Janice Hallet writes a short tasty seasonal mystery novella in her trademark style and resurrects offbeat characters that will familiar to fans of The Appeal. There is fun, farce, rivalries, humour, mayhem, madness and murder as the Lockwood Fairway players plan to stage the Seventies production of the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, with the aim of raising funds to fix the church roof. Roderick Tanner (KC) provides the stack of multimedia documents, including social media, WhatsApp, texts and emails, for the curious Charlotte and Femi to peruse. Hallet is remarkable in how she lets the distinct characters emerge in all their glory through her unusual, stylish, and moreish format. There is intelligence, wit, laughs, suspense, twists and turns, iin this festive mystery, and even if you have not read The Appeal, please don't let it put you off from getting your teeth into this, you are unlikely to regret it. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I loved the Appeal and was beyond excited when I heard that the Christmas Appeal featuring the Fairway Players would be available in October. A fabulous quick read with all the ingredients we've come to expect from Janice Hallett's book.
A fantastic stocking filler for your favourite bookworm for Christmas

Expertly written by the wonderful Janice Hallett I devoured this like a tin of Quality Street on Boxing Day….
Great to revisit the faraway players, I loved the appeal, so it was great to see where the characters ended up.
Told though messages, emails, police transcripts and newspaper cuttings Hallett get again puts a interesting and modern twist to the classic whodunit Agatha Christie style of writing, like Agatha she manages to make political and social observations without it being pushed down your throat, very clever writing. She holds your interest, keeps you guessing and makes you howl with laughter at the mix characters.
While this story isn’t as complex or as long as The Appeal it is just a good. Full of dark humour and mystery. The story itself is less dark than The Appeal but it matches the Christmas theme so works perfectly as do all the clues to keep you guessing, though I did kinda work out in part the twist half way.
I always enjoy how Hallett gives a tidy ending whist leaving us hanging a little. She is a master.
This book is a must read for fans, would make a great Christmas gift along with a tin of chocolates to devour together on Boxing Day… simply one .of the best ARC’s I’ve read this year I actually wish I had waited to buy it and read it over the festive period…loves me good mystery with a festive feel.
Thank you so much for the early Christmas gift in way of this ARC in exchange for my review.
Is it good??? oh yes it is!!!!

The Fairway Players presents: The Jack and the Beanstalk Pantomime. 
Well, I say presents, but really where the Fairway Players are involved, disaster is sure to follow. 

How fun it was to be back with the old cast of The Appeal again. There is the usual rivalry between characters of course. Femi and Charlotte are back again too, doing their own detective work.

I liked that this was a quick, fast paced Festive read.

I have enjoyed all of Janice Hallet's novels so far and was looking forward to another episode in the life of the Fairway Players after her excellent first novel, The Appeal. I found her ingenious use of text messages, news and police reports had been an excellent way of telling the story in her earlier novels and I expected to be equally absorbed this time. However, I felt the innovative format was less interesting this time and the characters were harder to engage with, even though some were familiar from the first book. Perhaps it was the pantomime or the not-so-lighthearted Christmas setting that let this one down for me, as the whole plot seemed rather forced and ultimately quite slight. I feel she has moved on from the early 'cosy crime' feel and really developed with her Twyford Code and Alperton Angels novels, but this seemed rather a pale version of her first work. I still look forward to further novels, hopefully with a little more bite.

Firstly, although it's not necessary to have read 'The Appeal' before reading this book, I'd certainly recommend it. It will give you an introduction to the type of book it is and the format used, and will introduce you to the history of the characters and The Fairway Players which I think is important.

I really love Janice Hallett's books and was so excited to receive an ARC of this book. I perhaps should have checked the page count before reading as I was expecting it to be much longer than it was - I couldn't believe how quickly I got through it! The book was fun but the mystery wasn't as exciting to me and it didn't feel as involved as 'The Appeal' where you could take notes and work alongside the narrative to try and figure out whodunit.

Overall I would recommend this but be prepared that it's much lighter on story and mystery than the first book. But who doesn't love a Christmas murder mystery?

