The Appeal

The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 14 Jan 2021 | Archive Date 12 Jan 2021

Talking about this book? Use #TheAppeal #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

*** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER *** *** WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH *** *** THE SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH *** 'This dazzlingly clever cosy crime novel completely trumps Richard Osman. A modern Agatha Christie' - SUNDAY TIMES 'This is a case you're about to become obsessed with. A triumph' - ALEX NORTH 'Very different but very satisfying. I thoroughly recommend The Appeal' - ELLY GRIFFITHS ________________________________________ In a town full of secrets... Someone was murdered. Someone went to prison. And everyone's a suspect. Can you uncover the truth? Dear Reader - enclosed are all the documents you need to solve a case. It starts with the arrival of two mysterious newcomers to the small town of Lockwood, and ends with a tragic death. Someone has already been convicted of this brutal murder and is currently in prison, but we suspect they are innocent. What's more, we believe far darker secrets have yet to be revealed. Throughout the Fairway Players' staging of All My Sons and the charity appeal for little Poppy Reswick's life-saving medical treatment, the murderer hid in plain sight. Yet we believe they gave themselves away. In writing. The evidence is all here, between the lines, waiting to be discovered. Will you accept the challenge? Can you uncover the truth? The standout debut thriller of 2021 that delivers multiple brilliant twists, and will change the way you think about the modern crime novel. ________________________________________ 'Gripping. I loved the ambitious and unusual approach' - SOPHIE HANNAH 'A daring debut... Hallett will soon have you laughing out loud' - THE TIMES 'A brilliantly fresh, ingenious and original whodunnit. So, so good' - INDIA KNIGHT 'Extremely addictive, it will reel you in, one piece of evidence at a time' - ALEX PAVESI 'Takes the whodunnit to a whole new level. A rare feat' - ELIZABETH HAYNES 'Fiendishly clever and totally gripping' - CASS GREEN 'A cracking book. Fresh, original and very clever' - MEL SHERRATT

*** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER *** *** WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH *** *** THE SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH *** 'This dazzlingly clever cosy crime novel completely trumps Richard...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781788165280
PRICE £12.99 (GBP)
PAGES 384

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)

Average rating from 119 members


Featured Reviews

This was an amazing book, full of twists and turns. It's told by emails and texts, you must answer some questions about a crime and a possible fraud, reading about all the players involved. It's an original way to immerse the reader in a case, I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. I'm going to read more books by the author for sure.

Was this review helpful?

Absolutely loved this book.

I was hooked from the get go. So original, told entirely through correspondence. Beautifully drawn characters, a twisty, turny plot that keeps going right to the end and a very satisfying conclusion.

#NoSpoilers this is a difficult book to review without ruining it for future readers, but it's a cracking story and an excellent read.

Highly recommend.

Was this review helpful?

This is such a good book. I love the way the author has delivered this story. The different mediums of writing really make this book stand out from the crowd. It's unique and original. I love the playful and secretive elements of this story, discovering new plot twists through emails, texts and crime reports really works and totally sucks you into the story.

This is a classic investigative narrative and I feel like most people will really enjoy the discussions and interactions between the two main characters. It's the equivalent of a Chinese whispers ring only in a novel format - it's fun and engaging, whilst exploring deceit, corruption and false personas really well too.

I would definitely recommend it and I will be looking out for more from Janice Hallet in the future. Huge thank you to Netgalley and Viper books for the chance to read this story in advance!

Please check out the @writing_show for my video review in the near future.

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely LOVED this book. It is without doubt one of the most unusual and clever mystery novels I have read this year. The unique aspect is the way the mystery is presented to us as the reader: it comes crafted entirely in the medium of writing between the characters, be that emails, text messages, crime reports, or posters. At the very beginning this is a bit disconcerting, as we are thrown into emails without much context, however I was quickly completely gripped by the interactions between the characters, the mysterious missing points of view of some, and for over half the book a crime hasn’t even happened - so unlike most mystery novels, here we have something extra to work out - what is going to happen and to whom? It was terrific.

We read alongside two law students (Charlotte and Femi) who are reading the case notes for the first time, and also don’t know where they are leading. Charlotte and Femi discuss the case occasionally via text message, and make some conclusions I wasn’t able to get myself, but there are plenty of clues throughout allowing the reader to solve it more or less at the same time Charlotte and Femi do. This absolutely worked for me - the story was gripping and the interactions between the characters absolutely fascinating - we could see when certain characters were lying, the large differences in writing styles, the inconsistencies. All this gave something more that is usually not easy to see in novels, and allowed the reader to be a real part of the investigation. Loved it. Give me more like this one!

My thanks to #NetGalley and Serpents Tail / Profile Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Oh my goodness, my head is spinning after reading The Appeal, what a story, I couldn't stop thinking about it!

The plot centres around an amateur dramatics group who are the centre of a village's social scene, with friends and family members variously involved in the theatrics. The family's 2 year old grand daughter is sadly diagnosed with cancer, and the am dram group rally round to raise funds for ground breaking treatment. But underneath it all, all is not as it seems.

The story is presented as a file of evidence of emails, phone transcripts and newsletters. Hidden in amongst them all are the clues you need to put together to solve a murder- because yes, there's a death in the middle of the book, although for the first half of the story you almost forget that it's coming, you're so engrossed in the other storyline.

If you like Cara Hunter's style of writing, this will appeal to you. I really enjoyed hearing the various characters' voices and thoughts firsthand and trying (and failing!) to spot the clues

Well worth a read, thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read the story!

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: