Like I said, this book is different and unique in the fact that it is written in multiple formats (ie. text messages, emails, etc.). It took me awhile to get used to, but I had a lot of fun reading it. There are a lot of characters in play, and mapping out their motives can be a bit tricky when reading messages in multiple formats, but it's unique, engaging, and entertaining read. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

When Martin Hayward, director of The Fairway Players, sets about to put on Arthur Miller’s All My Sons after a winning run of Blithe Spirits, he has no idea of the drama that will ensue. In between auditions and the final rehearsals, there is fraud, deception, secrets, lies, an affair, and maybe even a murder. Now someone is in jail, and it’s up to two young lawyers to figure out exactly what happened by reading between the lines of hundreds of emails, messages, and newspaper articles.

Shortly after the cast is announced, Martin tells that them that he is not going to be able to direct it after all. Their granddaughter, 2-year-old Poppy, has been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer, and he is handing over the reins to All My Son to his son James to direct while he and his wife Helen (who will still star in the show) and their daughter Paige and son-in-law Glen are focusing on Poppy’s well-being. Even though James’s wife Olivia is quite pregnant with twins, he is willing to take over directing the play.

Meanwhile, Poppy’s oncologist has told the family that there is an experimental treatment in America that has worked against Poppy’s type of cancer, but a single treatment will cost the family $350,000. Not daunted by that, Martin begins a fundraising appeal to raise the money. Family friend and fundraising professional Sarah-Jane MacDonald takes over the appeal for money and immediately starts setting up a charity ball, a website where people can contribute, and looking at other avenues where friends and family could help. People start contributing almost as soon as she sends out the email with the website information, and the ball is a huge success.

Isabel is a nurse at St. Ann’s and an avid member of the Fairway Players. Blithe Spirit was her first time on stage, and though she had a small part, she was very enthusiastic about it and looking forward to All My Sons. In fact, she’s also brought into the cast Sam and Kel, also nurses at St. Ann’s, but new to the area. After spending many years working in Africa. Samantha is working in geriatrics with Isabel, and Isabel befriended her right away. Kel, Sam’s husband, works in the psychiatric unit.

As soon as these nurses learn about Poppy’s cancer, they want to help. In fact, Sam runs a half-marathon, taking donations for Poppy’s medical fund. But when Sam finds out the name of their oncologist, she becomes suspicious and begins to have doubts about this experimental treatment and its exorbitant cost. As the weeks go by with more intense fundraising efforts aimed at the community, she begins to investigate the doctor and the funding.

Meanwhile, the Hayward family finds themselves facing more challenges. The workers for the new pool at their golf and country club haven’t been paid and take over the parking lot with all their equipment, blocking everyone else, until they get a payment from Martin. Glen gets fired from his jab and struggles to find another one. In an attempt to raise more money quickly, Martin hands over $100,000 to a woman who promises big returns on his investment, and then disappears with the money. James’s wife Olivia has to stay in the hospital for the end of her pregnancy. And Paige and Glen’s dog Woof needs abdominal surgery after eating, well, everything.

As the Haywards do everything they can think of to raise more funds, Sam does everything she can think of to bring down the oncologist that had something to do with her having to leave Africa. And when another friend from Africa comes to stay with Sam and Kel, even more secrets are brought to light, and fists start flying. But when someone ends up dead, and someone else ends up in jail, it’s up to two young lawyers to figure out exactly what happened to who, by who, when, why, and who knew about it when.

The Appeal is a story told in bits and pieces, emails and messages, and the reader is asked to work hard to figure out what is being said and what isn’t. Author Janice Hallett’s debut thriller weaves a murder mystery with a tale of community drama, and the result is explosive.

At first, The Appeal is a challenge to read, as you’re thrown into these people lives knowing nothing and having to build a picture with only the broad strokes of emails and personal messages. But as you get drawn into the story, figuring out the layers of secrets and lies, the crises and crimes, it becomes impossible to stop thinking about these characters and what they are up to. Unraveling the lies and digging up the secrets make this book so much fun to read. If you’re a fan of logic problems, then you will love this book. It’s one long logic problem, and it’s up to you to make sense of all the clues.

