The Examiner by Janice Hallet

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC!

I’ve been a huge fan of Janice Hallett ever since I picked up The Twyford Code by chance at a Waterstones. Since then, I’ve ordered her books for international delivery all the way to my home in Canada just so I could read them as soon as possible without waiting for the North American release – and I much prefer the UK cover designs to the NA ones. So, when I got the chance to review The Examiner through Netgalley, I was very excited! I’ve been highly anticipating this book for what feels like forever.

That said, this book was both the exact type of mysterious intrigue and excitement that I expect from Hallett (I devoured it in about three days!) while also feeling a bit too much like a re-do of The Appeal (and The Christmas Appeal, actually). 

I really enjoyed the setting of the professional MA, as it rang very true to my experience taking an MA in Publishing – except for the murder and intrigue. But the types of assignments and the occasional personality clash on group projects was very relatable. Even the fact that everyone comes from very different backgrounds, with people who are changing careers, balancing full time jobs, and are mature students (that would technically apply to myself, even) was very true to this sort of MA course.

I thought that the mystery was well constructed, and the timing of the reveals was very clever. Hallett’s books almost always hinge on a late-book reveal that changes the way you look at the entire book, one that you almost couldn’t possibly predict, and this one had a few of those. The true nature of all the characters’ motivations to be on the course, character details, and the bait and switch of various characters’ identities all kept you along thinking ‘surely, this is the last thing’. Personally, I don’t think it was too much, but I can also see that perspective.

What was a little disappointing for me (I’m still giving this 3.5/4 stars, so not that disappointing) was that it felt very reminiscent of The Appeal in terms of character dynamics and even setting (what is Academia if not a small town?) and two main plot details. I don’t think that took away from my enjoyment, but I’ll likely recommend this book to people instead of The Appeal from now on, as I felt that this book executed some of those ideas and themes a lot more effectively. And maybe that was the intention – God knows I’ve written something and wished I could just ‘do it again, but better’, and that’s what this felt like. I may even amend my star rating one day, when I haven’t just finished the book after reading furiously until 1 a.m., to reflect my feelings on this book more specifically than the way I felt about it in relation to her prior work. And on that day, it will probably be made a 5 star read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC! I’ve been a huge fan of Janice Hallett ever since I picked up The Twyford Code by chance at a Waterstones. Since then, I’ve ordered her books for international delivery all the way to my home in Canada just so I could read them as soon as possible…