Janice Hallett

The first children's murder mystery from number-one-bestselling author of The Appeal, Janice Hallett, perfect for fans of Robin Stevens and Rhian Tracey. When Ava and Luke discover a mysterious box of papers in their attic they are instantly curious about secrets it might hold. As they read through letters, diary entries, newspaper cuttings and listen to secret recordings, they realize that a decades-old, still unsolved, murder mystery is unfolding right in front of them . . . Ava and Luke decide to try and crack the case themselves. But as they work through the clues, it soon becomes clear that the mystery isn't something left in the past: the killer is still be out there - and might be closer than they think... YOU know the facts. YOU have all the clues. Can YOU solve the mystery before they do?

"Told in emails, text messages, and essays, this innovative page-turner follows a group of students in an art master's program that goes dangerously awry, from the internationally bestselling "new queen of crime" (Electric Literature) Janice Hallett. University professor Gela Nathaniel must make her new master's program in multimedia art succeed. If it doesn't, then Royal Hastings University will cut her funding and she'll be out of the job she loves. The six students in this inaugural course will be key to that success...but how well has she selected the team? The students include a talented young sculptor who is determined to graduate with top grades, a former gallery owner with limited artistic skills, a single mother more interested in a paycheck than homework, a people pleaser who struggles with technology, a marketing executive suffering from burnout, and a successful artist who seems rather overqualified for the program. At the end of the academic year, when the examiner arrives to grade the students' final project, he finds himself asking what happened. Because if someone in that course isn't in mortal danger, then they are already dead. But who, and why? He wants us to read through the students' coursework, texts, message boards, and final essays to see if we can find the answers. Only one thing is certain: nothing about this course has been left to chance, and each of these students has their own very different agenda."

A delightful festive murder mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Appeal, in which the characters return for panto season - and a murder.

Told in emails, text messages, and essays, this innovative page-turner follows a group of students in an art master's program that goes dangerously awry, from the internationally bestselling "new queen of crime" (Electric Literature) Janice Hallett. Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University's new Multimedia Art course, must find six students from all walks of life across the United Kingdom for her new master's program before the university cuts her funding. The students are nothing but trouble from day one. There's Jem, a talented sculptor recently graduated from her university program and eager to make her mark as an artist at any cost. Jonathan, who has little experience in art practice aside from running his family's gallery. Patrick runs an art supply store, but can barely operate his phone, much less design software. Ludya is a single mother and graphic designer more interested in a paycheck than homework. Cameron is a marketing executive in search of a hobby or a career change. And Alyson, already a successful artist, seems to be overqualified. Finally, there is the examiner, the man hired to grade students' final works--an art installation for a local cloud-based solutions company that may have an ulterior agenda--and who, in sifting through final essays, texts, and message boards, warns that someone is in danger...or already dead. And nothing about this course has been left up to chance. With her trademark "unique and exhilarating" (Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot) voice, Janice Hallett weaves a fresh and mind-bending mystery that will keep you guessing until the final page.

The new genre-busting crime novel from the bestselling author of The Appeal, The Twyford Code and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels

The new genre-busting crime novel from the bestselling author of The Appeal, The Twyford Code and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels

Open the cover of this book and step into nine different worlds. Journey to 1990s Belarus, where nothing and no one is quite as they seem and the stakes couldn’t be higher; walk the plush corridors of a global chemical company with an obituary writer trying to untangle a mystery rooted in a twenty-year-old disaster; navigate the byways of Europe’s criminal underworld with a truck driver drawn into the poisonous orbit of a corrupt billionaire and his manipulative wife; follow a petty criminal and a rookie cop into the shadows of a storied Irish wood that holds the secrets of their shared past; visit a south coast town where a psychotic killer forces strangers to make the most heart-breaking choice of all; visit a women’s prison where rough justice is the order of the day for a police officer convicted of murder and drug trafficking; stalk a seafront stage with a Blackpool showman as he shapes and reshapes the narrative of his daughter’s most inexplicable act; flip through the pages of the most twisted self- help book ever to take the world by storm; or meander through a verdant Irish garden where flowers run riot, secrets lie buried and death is never far away.

** THE CAST OF SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING THE APPEAL RETURN FOR A FESTIVE MURDER MYSTERY ** ** FROM THE WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CRIME AND THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR ** * THE SMASH-HIT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * * AN INSTANT TIMES BESTSELLER * * A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2023 * 'A Christmas treat' - OBSERVER 'A great deal of festive fun' - GUARDIAN 'Sharp, witty and suspenseful' - SUNDAY EXPRESS One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth? Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up. Of course there's also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on? 'A perfect stocking filler' - INDIA KNIGHT 'Hallett is as good as ever' - OBSERVER

This immersive holiday caper from the "modern Agatha Christie" (The Sunday Times, London) follows the hilarious Fairway Players theater group as they put on a Christmas play--and solve a murder that threatens their production. The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking among the amateur theater enthusiasts with petty rivalries, a possibly asbestos-filled beanstalk, and some perennially absent players behind the scenes. Of course, there's also the matter of the dead body onstage. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they investigate Christmas letters, examine emails, and pore over police transcripts to identify both the victim and killer before the curtain closes on their holiday production--for good.

The new genre-busting crime novel from the bestselling author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code

The mysterious connection between a teacher's disappearance and an unsolved code in a children's book is explored in this new novel from the "modern Agatha Christie" (The Sunday Times, London) and author of The Appeal. Forty years ago, Steven "Smithy" Smith found a copy of a famous children's book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. When he showed it to his remedial English teacher Miss Iles, she believed that it was part of a secret code that ran through all of Twyford's novels. And when she later disappeared on a class field trip, Smithy becomes convinced that she had been right. Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Smithy decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. In a series of voice recordings on an old iPhone, Smithy alternates between visiting the people of his childhood and looking back on the events that later landed him in prison. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn't just a writer of forgotten children's stories. The Twyford Code holds a great secret, and Smithy may just have the key. "Filled with numerous clues, acrostics, and red herrings, this thrilling scavenger hunt for the truth is delightfully deceptive and thoroughly immersive" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

The new genre-busting crime novel from the author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code.

The new genre-busting crime novel from the author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER " A] delicious premise and clever execution....with a bravura final section." --The New York Times The mysterious connection between a teacher's disappearance and an unsolved code in a children's book is explored in this new novel from the "modern Agatha Christie" (The Sunday Times, London) and author of The Appeal. Forty years ago, Steven "Smithy" Smith found a copy of a famous children's book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. When he showed it to his remedial English teacher Miss Iles, she believed that it was part of a secret code that ran through all of Twyford's novels. And when she later disappeared on a class field trip, Smithy becomes convinced that she had been right. Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Smithy decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. In a series of voice recordings on an old iPhone, Smithy alternates between visiting the people of his childhood and looking back on the events that later landed him in prison. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn't just a writer of forgotten children's stories. The Twyford Code holds a great secret, and Smithy may just have the key. "Filled with numerous clues, acrostics, and red herrings, this thrilling scavenger hunt for the truth is delightfully deceptive and thoroughly immersive" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Named a Best Book of 2022 by The New York Times, Air Mail, and more " W]itty, original...a delight." --The New York Times Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell, this international bestseller and "dazzlingly clever" (The Sunday Times, London) murder mystery follows a community rallying around a sick child--but when escalating lies lead to a dead body, everyone is a suspect. The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play's star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival. But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment's efficacy--nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material--emails, messages, letters--with a growing suspicion that the killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered. A wholly modern and gripping take on the epistolary novel, The Appeal is a "daring...clever, and funny" (The Times, London) debut for fans of Richard Osman and Lucy Foley.