“Hallett continues to stretch the limits of the epistolary mystery in this playful tale of murder at a weekly trivia night… Hallett is at the top of her game. It’s a wickedly satisfying ride.”
—Publishers Weekly
Description
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
Janice Hallett, “the new queen of crime” (Electric Literature), returns with a fresh, edge-of-your-seat mystery that takes place at a pub’s weekly trivia night, revealed through quiz categories, phone messages, and email correspondence.
Sue and Mal Eastwood run an isolated rural pub called The Case Is Altered where a weekly trivia game has revived its flagging fortunes—that is, until a body is found in the nearby river. Soon after, a mysterious new team arrives and shakes up the diverse field of regulars by scoring top marks in every round...every week.
Meanwhile, Sue and Mal have a secret of their own. Before arriving here, they were caught up in a secret police operation that meant they had to leave town—and whatever happened back then seems to have finally caught up with them.
Five years later, the pub lies derelict, and their nephew Dominic is determined to make a documentary about their story. What happened at this unassuming pub? And can a single question really kill?
Reviews
“A quintessential British pub, an escalating quiz-night rivalry, and a deeply personal mystery unfold in this clever epistolary tale… A masterclass in plotting. Warning to readers seeking emotional footing: the rug will be yanked again and again.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The conclusion is sure to take readers by surprise in this unique, tantalizing tale of deception, greed, and murder. Recommended for dedicated Anglophiles and those who enjoy the quirky and unusual.”
—Booklist
“Hallett is a master of misdirection, nudging us toward the mystery of the Shadow Knights so that our focus on peripheral matters relaxes. There are twists aplenty in The Killer Question, but the big one near the end is a well-earned shocker that makes you rethink everything that came before it.”
—Air Mail