Egalleys for The Appeal were provided by Atria Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This debut novel is a unique murder mystery that I found highly entertaining.

Written as a series of documents, emails, and text messages, this epistolary tells the story of a community theater group and a local alpha family and their efforts to help a young child get the experimental drug therapy she needs to combat a brain tumor. The group goes full on with fundraising for the Haywards but soon suspicions arise about where the money is going and if the little girl can be saved. Not everyone in the close-knit drama group is convinced and it seems that the flurry of emails back and forth between the members contains lies and manipulation. When one member of the group ends up dead, everyone is a suspect.

This was a very clever book and I had a lot of fun trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Once you get all the characters straight, you have to read very carefully between the lines as you act somewhat as a detective yourself finding inconsistencies in stories and developing your own theories. The revelations were subtly inserted into the various pieces of information and I loved that I was unable to identify the killer despite all the clues. The tension was palpable and the relationships between the characters quite complicated. I really liked the style of the novel and the way everything played out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

A uniquely written murder-mystery from debut author Janice Hallett. The narrative is creatively pieced together, offering readers a distinctive perspective and intriguing insight. The plot is moderately paced and does hold somewhat of a familiar trope, however, the delivery and character development push this novel forward. The unusual format will not suit everyone's taste but kudos to Hallet as she has found a way to stand out in an overcrowded genre.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheAppeal which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

This review will also be published on Amazon and Goodreads.

January 26, 2022
Genre: Mystery
Release date: January 25, 2022
Rated: Borrow it / 3 stars

The members of a community theater group come together to support one of their own through a family tragedy, but tensions mount as people accuse one another of lies and deceptions. When someone in the group dies, everyone becomes a suspect. Author Janice Hallett uses the epistolary approach that starts with intrigue but loses steam halfway through her debut novel The Appeal.

In the small British town of Lockwood, the Fairway Players have wrapped up their most recent play and jump right into preparations for their next one with auditions. Everyone in the group knows that co-founder Helen Hayward will get the female lead. Helen always gets the lead. No one minds too much, because she’s a brilliant actress, and she and her husband, Martin, are generous with their time in making sure everyone gets to participate in some way, shape, or form.

Isabel is hoping for a larger part in the production; outside of theater and work, she doesn’t have much of a life. Always one eager to please, Isabel introduces newcomers Samantha and Kel Greenwood to the theater troupe. She’s hoping that she and Sam can become good friends; they both work at the same hospital as nurses in the geriatric ward, and now they’ll get to spend time together in the evenings at rehearsals too. So much fun!

The play comes to a temporary standstill when Martin and Helen get some devastating news: their two-year-old granddaughter, Poppy, has been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. Martin’s son, James, volunteers to direct the show while his sister and Poppy’s mom, Paige, works with doctors and Martin offers moral support. Helen decides the show must go on and agrees to continue in her role.

The Fairway Players are nothing if not supportive and start a fundraising campaign for the expensive experimental treatment Poppy needs. Yet right from the beginning, it seems like something or the other throws hitches in their charity appeal. Someone promises to donate a huge sum, only to be proven a scammer later on. An innocent fib told about Poppy’s condition snowballs into a huge lie that spreads like wildfire throughout the community. And newcomer Samantha keeps asking questions that make everyone uncomfortable. It’s almost like she thinks Poppy actually isn’t sick at all, that the money being raised is going toward dubious means.

The theater group manages to keep rehearsing through all the challenges, but secrets start to get bigger and other lies start to build. After a heated dress rehearsal in which Sam accuses Martin and Helen of fraud, someone ends up dead. The appeal for charity turns into an appeal for answers about the murder, and the police have several suspects—all 15 of the members of the Fairway Players, in fact—who are equally capable and have equal motives for killing someone.

As a legal team sifts through the evidence and all the correspondence leading up to the murder, they begin to realize they might need to make an appeal of a different kind: to get an innocent party out of prison and charge the murderer still running free.

