A Box Full of Murders

Reviewed on 14th June 2025

I loved Janice Hallett’s other novels, and so when I saw she was writing one aimed at a younger audience I felt like I needed to read it too. Although it’s clearly targeted at children, there’s absolutely nothing that makes it any less readable as an adult.

For those new to Hallett’s work - this is a novel like a ‘found footage’ movie. Siblings Ava and Luke discover a box of old documents, and along with them, we read through the documents to uncover a story from forty years earlier. The entire narrative is told through these documents, framed with a text message conversation between the young siblings.

I raced through it, and loved every moment. Hallett’s ability to craft these stories is astounding, and as usual there’s so much going on. I’d recommend this to every child who loves reading mysteries.