NPR's Book of the Day These new mystery novels are 'whodunits' that might as well be called 'whydunits'
Oct 10, 2025
Two unique mystery novels take center stage, each with surprising twists. In one, a trivia team’s success leads to suspicion and a body found in a river, explored through emails and messages. The author delves into quiz culture and the challenges of storytelling through short-form communication. Meanwhile, the other novel reveals the murderer upfront, unraveling the motives of a couple as their relationship deteriorates. Themes of secrets and guilt take center stage in this reverse chronology, offering a fresh perspective on crime and love.
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Pub Quiz Culture Sparks A Mystery
- Janice Hallett based The Killer Question on pub-quiz culture and her own experience as a quizzer.
- She used emails, WhatsApp and texts to reveal character and motive through everyday short-form dialogue.
Short Messages Reveal Hidden Motives
- Hallett uses short-form messages to make readers read between the lines and spot hidden meanings.
- The format exposes how people curate selves in texts and how that concealment fuels mystery.
Adapt Screenwriting To Novel Dialogue
- Draw on professional tools to shape fiction: Hallett adapted screenwriting dialogue techniques to craft epistolary novels.
- Use dialogue-driven formats to convey character, place and pace without exposition.