Author Janice Hallett uses only forms of communication to tell her story. The book is comprised of emails, text messages, and media reports, leaving readers to piece together the events with their own intuition. For the first third of the book, as news comes of Poppy’s diagnosis and the Fairway Players share or hide their secrets, the epistolary style of storytelling works well. After that, however, the book slows to a crawling pace.

Because the Fairway Players group consists of 15 members and communication from all of them is included at some point, readers might find it hard to keep everyone straight. A cast of characters is provided at the start of the novel, which is unhelpful in a digital format where swiping back to the beginning of the book is inefficient at best. Also, Hallett clearly intended for some of the characters to be nothing more than comic relief or a distraction. While they perform those roles with ease, they also make it harder to figure out whether anything they’re saying contributes to the mystery overall.

Readers tuned into the genre will most likely figure out major parts of the mystery well before the characters do. The epistolary approach works in some places and does provide a few laughs, but for the most part it’s only partially successful. Those wanting a slightly different type of murder mystery might enjoy this.

The only dislike I had about this book is that it was written in emails, and not like your typical book. It was a good story line. I feel tho that it could of been better understood if it was written like your typical book, but I do like the authors trying to be different with the way it was written.

Wow! I kept thinking that while I was reading the book, and having finished the novel, I am still in awe. One of the most original books I have read in recent years. I'm impressed with how the author was able to pull of this story. It's an epistolary novel so the story is comprised of things like emails, text messages, transcripts, etc.. Sounds a bit odd, but once you familiarize yourself with the characters, the story flows pretty smoothly. By page 50 or so, I was hooked and couldn't put the book down.

It's a murder mystery but you do not find out who the victim is right off the bat. Instead you learn a dead body was discovered, an arrest was made, and now two young lawyers are sorting through correspondence of various members of the local theater group, The Fairway Players. Will they uncover new information relevant to the case?

This book probably isn't going to be a perfect read for everyone because it is a bit unusual and different. I get tired of reading the same old thing all the time so that was a huge part of the appeal of The Appeal. (yeah, I know what I did there) The mystery was well done and still had me guessing down to the wire. And even though there is some sensitive subject matter, the author managed to sprinkle bits of humor throughout the story which made it a fun read.

I strongly recommend taking a chance on this one especially if you like mysteries.

The Appeal is an epistolary novel that tracks a family’s quest to raise money for their two year old’s cancer treatment. In following the emails, texts, and other documents, it quickly becomes apparent that things are not as they seem.
Is the money that has been crowd-sourced really being used to save a little girl’s life? And is that the extent of the nefariousness afoot?

I enjoyed The Appeal, although it did drag at times and it was difficult keeping track of the characters. Although I was intrigued by the idea of an epistolary format, I don’t think it’s a writing style that appeals to me.

This was a fun read trying to piece it all together. I'm not sure if I'll fully remember this at the end of the year, but I'm so glad I read it! A great palate cleanser!

"The Appeal" by Janice Hallett is a murder mystery told via a very unusual format; the entire book is emails and text messages. The reader works along side two law students (I believe) as they sift through the mountain of documents to discover the guilty party. The case of characters is quite large (and mostly unlikable) and everyone is a suspect at some point. I thought the writing style was very clever; it felt like the reader was given a more intimate portrait of each of the characters than would have been possible with a standard first-person or third-person point of view. I did have a bit of difficulty keeping all of the character straight at times and the story got a bit confusing (mostly because of all the lies the characters would tell), but I think this was all on purpose and designed to keep the reader in the dark as the two researchers were.

Overall, this was an entertaining read and is one I will reread in the future to see if there are clues as to the identities of both the killer and the victim that I may have missed the first time around. Thank you NetGalley, Janice Hallett, and the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you’re looking for a fresh take in the suspense genre, this is IT! Told through a series of email and text correspondence rather than ordinary prose, “The Appeal” is a murder mystery that centers around a little girl with cancer and a local theater group that is fundraising for her very expensive experimental treatment while also rehearsing for a new production. But not everyone’s motives are pure, and some people aren’t who they seem to be. By the play’s opening night, someone will be dead. But who is it…. and whodunit?

