Publication Date: 10th Sep 2024
Genre: Mystery
4 Stars
One Liner: It was a fun ride!
Gale Nathaniel is the head of Royal Hastings University’s new Multimedia Art course. She finds six people from diverse backgrounds to join the master’s program. This course has to be a hit or the university would take it off the list.
Enter, a young Jem (an overachiever and clay sculptor), Jonathan (who runs his family art gallery and has limited knowledge), Patrick (a 50-something business owner who sells art supplies), Ludya (a single mother and small-time professional graphic designer), Alyson (an overqualified artist), and Cameron (a marketing executive who needs a hobby for stress-relief).
The Examiner, the man hired to grade their final assignments finds something he shouldn’t. If his guess is right, someone on the course had died or could be in danger.
The story comes in a collection of emails, text messages, essays, and notes.
My Thoughts:
So, this is my first book by the author though I have her works in my TBR. I was postponing it because of the page count (460+ pages) and since I was worried the pacing would be slow.
Guess what? I was wrong. Considering the length, the pace is very good; much, much better than I expected. The use of chat, emails, and notes keeps the story moving. There are no chapters as much but headings we may or may not track. It doesn’t matter if you don’t track the heads as long as you figure things out.
The characters are so distinct and easy to remember despite not knowing anything about them. We get only the basic information and yet, we can imagine them easily. Of course, whether or not our imagination aligns with the actual depends on the reveals. ;)
My favorite is Jem (not because she’s an Indian… okay! A little because she is). She is a gem in many ways (remember that a gem has many definitions). She is the youngest in the team and her outspoken nature made the whole thing so much more interesting.
Naturally, important details are not revealed immediately. However, it is easy to see how the tensions and the hidden agendas (even if we don’t know what these are) affect the characters. The part about teamwork and credit is spot on! It is one reason I don’t prefer to work in teams (in college, I ended up doing everything and herding others to be there when they should. Ugh!).
Things are not straightforward. Neither is the timeline. That shouldn’t matter if you follow the plot and can fill the gaps with your ideas. Mystery lovers will find it easier, I guess. The brain is wired for it, lol.
The climax and reveal are OTT bordering on absurd. However, there’s a sense of crazy fun in it that makes the whole thing work somehow (for the reader). TBH, I’m not sure I’d have liked it as much if the format was different. Yeah, it is convoluted but entertaining nevertheless.
Don’t ignore the author’s note and don’t read it first. Read it at the end. She makes some really great points. Also, makes me glad I opted for distance mode education for my MA in English Literature!
To summarize, The Examiner is best enjoyed if you go with the flow, but also track a few plot elements that grab your attention. There’s a lot of drama, lies, secrets, etc., that can make the whole thing confusing but manages to deliver as a package. I won't postpone reading her next book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for eARC.
#NetGalley #TheExaminer
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