The Fairway Players are preparing their Christmas panto, and it’s all a little frantic. Trying to organize anything during the end of the year is a little crazy, but Sarah-Jane is determined to put on a lovely panto that will raise enough money to repair the roof of the church hall damaged by water and bat guano. The Players have chosen Jack and the Beanstalk as their play, and Sarah-Jane wants to make it spectacular.

That means that the decades-old giant tree needs to be pulled out of storage and set up on their stage. When rumors emerge that it was made of asbestos, Sarah-Jane has a couple of brothers in the cast repair it and repaint it, so there is no chance of it opening and releasing asbestos dust. With the tree in place, she can focus on the cast and the experience for the audience, including the bags of sweets for the kids who will be there.

Sarah-Jane and her husband Kevin take on the bulk of the work for the play while co-chairs Celia and her husband quietly undermine them. But Sarah-Jane soldiers on, facing every obstacle with patience and grace. And then the night of the panto, everything goes crazy and old secrets come to light as a skeleton in a Santa suit slides out from the giant tree, a holiday surprise for all.

Author Janice Hallett revisits the universe she created for The Appeal, a murder mystery shared from an established attorney to younger ones, to test their ability to read through emails, police interviews, and newspaper articles and assimilate the information. They’d had to figure out the entirely of the mystery through these disparate emails and texts and then name the killer, and it was an amazing book to read. Now she’s back with a Christmas novella with a new mystery to solve.

The Christmas Appeal is a story filled with passive aggressiveness, gossip, rumor, and bullying. And I am here for all of it! It’s a story of a drama club in Lower Lockwood in England, and boy, do they bring the drama. Some is even on the stage. But most of it is backstage, with the finger pointing and the backstabbing. And all that long before the dead body shows up on the stage. I was a big fan of The Appeal, and I couldn’t wait to come back when I found out she brought us more Fairway Players drama. I loved The Christmas Appeal as well, and it will be a fun gift for drama fans.

The way the information is presented, like puzzle pieces needing to be put together means that you don’t have to read The Appeal to understand what is going on. You just have to keep reading until you have a feel for these characters. But I do think that anyone who reads the one book will get sucked in and want to read the other as well. Janice Hallett’s writing is that good.

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

3.5 Stars
In order to fully understand and appreciate this novel, you need to:
1) have read The Appeal
2) understand what a pantomime is, which I didn't and needed to google it SO....
Pantomime (noun) British English: a theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, that involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas.

We pick back up with The Fairway Players and the lead up to their annual pantomime. This year the proceeds from the pantomime benefit a new roof for the church hall The Fairway Players perform in.
While The Fairway Players gear up to put on their production of Jack and the Beanstalk poor Sarah-Jane is back as co-chair and constantly putting out fires and trying to maintain the respect from the cast. Not only is she constantly being undermined but a misunderstanding with the candy and sweets that are to given out to the children at the show are the least of her worries when a mummified body dressed in a Santa costume tumbles out of the Beanstalk on opening night of the production. While the audience think its part of the pantomime production, the cast is now rocked by another murder.

The story is written in the same style as The Appeal and follows Charlotte and Femi as they try to solve the murder and who the victim in the beanstalk is. I like Janice Hallett's writing style and her unique story-telling while keeping a murder story lighthearted and with a sprinkle of humor. That being said, I preferred The Appeal over The Christmas Appeal, this felt a little rushed at the end and the stakes were pretty low. The Appeal definitely had more drama and twists, this is definitely more of a cozy holiday mystery which make sense since it's The CHRISTMAS Appeal. I would definitely be interested if Janice Hallett brings Charlotte and Femi back in a true sequel or in another form.

If you enjoyed Hallett's The Appeal, then you will thoroughly be pleased to travel back into that world in the Christmas season of 2022 as the Fairway Players present Jack and the Beanstalk. Of course, there is backbiting, in fighting, oh and yes, a dead body!

Told in emails, text messages, and group chats, once again young lawyers are trying to solve the case - this one of a dead body dressed as Santa!

I found this book to be quite funny once again and appreciate how Hallett plays within the form of mystery novels to tell an enjoyable story.

I read The Appeal in 2022 and it was my favorite book of that year. I was so excited to return to Lower Lockwood in The Christmas Appeal. I love that the story is told entirely through emails and text messages. I enjoy this method of storytelling, but I know it's not for everyone. This Christmas novella includes many of the same characters as the original. This includes the young lawyers Charlotte and Femi Christmas who try to make sense out of the various messages between members of the Fairway Players theater group as they prepare to put on a Christmas pantomime.

This is a great mystery with humorous messages and situations that had me laughing out loud several throughout the book. This book was a pleasure to read and I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoyed The Appeal. 4.5 stars

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley, Viper Books, and Atria Books. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

After reading THE APPEAL, I couldn’t imagine how Janice Hallett could write a more fun book. Guess what…SHE DID IT! I absolutely loved THE CHRISTMAS APPEAL and would encourage fellow readers to grab a copy at the very first opportunity.

The fun, quirky, lovable and dysfunctional cast of characters are back with another great performance, this time it’s “Jack and the Beanstalk.” I laughed from the beginning to the end! Looking forward to what Hallett’s next book!

What a fun holiday mystery to read! I really enjoyed the mixed media format that the author used in the book (emails, texts, etc). Very innovative. It made this read wonderful entertainment and I found myself curled up with a cup of tea and some biscuits chuckling away. This would be a great holiday gift!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC published on 10/24

I really enjoyed the format of this book- it was very different from anything else I have read. The book was quick and light- I really enjoyed it as a way to get into reading holiday books for the winter season. I really enjoyed this author's reading style and I will definitely be reading more of their books. This book would make a great holiday gift! Perfect for curling up next to a fire with some hot tea. I also enjoyed how very British this book is.

