Cosy Crime with a Difference Janice Hallett

Janice Hallett is a force to be reckoned with! Her cosy crime novels have been regularly released into the world since 2021 when  her first book The Appeal quickly became one of the blockbusters of the year followed in 2022 by The Twyford Code – which is told in transcribed audio files retrieved from an iPhone, succeeds in being fiendishly clever and very moving. Both of these titles won awards and have launched her career as a Crime writer.

Her style of telling the story through texts, emails, audio files, Whatsapp messages etc makes the reader work hard to interpret the evidence when the inevitable crime is discovered, but it all adds up to a very satisfying read as the pieces all fit together and the resolution  unfolds.
 
The Examiner is set amongst a group of post grad art students and told through messages and emails with an astonishing twist at the end which left me having to revisit the story again to see the breadcrumb trail of clues which I had previously missed. Fiendishly clever indeed!

The Killer Question is her latest offering – set in a quiet country pub where the publicans mysteriously went missing after a particularly disastrous session of the fiercely competative pub quiz. Through emails, texts, Whatsapps as well as evidence gathered to create a documentary about the case, the reader is taken on a journey that requires attention and focus to solve the puzzling situation. It is SO clever – if you love quizzes and solving puzzles you will love all of her books!

She has also recently started writing for children too – with two titles so far A Box Full of Murders and a new one called Death at the Museum.
 
We had the pleasure of talking to Janice on the Bookcited! podcast last year – you can listen back to her interview and then, of course, pick up one or more of her books for a more than satisfying read. 
I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
 
Books by Janice Hallett