The Appeal: The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Air Mail, and more!
“[W]itty, original…a delight.” —The New York Times
Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell, this international bestseller and “dazzlingly clever” (The Sunday Times, London) murder mystery follows a community rallying around a sick child—but when escalating lies lead to a dead body, everyone is a suspect.
The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival.
But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that the killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered.
A wholly modern and gripping take on the epistolary novel, The Appeal is a “daring…clever, and funny” (The Times, London) debut for fans of Richard Osman and Lucy Foley.
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Air Mail, and more!
“[W]itty, original…a delight.” —The New York Times
Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell, this international bestseller and “dazzlingly clever” (The Sunday Times, London) murder mystery follows a community rallying around a sick child—but when escalating lies lead to a dead body, everyone is a suspect.
The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival.
But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that the killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered.
A wholly modern and gripping take on the epistolary novel, The Appeal is a “daring…clever, and funny” (The Times, London) debut for fans of Richard Osman and Lucy Foley.
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Community Reviews
A murder mystery told in epistolary format. The title refers not only to appealing a wrongful conviction but also the underlying story refers to a child suffering from a brain tumor and fundraising for an experimental drug, referred to as an appeal.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Atria books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
The book begins with email and text exchanges of a myriad of characters that is a bit confusing at first. It’s trivial emails about daily activities, husbands and wives discussing who is picking up their children from school, about a few main characters and a new drama production, and lastly about two new villagers in the area that have recently moved from Africa.
As the story progresses, the minutiae of the emails and texts start to paint a bigger picture. Someone has been murdered. There are texts exchanges by two people who, unclear at first of who they are, start discussing details of these characters and of the written exchanges between them as details of a case.
At first I was a little out off by the writing style only because it’s a bit confusing and is certainly different than anything I’ve read, and I read emails all day for work. However, as the story progresses it’s really a fresh new take on diving into the details and attempting to discover what happened with a detective’s view of things.
There were twists and turns and details reminiscent of Agatha Christie novels, that kept me intrigued and reading each text or email faster and faster to come to my own conclusions. Well done Janice Hallett. I look forward to reading more from you!
The book begins with email and text exchanges of a myriad of characters that is a bit confusing at first. It’s trivial emails about daily activities, husbands and wives discussing who is picking up their children from school, about a few main characters and a new drama production, and lastly about two new villagers in the area that have recently moved from Africa.
As the story progresses, the minutiae of the emails and texts start to paint a bigger picture. Someone has been murdered. There are texts exchanges by two people who, unclear at first of who they are, start discussing details of these characters and of the written exchanges between them as details of a case.
At first I was a little out off by the writing style only because it’s a bit confusing and is certainly different than anything I’ve read, and I read emails all day for work. However, as the story progresses it’s really a fresh new take on diving into the details and attempting to discover what happened with a detective’s view of things.
There were twists and turns and details reminiscent of Agatha Christie novels, that kept me intrigued and reading each text or email faster and faster to come to my own conclusions. Well done Janice Hallett. I look forward to reading more from you!
Fascinating mystery where information is revealed slowly through text messages and emails. There are many characters and lots of twists. I loved the way this author wrote! I couldn't put it down.
Spoiler alert:
It ends up that the little girl was never ill. It was an elaborate scam by the grandparents to raise money to pay off their debts. Lots of people pretended to be others via email. Eventually Isabel confesses (but it's not really clear why- was she protecting James?) It was revealed that James was the killer.
Spoiler alert:
It ends up that the little girl was never ill. It was an elaborate scam by the grandparents to raise money to pay off their debts. Lots of people pretended to be others via email. Eventually Isabel confesses (but it's not really clear why- was she protecting James?) It was revealed that James was the killer.
I absolutely love this! The format is my favorite, getting to solve it alongside the detectives is a blast, and learning everything in ‘real time’ is such a ride. I would love to re-experience this book!
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