The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
The Killer Question is the sixth novel by the brilliant Janice Hallett. It was published in hardback in 2025, but I waited patiently until it was published in paperback recently to read it. I bought my copy for £6 on a rare trip to Tesco, then found it in Sainsbury’s (my usual supermarket) a few days later for £5!
Janice Hallett has a unique style of writing. All of her books (all .mysteries) are written as a series of ‘evidence’, such as emails and WhatsApp group messages, which the reader pieces together. They are always very clever and always funny. And The Killer Question is up there with the best of her novels.
In The Killer Question, Dominic Eastwood, is emailing a production company about the possibility of making a Netflix true crime documentary about the mystery surrounding his uncle and aunt, Mal and Sue Eastwood. He sends documentary evidence in batches to a production assistant to get her interested in covering the case. The evidence includes text messages, WhatsApp group chats, witness statements and information from a weekly pub quiz.
Mal and Sue are landlords of The Case is Altered – a not particularly popular pub in an inaccessible part of town. Every Monday, they run a quiz. Mal prides himself on writing the questions himself every week (unlike the other landlords in their little brewery chain). Every week, the same few teams turn up for the quiz.
The other landlords talk about a team of cheats going to their quizzes. Mal is determined the cheats won’t be quizzing at his pub! But then a mysterious team, The Shadow Knights, turns up and gets every question right. Every single week. They must be cheating, but how? The regular teams are feeling disheartened and start to enlist new players in an attempt to beat The Shadow Knights.
Meanwhile, a body is found in the canal and we get flashbacks to Mal and Sue’s former life.
With lots of twists along the way, it is all leading to a very surprising ending…
The Killer Question is is a brilliantly clever and funny read. Janice Hallett has a real talent for characters – making them likeable, slightly irritating and well-meaning.
I couldn’t put The Killer Question down. If you like crime stories or if you just want to read something funny, I can’t recommend it highly enough!
The Killer Question by Janice Hallett is a clever mystery novel that unfolds through emails, messages, and documents, keeping the reader actively piecing together clues. I like how Hallett uses an unconventional storytelling format to build suspense, making the reader feel like a detective uncovering secrets alongside the characters. The story blends humor, intrigue, and twists, which keeps it engaging right up to the final reveal.
I’m glad you loved it too, I always remember now to buy a physical copy of Janice Hallett books, only one worked on audio, The Alperton Angels because that was based around recordings. I loved the twist in this book though, I’d really begun to like Sue and Mal, even though they were a little weird.
It was absolutely brilliant. Definitely one of her best and she sets the bar very high! I was starting to like Sue and Mal too.
I haven’t heard of this author but, the unusual format of the mystery make me want to check this book out.
It is definitely well worth a read. The style is unusual and makes for a very entertaining story.