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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
The Christmas Appeal takes us right back to Lockwood and into the world of the Fairway Players - the overly cheerful, secretive community theater group at the center of The Appeal.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. As with Hallett’s previous work, this story is told through transcripts of emails, text messages, and police interviews. It will keep you guessing about what is actually happening with the Fairway Players and get your suspicions up right away. I love Hallett’s immersive style of writing. She manages to recreate the small English village mystery genre with a fresh approach and offers a wonderful critique about how in our modern society appearances are everything.
This book, much like Hallet’s the Tywford Code, has much to say about trying to escape one’s past. The Fairway Players are doing their very best to move on since the recent unpleasantness but old resentments and grievances won’t quite let them.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for a short, entertaining mystery read.
Very grateful to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. As with Hallett’s previous work, this story is told through transcripts of emails, text messages, and police interviews. It will keep you guessing about what is actually happening with the Fairway Players and get your suspicions up right away. I love Hallett’s immersive style of writing. She manages to recreate the small English village mystery genre with a fresh approach and offers a wonderful critique about how in our modern society appearances are everything.
This book, much like Hallet’s the Tywford Code, has much to say about trying to escape one’s past. The Fairway Players are doing their very best to move on since the recent unpleasantness but old resentments and grievances won’t quite let them.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for a short, entertaining mystery read.
Very grateful to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Neat, sweet and perfectly petite. This seasonal detective short novel follows the characters in The Fairway Players, a couple of years on from The Appeal. Janice Hallett writes in her previous style - papers, handwritten notes, mails, text messages, What’s App exchanges (none of which are deleted!) and even the round-robin Christmas note. It makes for a swift read, perfect for the Christmas holidays with a full pot of tea and a mince pie!
I felt a bit...cheated, by this one. Not just by how it concluded, but it was the same problem I had with 'The Appeal' in that it took far too long to actually get to the point without dropping those all-important clues. Now that was a 400+ page book, it had time to percolate, but 'The Christmas Appeal' just didn't. It's well-written - Janice Hallett is a good writer - but as an overall piece of fiction, it's not her best.
funny
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
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is my new favourite writing style. So easy to just get lost in the lives of these fake people reading through their messages to each other
All my reviews can be found at damppebbles.com
I loved everything about The Appeal so you can imagine my joy when the author published a festive follow up! The Christmas Appeal takes us back to Lower Lockwood and once again to The Fairway Players who are preparing for their Christmas pantomime. One thing’s for sure, with the Fairway Players involved, things are unlikely to go smoothly…
The Christmas Appeal was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was a delight to be reunited with characters from the first book and see how life had moved on since the developments in The Appeal. Their bickering, their backstabbing and their general one-upmanship has not abated and was a joy to watch as the drama group gathered to plan and rehearse their big Christmas panto. The group are presenting Jack and the Beanstalk to their ever growing community for one night only and oh boy, the amount of work involved in that feat is really quite mind boggling! Sarah-Jane MacDonald is the current chairperson of the Fairway Players, much to Celia Halliday’s chagrin. Which only makes Sarah-Jane all the more determined to do everything in her power to make sure it’s a show that will never be forgotten. Which it ends up being. Only for all of the wrong reasons. And of course, the dead body in the Santa suit!
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Christmas Appeal is pure joy in literary form. I don’t think you need to have read The Appeal first but it will provide some prior knowledge of the characters which can’t be a bad thing. Also, The Appeal is such an excellent, clever story so why not get hold of copies of both and really treat yourself. The Christmas Appeal, like its predecessor, is told using mixed media which can feel a little daunting to start with but it soon becomes the norm and you won’t even notice the difference after a few minutes. I’m still amazed by how well I feel I know the characters, how incredibly well the author conveys their individual personalities and idiosyncrasies through only their written communication. It’s masterfully done. The Christmas Appeal is only a short read at around 200 pages so I found myself flying through the story, desperate to know the truth but also knowing that I should really slow down and savour my time with the characters. Characters I have become really quite fond of. The mystery aspect works really well and I enjoyed the build up to the discovery of the body, along with the reveal of whodunit. All in all, this is the perfect stocking filler for the book lover in your life. I said in my review of The Appeal that ‘the author shows exactly how ‘human’ humans can be’ and I stand by that. A laugh out loud, cleverly penned mystery with a whole lotta heart. A cast of wonderful, honest characters who wear their flaws on their sleeves and muddle along together doing the best they can. I loved every second of this book and I can only hope this isn’t the last time we’re invited back to Lower Lockwood. A wonderful Christmas mystery which I found hugely entertaining and made this old Grinch feel a little bit more Christmassy than before. Highly recommended.
I loved everything about The Appeal so you can imagine my joy when the author published a festive follow up! The Christmas Appeal takes us back to Lower Lockwood and once again to The Fairway Players who are preparing for their Christmas pantomime. One thing’s for sure, with the Fairway Players involved, things are unlikely to go smoothly…
The Christmas Appeal was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was a delight to be reunited with characters from the first book and see how life had moved on since the developments in The Appeal. Their bickering, their backstabbing and their general one-upmanship has not abated and was a joy to watch as the drama group gathered to plan and rehearse their big Christmas panto. The group are presenting Jack and the Beanstalk to their ever growing community for one night only and oh boy, the amount of work involved in that feat is really quite mind boggling! Sarah-Jane MacDonald is the current chairperson of the Fairway Players, much to Celia Halliday’s chagrin. Which only makes Sarah-Jane all the more determined to do everything in her power to make sure it’s a show that will never be forgotten. Which it ends up being. Only for all of the wrong reasons. And of course, the dead body in the Santa suit!
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Christmas Appeal is pure joy in literary form. I don’t think you need to have read The Appeal first but it will provide some prior knowledge of the characters which can’t be a bad thing. Also, The Appeal is such an excellent, clever story so why not get hold of copies of both and really treat yourself. The Christmas Appeal, like its predecessor, is told using mixed media which can feel a little daunting to start with but it soon becomes the norm and you won’t even notice the difference after a few minutes. I’m still amazed by how well I feel I know the characters, how incredibly well the author conveys their individual personalities and idiosyncrasies through only their written communication. It’s masterfully done. The Christmas Appeal is only a short read at around 200 pages so I found myself flying through the story, desperate to know the truth but also knowing that I should really slow down and savour my time with the characters. Characters I have become really quite fond of. The mystery aspect works really well and I enjoyed the build up to the discovery of the body, along with the reveal of whodunit. All in all, this is the perfect stocking filler for the book lover in your life. I said in my review of The Appeal that ‘the author shows exactly how ‘human’ humans can be’ and I stand by that. A laugh out loud, cleverly penned mystery with a whole lotta heart. A cast of wonderful, honest characters who wear their flaws on their sleeves and muddle along together doing the best they can. I loved every second of this book and I can only hope this isn’t the last time we’re invited back to Lower Lockwood. A wonderful Christmas mystery which I found hugely entertaining and made this old Grinch feel a little bit more Christmassy than before. Highly recommended.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced