To say that this book is different from anything I’ve read before is an understatement. When you think book, you don’t think transcript, but that’s exactly how this book is written. It’s a transcript of email and text messages. While I love different, this was too different and I found it a bit hard to follow. It’s was a great story but not something I particularly like. If you love different, this ones for you.

I just couldn’t get in to this one even though I really wanted to. Something about the format of constant emails just did not work for me. Others may like it- I’ve heard it has a good plot- but I just don’t love the email format.

This was amazing. Completely different than any other format I have read before. The evidence is told through mostly emails and you are put in the investigator's seat. I loved the build up. Its up to you to figure out who is in prison who is dead and who the real murderer is. It was tough, but so interesting!

Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

When I got approved for The Appeal by Janice Hallett, I’ll admit, I could barely contain my excitement. With its epistolary form, it’s one of my most anticipated mystery/thriller releases of 2022. The Appeal was a page turner, and I enjoyed so much about this story. It had a cast of thoroughly unlikable characters, but it was the kind of story that made me want to read till the end. The driving force behind it, for me, was to see who did what, who knew, and when they knew it. The reveal was a big one. And Hallett excelled at laying down the clues, telling us who the players were, and how it all happened.

The Appeal tells the story of a mystery centered on a sick child and a family’s desperate race against time to fundraise enough to obtain an unapproved treatment that could help her condition. It’s centered on a local theater group called The Fairway Players and the people most closely associated with their latest production. The further I got in the story, the more it was apparent that there was something darker lurking under what first appeared to be a warm, welcoming, and sunshiny community. It was beyond just cattiness and friendly competition between friends, family, and new acquaintances. The theater group was built around one family, the Haywoods, and their cliquish social circle. It was cut-throat, and you were either in or out. It was to the point where fundraising for a good cause seemed to become a competition between who could be the most supportive for the Haywoods as well as getting the best number of donations for the appeal.

Since it’s told in the form of letters, newspaper clippings, emails, and text messages among others, it reads like a case study because it technically is. It’s pretty clear that the above mentioned things were assembled prior to the start, and I actually like the occasional story that gets told in this manner. I did get more of a mystery than the high tension of a thriller—due to the messages offering a limited view of the characters—but the story was interesting. My favorite bits were in the later half where there was more of Olufemi Hassan and Charlotte Holroyd’s comments regarding the case.

All that to say, The Appeal was an excellent mystery.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Atria Books) via NetGalley for this review, thank you!

Someone please explain to me how this is a debut novel? The Appeal is absolutely mind blowing and easily will have the reader hooked early on. I was instantly captivated and could get enough as soon as I read the first chapter. I have become an instance fan of Janice Hallett and can not wait to see what she comes up with next.

Now, a little bit about the Appeal.

Lower Lockwood is a sleep little town. Two mysterious people have entered the village and ends with a traumatic death. Charlotte and Femi are new law students and have been assigned the case. When someone is sent to jail for the murder, Charlotte and Femi believe they are innocent and have the wrong person in custody.

What secrets does Lower Lockwood hold?

Will Charlotte and Femi be able to put the right person behind bars ?

Stay tuned January 25, 2022 to find out!

I don’t want to give away a single thing about the plot of this book as I don’t want to ruin the reading experience. As a reader, all we know is that someone was murdered and someone has been sent to prison who may be innocent after all.

The Appeal is written in an unusual format - entirely made up of emails, texts and letters that were exchanged between members of the Fairway Players amateur dramatics association. I’ll admit it took a little getting used to but once I got to grips with who was who, it made such a refreshing and fun reading experience. Just be prepared that there are a lot of characters to acquaint yourself with.

I couldn’t put this book down! It is completely addictive and I just wanted to solve the case. Spoiler alert, I got it wrong! This is a brilliant debut novel from Janice Hallett with a compelling mystery and a very original style. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book. This one unfortunately missed the mark for me. Partially I think it was the format. The story is told through email and whats app messages between the main characters of the Fairway Players and then the team investigating and trying to put all of the pieces together. I love a good mystery, but honestly I was so lost by the time the story started to finally come together that I was uninterested and forcing myself to finish it. The story seemed like a stretch when it finally wrapped up.

This one wasn't for me but there's certainly a mystery at the core of the confusion.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

It took me a while to work out who Femi and Charlotte were, and what their role was, but after that I was gripped. This was extremely well-clued, which was engaging and made me feel clever, and the use of emails and messages kept things fresh. Issy was a fantastic creation. Femi and Charlotte discuss what they have read and debate clues and motives and suspects etc, which helped clarify things for me. I'm deducting half a point because there was a section towards the end where they listed different scenarios and possible solutions and these were presented essay style and I found that part quite dull. Also there were unnecessarily constant references to Issy's position in the social hierarchy which could have been cut by three-quarters,

Read in one sitting on a plane. Highly recommended.

A murder rocks a small close knit community and everyone is a suspect. Someone confesses but a lot of questions remain unanswered. So two law students are tasked with the job of going through all the written communications and notes involving the suspects and the victim to piece together the events that led to the murder.