This Christmas novella revisiting the cast of Janice Hallett's wonderful novel The Appeal is no doubt going to end up in a number of Christmas stockings this year. I gorged it all in one go, easy to do at a manageable 200 pages. It contains all the same wit and humour from the first book, as well as a new mystery to unravel. Because of the length of the book, I don't think the mystery was particularly complicated and in that respect it doesn't quite match up to The Appeal, but it's such an entertaining, funny read anyway that I don't think it matters at all.

I absolutely loved The Appeal and was delighted to return to Lower Lockwood and the Fairway Players for another outing.

Once again the author is an absolute master of alternative formats, using emails, texts and other means to communicate the story. There’s a pantomime in production and once again warring factions are at work. It is definitely not the season of goodwill as plans are underfoot to sabotage the efforts of the producers!!

I really enjoyed this. It is the perfect seasonal piece. More hilarious, more farcical and slapstick that The Appeal. The round robin at the start had me in stitches. This is pure fun and my jaw ached with laughing.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Viper for my copy of this highly entertaining read.

i loved the appeal when i read it in one sitting a few years ago, a compelling and funny murder mystery set in a small town. this one features the same characters with a few new ones. it was short and sweet, just not as interesting or gripping as the first

I really enjoyed this Christmas special which is a delight to read. It was fun catching up with the Lockwood characters and had the added bonus of making me laugh out loud more than once. It's just the right length to read on a winter afternoon with a cup of tea /glass of Christmas cheer and a mince pie!
Thank you to netgalley and serpents tail for an advance copy of this book.

The story:
After the events of 2018, you might think it was the end of the Fairway Players. But the show must go on, and it’s pantomime season!

With a 30-year-old beanstalk, power-grabbing cast members and disobedient dogs, the amateur dramatics group’s co-chairs already have their work cut out for them…

But when a particularly macabre challenge comes their way, will the Fairfield Players be able to pick it up, give it a wink, and firmly knock it out of the park?

My thoughts:
I’m so pleased to be back in the company of the Fairway Players! A festive follow-up to Janice Hallett’s 2021 bestseller “The Appeal”, the group of amateur actors are tackling their annual Christmas panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, with this year’s appeal being an ever-popular cause — the repair of the church roof.

However, as with its predecessor, we know all is not well, as the story is being told (via emails, text messages and police interviews), by Roderick Tanner, KC (retired) to young lawyers Femi and Charlotte, with the challenge of working out what’s been going on in the small town of Lockwood.

A few years have passed from the events that shook the Players in the original story, and there has since been a power struggle for control of the group. The passive aggressive, tit-for-tat emails between current co-chair Sarah-Jane MacDonald and aspiring leader Celia Halliday had me laughing out loud, as did a particularly unfortunate attempt to organise the party bags for Santa to distribute!

Janice Hallett is once again on top form, and the task of distinguishing between small-town pettiness and actual foul play is as challenging, and funny, as ever. Definitely one to put on your Christmas list for a great festive read!

It was so nice to return to the high drama of amateur dramatics! I really enjoyed seeing The Fairway Players and seeing how their Christmas panto would turn out. The format of this is the same as The Appeal, told mostly in emails & messages, and I just enjoyed seeing it spiral towards disaster with the backstabbing & that familiar curse of what can go wrong will go wrong. There’s plenty to laugh at, and that’s all before a dead body turns up.

How wonderful to be back in Lower Lockwood for Christmas, keeping up with the antics of the Fairway Players!

The Fairway Players are rehearsing for their Christmas pantomime: Jack and the Beanstalk, to help raise money for the church roof. This story, told through emails, text messages and county police interview reports, paints a picture of a theatre group where members manipulate and undermine one another. There is drama not only on stage, but certainly more than enough off stage as well.

Cleverly told by Jannice Hallett, and like it's predecessor The Appeal a gripping book. Hooked from the first page in, I wish it lasted a little longer.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.

I love Janice Hallett’s writing style, the way the entire story is told in different forms of media, such as emails, text messages, etc.

‘The Christmas Appeal' is a contemporary, cosy mystery mystery, set in the feverish and amusing world of amateur dramatics with The Fairway Players'. A follow-up to 'The Appeal‘.

If you haven’t already read ‘The Appeal’, go do it now, the are both amazing. 5*

I was delighted to be offered the chance to read an early copy of this, I adored The Appeal, it was such an interesting story.

