A review by maiagaia
The Appeal by Janice Hallett

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Love love love. I knew this one had a head start on my loving it because small town community theatre drama speaks to me so much. The format and lack of chapters had me flying through at breakneck speed because I kept saying "I'll just read one more email." There are A LOT of characters, but they shine so distinctly even though we're only reading their correspondence. I figured out the broad strokes of the mystery fairly early on, but there was enough intrigue to keep me loving it. There are some reveals that really flesh out the big mysteries, and there are enough threads that make you question whether you've really figured it out. The framing device was fun, and there's even a couple parts where the characters within the framing device point out particular character interactions to reread, if you're so inclined. I can't believe this is a debut and cannot wait for the next book from this author!