This was a fun holiday read and it was nice to check up on how the characters from The Appeal were doing.

This time staging Jack and the Beanstalk, another crime is committed and the two lawyers are once again faced with emails, texts, and other correspondence to sift through to uncover the truth.

I, as always, am obsessed with Janice Hallett’s writing style and the mixed media captivated my attention. I loved seeing the original characters and even though this wasn’t as big a mystery as The Appeal, I still enjoyed this Christmas novella as a quick and engaging read! All my fingers are crossed for more of these characters in the future.

Pub date: 10/24

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Modern day Agatha Christie strikes again! This holiday mystery is more fun than serious and it brought a smile to my face while reading. I loved the mixed media in the book (emails, texts, etc). This was pure entertainment and it would make a GREAT holiday gift.

The Christmas Appeal is a really one-of-a-kind novella for those looking for something mysterious, yet also quick, light, and cozy this holiday season.

Told through cringeworthy Christmas letters, behind-the-scenes emails, and tell-tale text messages, it's a story of small-town drama amongst the Fairway Players. In the midst of their seasonal production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof come personality conflicts, a potentially asbestos-filled beanstalk, and even a dead body.

Read this one in a night with a cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace.

I really liked the format of this book, it was something I haven't read before and it made it go quickly. I do think the mystery could have gotten started a bit earlier in the book as it felt somewhat hastily wrapped up.

This is a silly little book, more of a short story, really, but cheerfully British. So many of the customs will be so unfamiliar to American readers as to seem exotic.

I love a good murder mystery, and I really enjoy Janice Hallett's style of epistolary writing. It makes for a very engaging read to feel as though you are one of the investigators reading the case! I would recommend reading The Appeal before reading this one, however, it could be a standalone novella with just a few questions along the way. I enjoyed the humor and intrigue in this book as well as in The Appeal. I would recommend this short book to anyone wanting to take a dive into a case file with a cast of characters so entertaining that the pages turn themselves! One wish I would have is for a list of characters at the beginning to reference. Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I loved this quick holiday return to The Fairway Players. It was fun to revisit the characters and unravel a new quirky mystery. And since the plot device is complicated (though completely unique and entertaining), it was nice that it was shorter and festive!

I could only put this book down for 5 minutes! It was just that captivating! The format (emails and such) made it for such a quick read that I read it In around 2 hours! It was not the traditional “Christmas” book I read (tend to read the nice stories) but it still was great. At times it was even hysterical! My only regret is that I wish I had read the previous book to this “the appeal” because it is referenced in this as what I believe is a spoiler so I don’t think I would go on to enjoy that. I got this advanced readers copy from Netgalley but my review is unbiased.

The Christmas Appeal was not a book that I liked because of the writing style of this book. It was told in interview form, articles and text messages which I personally do not like. The plot of the book was confusing to me but I did not read the first book in the series. I also think that there was way too many characters to keep up with as well. Overall I would not recommend this book to anyone but if you do want to read it I would suggest reading them in order. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review.

3.5, rounded up to 4.

This was my first book in this series as I was sent an e-arc by the publisher, so I had no idea what I was getting into. The style of the story took a moment to get used to, but I found it to be interesting and I rather enjoy epistolary works, so it ended up not being too bad.

The reason this isn't rated higher though is it kinda felt like the end was lackluster. I felt like we were ramping up for some big revelation at the end only to return back to a base level with nothing extra. This may just be the authors style, but I own two other novels by Janice so if it is, I'll be ready for it!

3.5 stars rounded up. I liked The Appeal but did struggle a bit with the amount of characters in the novel.

Luckily I enjoyed The Christmas Appeal quite a bit more. It’s definitely more of a cozy mystery than the horror or thrillers I’m used to reading. I found myself absolutely laughing out loud on several occasions. I didn’t have any issues with the formatting of the book. I went thru it quickly and enjoyed the mixed media aspect.

I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a mystery without much gore and darkness. Nice, fun little read.

A quick review for a quick book (definitely something you can read in one sitting!):

It was quite enjoyable to revisit Lockwood and the Fairway Players! Most of the characters you loved from book one are back, and they have new problems, shifting dynamics (with often hilarious results), and a fresh mystery to solve. I had a lot of fun reading this, even though the crime wasn’t nearly as well-up and executed as the OG. But it was a cozy return to a familiar world, and if you liked The Appeal, it’s a worthwhile read!

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC. The Christmas Appeal is out 10/24!

After really enjoying The Appeal, I was excited to see a novella coming out from Janice Hallett that picks up with the Fairway Players again. This story takes us back to Lockwood and to the crazy characters of the Fairway Players, a local theater group as they are busy preparing for the upcoming Christmas Pantomime-Jack and the Beanstalk. I did have to look up what a pantomime-ha! This cozy mystery was writen in epistolary style, mostly emails with some text messages thrown in there-documents that were given to lawyers Femi and Charlotte as the dig into the investigation of a murder that takes place. Hallet revealed the story and the answers to us little by little and kept me turning the page and laughing as the story unfolded. I highly encourage readers to looking into The Appeal (one of my top 10 reads in 2022) first so you get to know the characters-it will add to the enjoyment of your reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the advanced reader's copy of this novella. Out October 24th, 2023.