The Christmas Appeal: the Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Appeal
£6.20£12.30 (-50%)
** THE CAST OF SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING THE APPEAL RETURN FOR A FESTIVE MURDER MYSTERY **
** FROM THE WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CRIME AND THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR **
* A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER *
* AN INSTANT TIMES BESTSELLER *
‘A Christmas treat’ – OBSERVER
‘A great deal of festive fun’ – GUARDIAN
‘Sharp, witty and suspenseful’ – SUNDAY EXPRESS
One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth?
Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up.
Of course there’s also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on?
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Additional information
| Publisher | Viper, Main edition (26 Oct. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 208 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1800817355 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1800817357 |
| Dimensions | 13.8 x 2 x 20 cm |
by V. O’Regan
“I have another fascinating case to run past you. Why you? Well, it seems The Fairway Players are once again at the centre of a mystery. I’ve read the enclosed and think I’ve worked it out. I wonder if you can.“ – ‘The Christmas Appeal’ by Janice Hallett.
In this novella the cast of Hallett’s best selling debut novel, ‘The Appeal’, return for a festive mystery.
Roderick Tanner, KC, now retired, sends his former young colleagues, Femi Hassan and Charlotte Holroyd, a bundle of evidence, including emails and police transcripts, suggesting that they might enjoy trying to solving this new mystery.
In December 2022 the Fairway Players are rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. It might be the season of goodwill but there’s plenty of drama going on among this group of amateur players. Then there is the body…
‘The Christmas Appeal’ has the same epistolary format as ‘The Appeal’. The intrigues of small town politics, including those of its local am-dram group, were well observed and provided plenty of humour throughout. Plus, the comments of Femi and Charlotte were entertaining as they sought to piece together the evidence and solve the mystery.
‘The Christmas Appeal’ is bound to be welcomed by Hallett’s many fans. I certainly found it a great deal of fun and am recommending it widely.
by Michelle
I read this book in about 6-8 hours. I started yesterday and finished it this morning. Another unputdownable book from this author. I had read The Appeal which I thoroughly enjoyed and this was no exception. I hope she makes a return to Lockwood in a future book. Honestly, I can’t recommend this enough. I have her other two books to read also. I only keep modern fiction books that I think are exceptional or that come in a series. My only authors I have kept are Philippa Gregory, Jean Plaidy, J. K. Rowling (all series) and Margeret George (standalone novels) and Joseph Knox (a standalone ‘whodunnit’). Janice Hallett has been added to my outstanding fiction collection
by S Riaz
Having recently read The Appeal, I was happy to continue with this Christmas sequel, for The Fairway Players are back and Femi and Charlotte have been given another bundle of messages to peruse.
The characters were still fresh in my mind, and although it was slightly odd to be reading a Christmas story at the tail end of August, this was an enjoyable and fun mystery. Sarah-Jane and Kevin are jostling for position with Celia and Joel (OBE) but, as always with small communities and groups, everybody knows each other’s secrets, weaknesses and faults and plays them well. Celia and Joel (OBE) are miffed that their suggestion of a farce was not taken up by the amateur dramatic group and Celia is equally miffed that Sarah-Jane is keen to recruit new members from a housing estate that she considers beneath her social level. Meanwhile, the next production is the annual pantomime, a Seventies production of Jack and the Beanstalk, utilising a prop from bygone days – a huge beanstalk which has to be moved into the church hall.
There is, obviously, a crime to contend with, involving a body, drug deals and a never-to-be-forgotten night on stage, as well as some old, new and returning characters. Good fun for the festive season.
by R ELLIOTT
I enjoyed the Appeal when it first came out, a totally different way of writing a book, and I have read all Janice Hallett`s other books . This shortish story is definitely up there with the appeal. A very good read.
by honestmamreader
I loved The Appeal so I knew I had to read The Christmas Appeal. And, yet again Lower Lockwood is in the middle of a murder mystery. It felt like revisiting family and friends when I started reading The Christmas Appeal. It was so nice to see what they were all up to again, new and old faces.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love the style of writing that Hallett has chosen. The whole multimedia structure is excellent. The story is told basically through emails, WhatsApp exchanges, texts and so on. I find it really interesting to piece together a story in this format. Also, the big benefit I find is that I can easily put down and pick up the book in between having to run around after the kids. Because, there isn’t huge chunks of chapters to wade through and try to find a good stopping point. Perfect, Thank you Janice for making this bookworm who has little time to read a book that is easy to read in snippets.
The Christmas Appeal is genius in its format and it’s also clever in the fact that we the reader have no clue who’s been murdered or who could be the killer. It’s just a case of read the messages and let the mystery unfold.
This book is the perfect stocking filler for any budding detective ????️♀️ and it’s so lighthearted, I found myself giggling away at some of the stuff that was happening.
Pick up this book, delve back into Lower Lockwood life. Can you solve the mystery before Femi and Charlotte do.
by Helenreads
I absolutely loved Janice Hallett’s first novel, The Appeal, featuring the am-dram group The Fairway Players, so was really looking forward to this one. Rather than traditional narrative, both stories are told through emails and messages between the characters, which I think is a great device for a crime novel as it allows the reader to play detective and try and figure out the killer. However, while the first book is quite detailed and meaty, this one felt rather flimsy in comparison. There’s nothing wrong with the premise of the mystery but it’s far too short (especially for the price) and the plot doesn’t feel as fully developed as it could have been. I don’t know if it was written in quite a short time period but it felt quite rushed, and the solution was presented before I felt like I’d even got into the story and plot properly. I would read another book featuring the Fairway Players but next time I would be sure to check the page count before purchasing!