This format is called an epistolary novel (written through a series of documents/letters) for my fellow vocabulary lovers. I was curious to see how well this would work, and it turns out it was so much better than I anticipated! We get to know each character through the tone and style of their own emails, as well as the way other characters respond to them. The emails are mostly short, which definitely encourages a “just one more” state of mind, and before you know it, you’re turning the pages late into the night trying to solve this murder mystery.

This is the most unique and immersive book I’ve read in quite a while. Reading through the correspondence feels intimate and gives you a delicious little thrill like you’re spying on the characters. There’s so much story in what the characters say, what they say to whom, and what they DON’T say. As the evidence is trickled out through the messages (and between the lines), you’ll feel like you’re actually solving the mystery instead of just reading about it.

Hard to believe this fun and wholly satisfying book is Janice Hallett’s debut novel. I can’t wait to see what else she has up her sleeve in the future!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

4.5 stars - it’s been “Americanized”.

I was expecting some kind of courtroom drama but what I got was something completely different and attention grabbing.

This story is told between two first year lawyers, their boss, and a whole lot of emails and correspondences dealing with the murder.

We don’t learn who is murdered and who was arrested until after the halfway point.

This was a fun book to read as it stretched my brain power trying to keep it all straight and figure out what is going on.

The texts between the lawyers will give you a chuckle from time to time as will the boys testing to figure out how to text.

This is a story that will stick with you after you’re done reading it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great mystery where I felt right in the middle of the investigation. It is told entirely in emails and text messages and I loved this format. I can't wait to see what Janice Hallett comes up with next.


I received an e arc from the publisher via Netgalley for my honest review. Thank you.

I can’t believe this is a debut novel!

The thing that most stands out about this book is the unique format. From what I can see, some people love it and others are not fans. Personally, I thought it was such an enjoyable read.

Now, did I find reading through one email after another in the first half of the book at times tedious and not exactly easy? Yes, yes I did. But I thought the pay-off in the second part of the book was SO, SO, SO worth it. The emails are engaging and humorous and interesting, but there are a lot of them. All in a row. So be prepared.

Once I made it through those emails and got into the ‘crime-solving’ portion of the book, I was having a blast. This truly manages to do what just about no other book does: it actually makes you feel like you’re piecing together enough evidence to solve a murder. And at some point, having reached the end and knowing what I know now, I want to go back and reread it.

The character of Isabel (Issy) is especially complex, creepy and genius. But the rest of the characters are very specific, relatable and interesting. And Hallett does a beautiful job of telling a compelling story in this format, which can NOT be easy. So, my hat is off to her –

This is out today, and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves mysteries!

Thank you Atria Books for the ARC!

I think this book is brilliant! Hallett is meticulous and sneaky - a careful read and focus is necessary to follow the many story threads but that's the fun! This is story telling through nuance - like life - and Hallett's structure is elaborate but never over-the-top. Her email epistolary reveals the quirks and foibles of a host of characters and builds a narrative that must be teased out from what might seem extraneous but never is. To say more would spoil, but I think this title is a real treat!

It took a bit to get in the rhythm of this book's format - use of texts, emails, messaging, just all kinds of technology. Really well done as there is no dialogue yet the plot moves quickly and grabs your attention.
The Fairway Players hold auditions for their latest production. With the instance of a work friend, Sam and her husband tryout. Drawing them into a world based on hierarchy, deceit, manipulation and an ill toddler.
Hallett does an amazing job portraying her characters through other voices - Sam is the main character, yet does not have a voice. The reader depends on her obsessive coworker, Issy, to give Sam a voice, background via a considerable amount of emails. Actually Issy may be the main character as the book's primary contributor.
Very creative and enjoyable.

**3.5-stars**

After a member of a small local theater trope, The Fairway Players, is murdered, another member ends up imprisoned for the crime. There's reason to believe that the incarcerated person is actually innocent, however, but if they are, who is the murderer?

As the Reader, you are supplied with all of the documents a criminal researcher may use when studying this case. You have access to emails, text messages, etc., from all the major players. They're presented chronologically, so what you get is actually a fairly thorough picture of what has occurred among this interconnected group of characters; and what a group of characters they are.

