The Christmas Appeal is a novella by Janice Hallett. It serves as a sequel to the bestselling novel, The Appeal.
It follows the Fairway Players as they prepare for their holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk. This time, however, the Christmas cheer is mixed with tension, petty rivalries, and unexpected drama when a body is discovered onstage.
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Book Blurb
The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking among the amateur theater enthusiasts with petty rivalries, a possibly asbestos-filled beanstalk, and some perennially absent players behind the scenes.
Of course, there’s also the matter of the dead body onstage. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they investigate Christmas letters, examine emails, and pore over police transcripts to identify both the victim and killer before the curtain closes on their holiday production—for good.
The Christmas Appeal Book Review
I really enjoyed The Appeal, so I was looking forward to The Christmas Appeal. It’s a fun, quick read that reunites us with the familiar faces of the Fairway Players.
The story is told in Janice Hallett’s usual epistolary style and unfolds through emails, texts, voicemails, and transcripts. Each character has such a distinct voice, even in these short messages and the writing is full of Hallett’s witty, sardonic humour.
This novella is more lighthearted than Janice Hallet’s previous novels. It feels less like a true whodunnit and more like a humorous drama that just happens to involve a murder halfway through. I guessed what had happened fairly quickly, and the reveal doesn’t come with quite the same twists as Hallett’s previous books.
The holiday setting felt a little underplayed, so don’t expect a super festive read. However, I did I enjoy spending time with these characters again and if you enjoyed The Appeal, I think you will enjoy this one too.
What to read next
If you’ve read both The Appeal and The Christmas Appeal, I would recommend reading more Janice Hallett books. I would particularly recommend The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels. While it’s still told in Hallett’s usual epistolary style, it definitely has a much darker feel to it.