THE KILLER QUESTION

A quintessential British pub, an escalating quiz-night rivalry, and a deeply personal mystery unfold in this clever epistolary tale.

Making a pitch to a Netflix documentary producer, Dominic Eastwood promises a doozy of a yarn when he outlines the first part of the story of his aunt and uncle, Sue and Mal Eastwood. The couple runs The Case is Altered, a cozy Hertfordshire pub known for its community spirit and beloved Monday Quiz. Trivia lovers, including the Plucky Losers, the most regular regulars, treat the quiz with endearing gravity, mirroring Mal’s pride in crafting each week’s questions to be obscure, fair, and challenging. But the arrival of a new team, the enigmatic Shadow Knights, upends the pub’s gentle rhythms. Led by a mysterious figure known only as the General, the Knights dominate quiz night with eerie precision, raising eyebrows among the regulars. Mal is intrigued—can anyone really get every answer right?—while the Plucky Losers’ Chris grows increasingly obsessed with either beating the Shadow Knights or unmasking them. After all, why cheat for a prize that rarely tops £19? Dominic’s pitch to producer Polly takes a darker turn as a text exchange between Mal and a local police officer reveals that a body’s been found in the local waters. The victim, it turns out, was known for cheating at local pub quizzes—a detail that rattles Mal and Sue, especially as deeper ties to their past come to light. As Dominic’s emails unfold, what began as a quirky pub tale steeped in trivia is transformed as repeatedly as a chameleon on steroids.

A masterclass in plotting. Warning to readers seeking emotional footing: the rug will be yanked again and again.