Janice Hallett's, The Appeal, is definitely a fun change of pace in the standard Murder Mystery genre. The format was unique and well composed. I felt like I was getting a secret peek into these people's lives that I shouldn't have been having. A bit illicit, if you will.

With this being said, the mystery itself wasn't super-engaging for me. Even when I found out who was murdered, I wasn't particularly bothered by it, or really compelled to discover who did it. There were a ton of shady players, involved in all sorts of super shady activities. I'm frankly surprised only one person ended up dead.

So, while I give the author top marks for thinking outside the box and getting super creative with her format, the story itself was just average for me. I think it is a good book that a lot of Readers will enjoy, it just didn't blow my hair back as I expected it to.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨ The Appeal - Janice Hallett

this one took me a minute to get into and figure out what was going on, but once i did i was HOOKED. it takes a minute to connect the dots and figure out the who’s who BUT it’s worth it to keep on! 👏

👍🏼: THE FORMAT! what a unique and truly fun way to layout a mystery book. this “who dunnit” was so fun to read & kept me very engaged. i felt like i was the one trying to solve the murder IRL! i also had my suspicions of who i thought the murderer was by but the end i was SHOCKED (my guesses were very wrong lol) 🕵️‍♀️

👎🏼: the ending felt a little rushed. i wanted more - i would’ve LOVED more from sam’s POV & i was left wondering what happened to some of the characters

RECOMMEND?: YES! if you like murder mystery parties, to hunt a killer game, or crime podcasts - you will LOVE this. 🔍

SYNOPSIS: go in BLIND!!

The Appeal is a murder mystery told through a series of emails, text messages and memos.

The format threw me off at first, but once I got used to it, I could not put the book down. If you are looking for a stellar mystery with an amusing and large cast of characters; the Appeal certainly fits the bill.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Appeal by Janice Hallet is an epistolary crime novel, starting with a charitable event, ending in murder and wrongful conviction.

A local theater group, The Fairway Players, are preparing for their newly announced production, All My Sons. This community of performers are a tight-knit group, now bonded by a tragic event. Martin, director, and his wife, Helen’s granddaughter falls ill with an aggressive form of cancer. This rare, persistent form of cancer requires expensive treatment, and it’s urgent. The Fairway Players community form an Appeal to raise the funds necessary to treat the granddaughter.

Months later, two law students are given a stack of papers, emails, texts, police reports and documents to review. A client is imprisoned for murder, a murder believed to have a wrongful conviction. Was the right person imprisoned? Where did the funds go? What happens with the granddaughter’s treatment? The narrative is comprised of aforementioned papers and the discussions between our law cohorts, trying to find the truth at the heart of The Appeal.

With fifteen suspects, can you uncover the truth?

The Appeal’s mixed media format will not be for everyone, and admittedly, I was overwhelmed at the start. There are fifteen suspects and thirty plus characters written into the novel.
No matter how intrigued I was by an individual character, the volume of suspects and accessory characters was a challenge to keep up with. The author, quite literally, shared the list of suspects multiple times in the novel, while constantly refreshing who the key players are and their relationships with The Appeal.

The epistolary style is a creative liberty that had potential, but after 400 pages of email correspondence, it felt like work. Unpaid, and not exactly rewarding.

I figured out some of the twists, but the resulting truths of the case completely escaped me. At the end of the novel, the two law students wrote a summary of their theories, which made me feel as though I wasted my time reading 350 prior pages of email correspondence. After the law students decided on their theory, last minute evidence was thrown in, which totally changed their conclusions.

I am confident that Hallett did her research and everything makes complete sense, but I felt very neutral about everything presented to me at the end. Honestly, I felt indifferent about trying to crack the case. I was reading to get to the conclusion provided to me.

I believe that this novel will be a stand-out for a crime junkie. In reality, crime investigation likely could be as involved as this novel was. I also believe Hallett has the mind for complex plot development.

Ultimately, I had a very neutral experience. I was interested enough to see it through to the end – which did surprise me. The time invested in this novel was not as rewarding as I would have hoped it to be.

I read The Appeal on my kindle and I believe that this novel would be better served to read using a physical copy of the book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication: Jan 25, 2022