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A review by janane
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is a story about how people from very different layers of society behave toward one another - and how those invisible social boundaries can shape their actions, attitudes, and even their sense of morality.
Pick this up if you want to read 440 pages of email exchanges that weave together fundraising for cancer treatment, small-town corruption, and a mysterious murder.
I can’t quite remember how I first came across this book, but I do remember feeling genuinely excited to read it. I love when authors experiment with format, and this one is told entirely through unconventional storytelling - mostly emails, but also sprinkled with notes, case studies, and reports. That premise had me hooked. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver the way I had hoped.
The story follows the Fairway Players, a local theatre group trying to stage a production of All My Sons to raise funds for Poppy Reswick, the young granddaughter of the group’s chairperson, who has been diagnosed with cancer. But as rehearsals progress, whispers of a murder emerge - though we don’t know who the victim is, how it happened, or when it took place.
Two law students begin sifting through the group’s email exchanges, piecing together the drama. Through their investigation, we meet a cast of fifteen characters, each with distinct personalities and positions within the social hierarchy of the group. At the center of it all is Isabel Beck - quirky, insecure, and desperate to climb the social ladder. Her perspective drives most of the plot forward.
There’s plenty of drama, rivalries, and sniping between characters, which at times made it tricky to keep track of who was who. The mystery itself becomes fairly predictable once you get a sense of the group dynamics. The book clearly aims to explore class divisions and the ways people can be dismissive - even cruel - toward those they see as “beneath” them.
My biggest struggle was the pacing. I had to get through nearly 80% of the book before the murder actually happened, and by then, the final 50 pages - where the law students submit their full report - felt repetitive, as it essentially rehashed everything we had already read. I do own the author's other books and still plan to read them, but only because they aren't told entirely in an email format.
Overall, this was an okay read - clever in concept, but lacking in execution.
Pick this up if you want to read 440 pages of email exchanges that weave together fundraising for cancer treatment, small-town corruption, and a mysterious murder.
I can’t quite remember how I first came across this book, but I do remember feeling genuinely excited to read it. I love when authors experiment with format, and this one is told entirely through unconventional storytelling - mostly emails, but also sprinkled with notes, case studies, and reports. That premise had me hooked. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver the way I had hoped.
The story follows the Fairway Players, a local theatre group trying to stage a production of All My Sons to raise funds for Poppy Reswick, the young granddaughter of the group’s chairperson, who has been diagnosed with cancer. But as rehearsals progress, whispers of a murder emerge - though we don’t know who the victim is, how it happened, or when it took place.
Two law students begin sifting through the group’s email exchanges, piecing together the drama. Through their investigation, we meet a cast of fifteen characters, each with distinct personalities and positions within the social hierarchy of the group. At the center of it all is Isabel Beck - quirky, insecure, and desperate to climb the social ladder. Her perspective drives most of the plot forward.
There’s plenty of drama, rivalries, and sniping between characters, which at times made it tricky to keep track of who was who. The mystery itself becomes fairly predictable once you get a sense of the group dynamics. The book clearly aims to explore class divisions and the ways people can be dismissive - even cruel - toward those they see as “beneath” them.
My biggest struggle was the pacing. I had to get through nearly 80% of the book before the murder actually happened, and by then, the final 50 pages - where the law students submit their full report - felt repetitive, as it essentially rehashed everything we had already read. I do own the author's other books and still plan to read them, but only because they aren't told entirely in an email format.
Overall, this was an okay read - clever in concept, but lacking in execution.