After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

eARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher for reviewing purposes!

First of all, I enjoy Janice Hallett’s writing so much that I read this Christmas novella in October. And it was cute! I give it 3.5 stars rounded up- a quick little mystery, revisiting some of the characters from The Appeal and some holiday hijinks in her typical epistolary style. I had a nice evening with it but didn’t find it nearly as spectacular as the rest of her books. That said, I’m still a big fan and eagerly anticipating more of her writing in the future!

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the Appeal - mostly because there turned out not to be much of a mystery. I do love the format and mixed media. It takes a little bit to get the characters straight, but once you figure out who's who, it's a fun way to read. I did enjoy the young law students popping on more with this one to summarize what was most important from all the different communications.

It is a very quick read (I read it in basically one sitting) and I'd recommend reading the Appeal first - it's not totally necessary, but I think you understand the characters better to enjoy this more. I wouldn't really consider this a holiday read, even though it takes place in December... I think it would be enjoyable to read any time of the year.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! Review live now on GoodReads and StoryGraph

So fun to catch up with The Fairway Players! If you've loved Hallett's previous work, including her unique letter/email/text writing style, then you'll love this one.

The Christmas Appeal
Janice Hallett
Oct.24, 2023
Atria
* Christmas Mystery
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This immersive holiday caper follows the hilarious Fairway Players theater group as they put on a Christmas play- and solve a murder that threatens their production.
I devoured this story. Hallet has nailed it again and I will be recommending this to people who enjoy a little insanity in their life.
4 stars

Thank you to Atria Books, Janice Hallett and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett has us diving back into the inner workings of the Fairway Players through change in leadership, preparations for the year’s charity pantomime and a dead body! In this epistolary novel we join lawyers Charlotte and Femi in getting to the root of the mystery through articles, emails, and text messages of both new and returning cast.

I loved this novella! It was fun and full of twists that had me gasping. As with The Appeal I loved The Christmas Appeal. Between the return of previous characters and the introduction of new characters I felt like I was sitting with Charlotte and Femi as they unraveled the newest mystery. Along with the fun mystery I had a blast reading the shenanigans that accompanied Sarah Jane and Kevin McDonald’s attempt to get through the Christmas pantomime.

The Christmas Appeal is a novella that revisits the characters from the Appeal who come together for a Christmas play. The story is told fully in emails and a little bit in texts. While putting on this play, a dead body is discovered. The mystery on who the person is and what happened unfolds throughout the story.

I enjoyed this book! I really liked the Appeal and I liked this one too. This was a shorter book so I didn’t connect as much as the first book. However, it was fun to reconnect with old characters. I loved the mixed media throughout. I recommend this book for people who liked the Appeal!

I do wish the Christmas vibes were a bit more prevalent. I think it would’ve been better if it was a Christmas play. I think it would’ve added a bit more Christmas fun to it.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Atria books for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest opinion!

This novella has all of the delicious gossip of Hallett's THE APPEAL in a more concise format. It was definitely a hit for me, as I enjoyed the drama of this small town theater group without getting dragged down by the drama. Sarah-Jane and her husband Kevin have been elected the chairs of this group, but ousted Celia is full of passive aggressiveness in her email blasts. Roderick Tanner invites Femi and Charlotte to go over emails and texts to figure out the mystery.

The cover and title are channeling Christmas, but unfortunately I didn't get a Christmas vibe from the actual novella. The theater group is putting on a Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime, which doesn't feel very festive, but my friend Google does tell me it's put on around Christmas.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was so good!! A quick fast paced cozy mystery. I read this very quickly and really loved it! This was the perfect holiday mystery to read during hectic times or a lazy day curled up under a fuzzy blanket. I loved it!! This was a great addition to the Fairway Players. Hopefully this will help make this a new series!!
I just reviewed The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Great follow-up to The Appeal. If you enjoyed the first book, then you will enjoy this one! I love that it was set during the holiday season. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

The Appeal was one of my favorite books last year so I was super excited to get this ARC of The Christmas Appeal! I absolutely loved revisiting the Fairway Players theater group. This was such a fun mystery told through emails. If you are looking for a quick, funny mystery for the holidays, this is it!

The Fairway Players theater group is back and preparing for their Christmas play. They find themselves once again in the middle of a murder that threatens to halt their production.