The Christmas Appeal is a novella that throws us right back in to the delightfully backstabbing, underhanded and squabbling Fairway Players as they try to arrange a charity production of Jack and the Beanstalk in aid if the Church roof.

The Christmas Appeal uses the same story telling structure as it’s predecessor – we get the story primarily through a series of texts and emails between various groups of Fairway Players with occasional interjections from Femi and Charlotte as they try to peace the case together.

This book was everything I wanted it to be – we got to see the shifting power structure among the Players, the moaning behind the scenes, some beautifully comedic moments (I won’t spoiler them) and the panic felt by people at various points leapt off the page.

A wonderful extra insight into the Player’s world – if you loved The Appeal you won’t want to miss this.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett.

Crime Mystery | 208 Pages
Publication Date: 26 October 2023

One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth?

Welcome back to the Fairway Players, a new pantomime and a brand new scandal. This year they are performing Jack and the Beanstalk. Olufemi Hassan and Charlotte Holroyd are tasked once again by the now retired KC Roderick Tanner to read through all the correspondence given to them to work out the mystery. This book is told the same way as The Appeal by emails, text messages/whats-app messages. The Fairway Players are graced yet again with the Beanstalk they used many, many years ago except this time it is hiding a dead body. Whose body was found dead in the beanstalk and was it murder or a case of accidental death?

It felt like coming back to old friends – I absolutely loved “The Appeal” and was so excited when I was contacted to read the new novella that I dropped everything and read it straight away. Jam packed with all the drama needed, new characters alongside the old ones we have come to love. This was a fast read for me and I enjoyed every moment.

Thank you Viper and Netgalley for sending me a gifted copy of this e-book for my honest book review.

4.5 stars

I've just spent the last few hours catching up with The Fairway Players and if you loved The Appeal as much as I did then you're in for another treat with this!

The cast and crew are preparing for their annual panto - it's Jack and the Beanstalk this year, complete with ancient props and a few surprises along the way... It's all written in the same style as the first, with a combination of emails, texts and What's App chats that works so well. This was exactly the comforting cosy crime read I needed this afternoon 💚 The Christmas Appeal is out next month and you're going to see it EVERYWHERE!!

I loved The Appeal, so I was looking forward to reading The Christmas Appeal.

A few things to know before going into it: If you haven't read The Appeal I don't think you'll enjoy this. In my opinion, it's for people who are already fans. While I once again liked the epistolary style, and thought it was nice being re-united with the quirky cast of characters, I have to admit I was let down. I went into it thinking it was going to be a full length novel, but at around 200 pages, it's actually more of a novella. The mystery, if it can even really be called that, doesn't come into play until much later in the book. I will confess that had I known this before hand I might not have been so eager to read it. Overall, The Christmas Appeal was a quick and somewhat fun read, but not really the great mystery I was hoping for.

This is the first book I have read by Janice Hallett, and it was a total delight!
I liked the way the story was spun out over many email and whatsapp messages. The characters were all brought to life through these messages, and the mystery solved at the end.
I will be purchasing the first book in this series, and look forward to meeting the Fairway Players again.
Highly recommended.

It's been five years since a death in the village of Lower Lockwood made the national news and things have moved on. Unfortunately, as 2023 rushes from pumpkins to fireworks, and on towards Christmas trees, gifts, and panto season, Femi and Charlotte find themselves once again looking into its recent history. The recently retired Roderick Tanner KC has once again furnished the two lawyers with emails, WhatsApp messages, and texts, and awaits their comments and deductions.

The 2022 pantomime season in Lower Lockwood lasts a whole day! Of course the new Fairway Players joint chairs, Sarah Jane and Kevin MacDonald have been enthusiastically holding auditions, rehearsals, and prop making sessions for months in readiness for the one performance of Jack and the Beanstalk in all its glory! There have been a few hitches along the way but it will all be alright on the night because, as everyone knows, lightening doesn't strike twice!

Having loved the Appeal and this author's other standalone books I was a little apprehensive but also excited to read about the small village and its foibles once again. There were a few things I wished had been continued but the overall reading experience was as pleasant, welcoming, and funny, as I'd hoped. There are some spoilers so I would recommend reading the two books in order, neither disappoint.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Viper Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. Although shorter than the original this is a perfect length for a relaxing read at a busy time of year. Recommended.