The Killer Question by Janice HallettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Picked up this ARC from Edelweiss because I loved The Christmas Appeal. The Killer Question is written in a similar format - through emails, texts, police transcripts, and so on - so knowing what to expect made it easier to orient to the book. I do think that the underlying premise/framing of this one - Dominic Eastwood trying to pitch the bizarre story of his aunt & uncle and their pub to Netflix - made a lot more sense than a KC sending notes from a cold case to his ex-students to solve.
Sue and Mal Eastwood run a rural pub called The Case is Altered, and their one big draw is the weekly quiz nights, that Mal sets himself. Then a body is found in the nearby river, and a new team starts winning all the quizzes all the time. Tensions start running high - more for the quiz than the dead body. At the same time, Dominic includes transcripts of a police operation Sue and Mal were caught up in before their retirement, with the implication that both events are closely realted.
It's a bit slow in the beginning as you get to know Sue and Mal and the various quizzers at this quaint little pub, but snowballs (avalanches?) from the mid onwards to the end as secrets are revealed. Had some suspicions about what was going on at The Case is Altered, but did not expect that final twist!
Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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