The Appeal, by Janice Hallett (2021)
This little mystery novel is written entirely in emails, letters, and messages. It’s a clever gimmick. We know from the beginning that someone was murdered and the accused is awaiting an appeal. The title, The Appeal, has two meanings: (a) two young lawyers are tasked with reviewing the documents for the appeal; and (b) the family of a young child suffering from a rare form of cancer, is making an appeal for money for treatment.
As the reader goes through the documents the characters come to life. The novel focuses on a small-town family-owned amateur theater group known as The Fairway Players. They decide to put on Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons to raise money for Poppy, the 2-year-old with cancer. Poppy is the granddaughter of Martin and Helen Hayward, the wealthy family and owner of the theater. Helen is always the star of all the stage productions. Since this is an amateur theater, the actors all have other jobs. Most of the actors are in the medical field and work at one of the two near-by hospitals.
All is not as it seem, however, and each character has a secret. As the young lawyers sift through the documentation, they come up with their own theories of who the killer or killers may be.
This was a fun and very quick read. I had been in a reading dry-spell and this is just what I needed to get back into reading again.
Read: November 7, 2022
4 Stars
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