought this was a fun format, we got to know the six students through their messages in the schools ‘Doodle’ system.
Then trouble starts to stir, like a godlike creature spying on them all, thinking “Hmmm, what to throw in next…?”. Not everyone gets along with everyone, as in real life. One of our students, Jem, suspects someone has died because that person has not been around lately, well, based on what she has seen, anyways.

They receive projects along the way, and we follow them as some excel and some struggle.
The one I thought died, did indeed not. The ones I thought were having an affair, was not. My head was almost spinning.
As the plot thickens, I read for longer than planned every time I picked up the book, I just needed to know what was going on, and I needed to know it now.
The way this book was written drew me into the drama, which I normally don’t like, and kept me there to unravel the rest to satisfy my curiosity.
And I have realized that I need to read this book again, now that I know what I know.


Note: I will post this next week on www.instagram.com/lady_j_reads.

I loved Janice Hallett's 'different' way of presenting her mystery writing- as letters, notes, messages etc between the characters, however I felt it was a little overused in this instance. With no chapter breaks, it felt quite long winded and I found it a faff to have to look carefully each time at who was messaging who, which chat group it was, who else was in that group etc.
Sometimes I found myself starting to skim, which I try to avoid.
I didn't find any of the characters likeable (intentionally I suppose) so I didn't really connect with the book on any level. Only the fact that I love books about academia kept me reading.
I found a lot of the coursework submissions to be unrealistic for an MA and that grated on me as I read.
Definitely my least favourite by this author.

Using Janice Hallett's now well-established approach of a modern take on epistolary fiction, The Examiner recounts the exploits of a small group of art students on a new MA course. Through reading emails, internal messaging, Whatsapps and course notes, one of the external examiners for the course becomes convinced that something is afoot: one of the students is missing, and the others are implicated in a cover-up.

The plot is convoluted and the characters didn't always feel convincing (which is sometimes for good reason, but unfortunately seems to affect the book more widely). Although enjoyable, it was far from my favourite of Hallett's.

I love the writing style of Janice Hallett. She has changed the epistolary genre and brought it to a exciting, modern format which works wonders for this story. I won't go into details, as you have to go in blind to fully appreciate this story. However, I can say that it starts with the chats of a very divers group of art students who have enrolled in a new MA. The ambition is to bridge the world of arts and creativity with that of corporate image.
And if I have one criticism, it is that the first quarter of the book reads like the internal notes of a project team - which it is of course - but for me personally it was too close to home. It made me feel like I was involved in yet another project at work in which I needed to be invested, which is also a compliment for the author for succeeding in making me feel this way.

But don't be fooled, because the story takes a few very sharp turns and becomes something else completely! People are everything but who they say they are, and almost everyone is fooled - including the reader.

I will never tire of Mrs. Hallett writing, and I will happily devour every book she writes. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long for the next one.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

Like many Janice Hallett books, the mixed media nature of the book is a key component. It amazes me how she manages to change it up with each release. This one focuses on private group chats, emails, reports, diaries and essays. These elements make the book very easy and fast.
The mystery in this was a little slow, there were drops of hints in the middle portion but as the reader we don’t really know what is the mystery. This can either be fun for the reader or annoying. For me, I didn’t mind. The downside, that most of the reveal was done in the last part of the book. Out of all her books, this had the weakest mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A group of students start on am ART course. It is an odd selection, ranging from an established artist to a young girl who has just completed her degree.
The book is written in the form of messages and from the point of view of the final examiner. The relationship between the students is strained and doesn't seem to settle. The youngest student feels that the tutor is favouring people who are not attending the sessions and when they are given their end of year assignment which requires them to work as a team, she bemoans that people are missing and not pulling their weight.
As time goes on, things get stranger and stranger and it all comes to a head on the night of the presentation.
I really enjoyed reading this.

Absolutely mesmerising. So many twists and turns that it was impossible to guess the denouement.
As usual, by combining the narrative with communications, Hallett deepens the mystery and allows the reader a perspective that the characters don’t have.

The characters are a motley crew who are the Guinea pigs on a new art course. Although not entirely likeable, in fact some are wholly unlikeable, their behaviour creates some comedy in amongst all of the intrigue and drama.

Janice Hallett has absolutely nailed it with ‘The Examiner’.

Please don't let this different, yet innovative and unique format of storytelling - messages, texts and essays - put you off reading this book. You will do yourself a disservice! I found The Examiner to be a riveting page turner that keeps the reader engaged and guessing throughout. Hallett has created an eclectic cast of characters, the majority quite unlikable, and a very intriguing and plausible storyline.

Janice Hallett is definitely an author whose books will appear on my shelves in the future. 

Thank you NetGalley and Viper Books for an eARC of this book to read and review. Expected publication date is August 29th, 2024.

The Examiner follows this authors marvellously unique storytelling style, using emails, WhatsApp messages, and diary entries to weave a complex mystery.

The novel is set at the University of Royal Hastings, where six diverse students are selected for a new MA art course led by the mysterious Gela. The story plays out through their communications as they work on their final project.

As always, the format keeps you engaged as you try to piece together the story - I don’t think I’ve figured one of them out correctly yet! 🤣.

Overall, The Examiner offers another intriguing and inventive mystery. it’s a good read for those of us who enjoy her style and mixed-media narratives. I eagerly await her next book.

If you are a fan of Janice Hallett you will find yourself in familiar territory with The Examiner. A strong cast of characters and unusual story telling that leaves the reader to try to see beyond what they are reading.
This time we are with a new MA art course at the University of Royal Hastings. The 6 participants have been personally selected by the course leader Gela and seem a rather unusual group. Diverse in age and ability- it doesn’t seem clear to us, or them , why they have been chosen. They quickly become combative and as the whole point of the course is to work together towards a final project, sparks begins to fly. The entire novel is made up of internal messages and WhatsApp’s between them and we soon get to know the characters - at least what they tell us and others see.
The joy of a Janice Hallett novel is trying to find out what is being hidden and as the reveals come thick and fast it all comes together like a jigsaw puzzle. As always, very clever with some brilliant characters and sleight of hand.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett is an academic thriller in her signature mixed media style which uses a mixture of text messages, emails and online diary entries to gradually reveal a complicated plot. Set on a Masters art course with just six students, the cast of characters and therefore potential suspects is relatively small. The initial pacing feels slow as it takes a little time to get the characters and their quirks and traits straight , but it does pick up steam as the story unfolds and by the end I was frantically turning the pages as reveal after reveal brought the story to a perhaps slightly overly complicated close. I was happy to stick with it despite the slow start because of my enjoyment of previous books by this author, but new readers might find it a little off putting. I wish the ending had been slightly easier to believe, it was just a little too far fetched for my liking. That being said I enjoyed the journey if not the destination.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.