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angelarrrgh's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Addiction
Minor: Domestic abuse
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A cute little story I enjoyed on the road during a wintery day.
Energy: Gallant. Familiar. Exhausting.
Scene: ๐ฌ๐ง Late 2022, leading to the Christmas holidays in a British village.
Perspective: We follow multiple members of a club that puts on local plays (in this case, a rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk to fundraise for a new church roof).
๐ Howls: The epistolary format became less effective for me once it was clear what had happened.
๐ฉ Tail Wags: The epistolary format overall. The caricatures of characters that felt so real. The problems, mix-ups, and sabotage.
๐ค Random Thoughts:
I could only get this on audio, but it was surprisingly easy to follow despite it being an extensive cast of characters all communicating online. Excellent voices and expressive narration helped to differentiate everyone too.
The story is sad and silly, but how itโs told felt true to life. The nit-picking, passive-aggressive comments, self-centred ramblings from certain membersโฆit was a little satirical but also word-for-word how petty people communicate. Depending on what your inbox looks like rn, this could be cathartic or triggering ๐
Not that big a deal, and maybe the downside of epistolary in general, but once all the tea was spilled the continued communication suddenly lost interest for me. Not repetitive, but it felt like a formality to avoid an abrupt ending.
----
๐ฌ Tale-Telling: Told entirely through emails, WhatsApp, flyers, and police interview transcripts.
๐ค Reader Role: Reading all the emails and texts, piecing everything together, and getting a sense of who is who and their intentions.
๐บ๏ธ World-Building: Surprisingly vibrant and easy to imagine
๐ฅ Fuel: Will all the little hiccups and issues be resolved? Will the passive-aggressive jealous members succeed in sabotage? Will the play go off without a hitch? Who died? Why and how?
๐ Cred: Hyper-realistic with a sprinkling of satirical over-the-top
๐ Journey: Like accessing someoneโs computer and e-eavesdropping on the mini-drama that is their life.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Hammering. Christmas chorus. Candy. Crinkle bags. Musty church scent. Practicing lines. Echoing room. Dog panting. Keyboard clacking. iPhone keyboard feedback. WhatsApp notifications.
- Christmas theatrics and drama
- Clusterf*** of problems, conflicts, and secrets
Content Heads-Up: Domestic abuse. Dead body. Alcoholism. Sabotage. Drugs.
Rep: White and ambiguous British. Cisgender. Heterosexual.
๐ Format: Everand Audio
My musings ๐ powered by puppy snuggles ๐ถ
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Death
Minor: Alcoholism
starglitters's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse and Death
gillianengelbrecht's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse
hmetwade's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, and Addiction
jennyoli96's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
lydiagibbs's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fun. Story through text messages and email exchanges.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder and Domestic abuse
jean_atlas's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
4.0
Easy fun Christmas read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
potzak's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
what a disappointing read
- I had to skip the texts between the lawyers as the book was already written in such a simplistic way that I could not deal with the extra (and very unnecessary) handholding. Dear writer, please have a bit more faith in your readers. We all have a mind of our own
- It is not a well-written mystery if the only surprising things are brand new characters that we were never introduced to and who's existence has not even been hinted at.
-what an awful and tactless way to talk about domestic abuse.
- what an utterly unlikebale set of characters! i could not have cared less about them
i have no plans to read the prequel this has been more than enough. an absolutely amateur attempt at a crime novel. I STRONGLY disagree with The Times calling the writer "Agatha Christie for the 21st century".
- I had to skip the texts between the lawyers as the book was already written in such a simplistic way that I could not deal with the extra (and very unnecessary) handholding. Dear writer, please have a bit more faith in your readers. We all have a mind of our own
- It is not a well-written mystery if the only surprising things are brand new characters that we were never introduced to and who's existence has not even been hinted at.
-
- what an utterly unlikebale set of characters! i could not have cared less about them
i have no plans to read the prequel this has been more than enough. an absolutely amateur attempt at a crime novel. I STRONGLY disagree with The Times calling the writer "Agatha Christie for the 21st century".
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse
megspiteri's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A really quick Christmas read. I love the style of writing of emails and messages. This is a sequel to the appeal which I haven't read yet but I don't think it had any massive spoilers in it. The actual dead body story line is a relatively small part of the story, but I really enjoyed reading the interactions between the characters - it's almost like real housewives meets made in Chelsea meets theatre nerds
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse