The Examiner

An examiner is tasked with reviewing the collaborative coursework submitted by university students enrolled in a multimedia arts program. As their diaries, message-board posts, and private communications are revealed, however, it becomes clear that something sinister occurred among the classmates. Hallett (The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels) crafts an intricate, engaging take on an epistolary crime novel, presented through emails and instant messages. Narrators Anushka Chakravarti, Brendan Dempsey, Jonathan Andrew Hume, Rachel Handshaw, Sarah Durham, and Dawn Murphy perform the narration’s multiple perspectives—students, administrators, and investigators—in a conversational back-and-forth format. Chakravarti shines as the entitled Veruca Salt–esque Jem, who carries much of the narrative as the ambitious adversary. The audience never experiences events in the moment, only via communication after the fact, creating a cryptic, unreliable atmosphere. Pinging messages and crackly radio broadcasts enhance the audio experience, and an accompanying PDF contains a course calendar that may help listeners follow the timeline.