Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from Atria Books via Edelweissplus, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it. All opinions are my own
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.
Synopsis:
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 which 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?
Review:
I have to admit, Agatha Christie will ALWAYS be my fav mystery writer, BUT Janice is doing her best Secretariat run to outseat her! Just when I think that she can't surprise me with her next book, she comes out with something so different from the previous one, yet her style is there in the writing and even if no one told me, I'd know it was one of her books.
Once again I found myself immersed into her writing and not wanting to leave it, finishing this book in 2 days! She slowly adds in more characters via text message conversations, so that the reader feels like they are part of the group chat, and can't wait to get down to the Case is Altered for the weekly trivia contest! Then the pub owners alert Sue and Mal about a cheating team running from pub to pub. Mal quickly recognizes them and refused them sentry sending them on their way. Then a body is accidentally discovered by a canal boat on the dock behind the pub. Things are not looking good for Mal and Sue's pub, but they seem to have secrets they are keeping from everyone and when a new group comes in and upsets the normal winning trivia team, initially it seems a one- off. But they keep coming back, and soon everyone is wondering not only how they are winning, but if they are tied into the group that was run off and the murder victim. As secrets start unraveling, it soon comes out that no one is what they seem and the reader if left gasping what could possibly happen next. And then the story changes yet again. This one will keep you guessing til the very end. Kudos to Hallett for making a very modern mystery!
About the Author:
Janice Hallett is a former magazine editor, award-winning journalist, and government communications writer. She wrote articles and speeches for, among others, the Cabinet Office, Home Office, and Department for International Development. Her enthusiasm for travel has taken her around the world several times, from Madagascar to the Galapagos, Guatemala to Zimbabwe, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. A playwright and screenwriter, she penned the feminist Shakespearean stage comedy NetherBard and cowrote the feature film Retreat. She lives in London and is the author of The Examiner, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, The Appeal, The Christmas Appeal, and The Twyford Code.
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