The Appeal takes a unique approach to murder mysteries. It follows an epistolary format and turns readers into detectives. It was a bit confusing initially trying to figure out who’s who from emails but once I got oriented it was hard to stop reading. This book had plenty of surprises and plot twists to keep me hooked and the unique formatting works immensely in getting readers invested in the small town drama.

If you are a fan of murder mysteries and looking for something unique that will stimulate those little grey cells, this one’s for you.

Thank you Atria Books, NetGalley and Author for this readers ebook copy in return for an honest review!

WoW! Talk about an awesome read! This investigating crime novel is top notch!

Such a clever, immersive and gripping cime mystery. It’s well written, with great characters that are character-driven.
This is a captivating and refreshingly original story with tones of mystery, intriguing and interesting!
The Appeal is such an addictive, fun read that will have you saying "one more chapter"!
Janice Hallett has a new reading fan here! Her writing style is freaking clever and outstanding!
Masterpiece for sure!
Excited to see where this book takes her because its going to be the talk of books come January 25th!

Thanks again NetGalley, Publisher and Author for the chance to read and review this amazing book!
I'll post to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!

Current read: The Appeal by Janice Hallett. Have you heard about this book?

This is a different than what we are used to because its not told like a typical story, but it unfolds through emails, notes and texts.

At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it but as I get further into the story, I am enjoying it more and more.

Here is the synopsis:

"Dear Reader,
Enclosed are documents relating to the events surrounding the Fairway Players' staging of All My Sons, and the tragic death of one of its members. Another member is currently in prison for the crime. We have reason to suspect that they are innocent, and that there were far darker secrets that have yet to be revealed.

We believe that the killer has given themselves away. It's there in writing, hidden in the emails, texts, and letters. Will you accept the challenge? Can you uncover the truth? Do you dare?"

What do you think about a book written in a non traditional way? Have you heard about this book? Its out and available to read right now!

So much about this was great, but I'll highlight the format as what kept it intriguing throughout. That said, I could have done with a bit less of the conversational correspondence analyzing the other text. Some is necessary, but this was more than the requirement and had a smidge of telling me what to think, which I hate. Lastly, though this is the US edition, the concessions to US readers (specifically miles instead of kilometers, 911 instead of 999) just didn't make any damn sense in context.

This is being compared to Agatha Christie and I can see it. I found that Ms. Christie writes without any description of place, scene or characters and this book, told entirely through various written correspondence (mostly email) provides absolutely no descriptive aspects what so ever. Is that something you like? I'm not sure whether I do or not. I really enjoyed it in the beginning - it was fresh and original and kept the reading moving quickly, but about halfway through I really, really wanted to know what these characters looked like, what their theater looked like, what the country club looked like, how their homes looked. Honestly I was desperate for some descriptives! I almost gave it up entirely - twice - but the plot was so interesting that I pushed myself through. Was it worth it? Again, I'm not sure. I did very, very much enjoy the unraveling of the story but when I found who the murderer was and why I was a bit underwhelmed. Maybe I was just tired. Question - is this format of emails the modern epistolary?

In a heavily saturated genre, The Appeal stands out for its epistolary style. While I’ve seen other modern authors try to utilize this formerly popular style of storytelling, this is the best I’ve seen in a contemporary novel. Why it works better here, where it has often failed elsewhere is that author Janice Hallett relied more on e-mail correspondence than on just texts, and there are entire characters whose exchanges are absent (though their voices and impact remain present and clear). There are an abundance of twists and turns, and Hallett doesn’t shy away from complexities, allowing the reader to become lost for a while, but trusting their intelligence and ability to get back on track. In this way, the reader is engaged. We become sleuths in the case, poring over the evidence ourselves in an attempt to figure out whodunnit and why. That being said, this b0ok is about 30% longer than I felt necessary. By the time we discover which of the characters has been killed, I was ready for the book to start being wrapped up... but that’s little more than the halfway point! Now, we’re tasked with trudging through the murder investigation. While I do think Hallett does a commendable job weaving the various characters and crimes and deceptions together into a cohesive piece (it could’ve easily felt like two separate stories, the Poppy appeal investigation and the murder investigation, but the author deftly avoids that trap), the book becomes exhausting. There are no real protagonists and no relationships, so we’re left with no one for whom we can cheer and no emotional investment. It is surprising, I think, that in a book populated with so many dynamic characters, that all we get in the end is plot.

While I really liked the premise of this book and it's cover, I could not get into it. For me, there were just too many characters and it was hard to keep them straight. That paired with the writing style - the entire book written in texts and emails - just didn't appeal to me, Unfortunately, I didn't finish the book as it wasn't appealing to me. I don't mind email/text dialogue throughout a book, but it was too much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review.

This is a really interesting book in the age of go fund me and community fundraising. This novel is kind of a thriller based on that atmosphere of you do you really know what you’re giving money to? I highly enjoyed it it’s probably one of the better books I’ve read this year.