Hallett puts you in the detective seat as you unravel clues, sift through Christmas letters, and dig into police transcripts to unmask the culprit before the final curtain falls.

I was crying laughing reading this story. It’s equal parts hysterical and cunning. I can never figure out the mystery before the end of Hallett’s books. #gifted

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hilarious, quick whodunit. I love the immersive style of these books, and this one actually got me to laugh out loud- not chuckle, not emit an audible "hm!" I laughed.

I listened to the first book in this series and wondered whether it was easier to follow all of the communications in print. With this book, I discovered, no, no it is not. Still entertaining, this novella follows the same format of emails being written back and forth among the various members of the Fairway Players with conversations on WhatsApp between people who are later putting together a solution to some mystery that we will find out about later in the story.
We have moved a couple of years after the first book and the players are now under new leadership as well as having new people in the group some of whom live in the Granger which seems to have been converted into apartments. Of course, not all of the drama is on stage with passions simmering behind the scenes as well and people writing one thing to a member but about-facing with another member. At the end of all of this will be blackmail, drugs, and a body.

Three and a half stars
This novella comes out October 24, 2023
Follows The Appeal
ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC fo Janice Hallett's latest novel 'The Christmas Appeal'.

The Christmas Appeal sees lawyers Femi and Charlotte attempt to uncover the mystery of a suspicious death during the Fairway Players Christmas pantomime using only text messages and round-robin emails sent between members of the Players and transcripts of police interviews.
I found the book entertaining and I enjoyed how the author captured the insanity and pettiness of the rivalries at play within the group. Particularly Celia, I feel like I know a handful of Celia's in real life and Hallett perfectly captured the character of this type of individual.

This was a fun, quick read and is perfect for the holiday season.

My only issue with the book was a typo (or what I assume to be a typo) which I hope is picked up in the final proofreading. This book is set in the UK (unless I am mistaken) but when the Players are discussing how much to sell their cakes for they use dollars $.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett follows the members of the Fairway Players Theatre Group as they work to put on a pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk leading up to the holidays. As tensions rise between members of the group, the production goes terribly awry on opening night when an unwelcome surprise turns up on stage in the middle of the performance.

The Christmas Appeal was a fast-paced, fun, and intriguing mystery that carried through all of the elements that I really enjoyed from its predecessor, The Appeal! The way that the book was formatted, in emails and texts messages, really worked for me and the pacing of the plot. I had a really hard time setting the book down and I absolutely flew through it! I also enjoyed much of the humor that was implicit in this novel and I felt that it lent itself to the sequence of events that was taking place.

My only critique is that I would have loved it if this were longer! After the crux of the mystery was revealed, it felt as though things were wrapped up a little more quickly than I would have liked and some elements felt like they were still unresolved, but that's just a testament to my enjoyment of the book!

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett is a cozy mystery based around The Fairway Players and their Christmas pantomime. Filled with humor and drama, The Christmas Appeal is a quick page-turner.
The way the book was told through texts, transcripts, and email is not my favorite, I did find The Christmas Appeal an enjoyable holiday read.
Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGallery for the e-ARC of the book.

The Fairway Players are back with a Christmas play and as always, Hallett delivers rivalry, gossip and secrets. Once again we meet Charlotte and Femi who are trying to understand what happened and who is at fault by reading players' correspondences.

Janice Hallett surprised me again. I like the Fairway Players and their dynamics. Some situations are so absurd that made me giggle, others made me laugh out loud, some characters earned an eye roll from me. I know it was a special Christmas novel but I wish there were more books with these characters.

I know ‘The Christmas Appeal’ will bring seasonal joy to fans of Janice Hallett’s previous novel ‘The Appeal’ especially as this book features the Fairway Players once again.
The troupe is putting on a pantomime and the usual rivalries and bickering begins again alongside the discovery of a mysterious body.
Who is it and were they murdered?
All is revealed in this short, fast mystery with plenty of humour and Christmas intrigue.

I absolutely LOVED the Appeal, so I was really exited to read this one!

She has this art of writing a who dunnit in the most clever way. It keeps you turning pages, and often going back to re-read something cause you’re not sure if you missed something or if you read it right!

Some text conversations were a bit hard to read on my kindle (letters were very small).
I really liked that it involved many familiar characters from The Appeal. I overall enjoyed the book, but not as much as I loved The Appeal.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC!