Told in Janice Hallett's trademark style, using e-mails, chat transcripts, texts, and more, The Examiner follows six students pursuing degrees in a multimedia art course at Royal Hastings, University of London. The instructor, Gela, desperately needs this pilot course to go smoothly so that the art department won't lose even more funding. She has handpicked the students, but some of her choices are questionable--for one, a couple of the participants lack actual experience in creating art--and the conflicts and drama start from day one.
Despite these tensions, everyone must work together toward their final project, a launch party presentation for a cloud-based tech company announcing its new product. The assignment includes a road trip to collect materials. Shortly before the final installation, an outside examiner is brought in to make sure the students receive a fair grade. As he reviews their final essays, e-mails, and the course's message boards, however, the examiner raises an alarm, because he believes something horrible, perhaps lethal, has happened to one of the students--that five went on the road trip but only four came back. And the examiner suspects a cover-up is in effect.
Hallett (The Appeal) is a master of the epistolary voice. She loses nothing of her ability to create vivid characters and surprising plot twists while eschewing conventional narrative descriptions and prose. The format fits the story well, enabling Hallett to keep details hidden and maintain the mystery. Whatever readers guess is happening, they're likely wrong, and their feelings and allegiances toward each character will fluctuate with each revelation. It all adds up to an entertaining and unpredictable experience. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, reviewer and freelance editor at The Edit Ninja