Book Review: The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

Rating: 3.5⭐

As the story begins, we find lawyers Olufemi (Femi)Hassan and Charlotte Holroyd once again tasked by now-retired Roderick Tanner, KC to peruse a bundle of correspondence between members of The Fairway Players, a community theater group from Lower Lockwood who are again embroiled in a mystery involving one of their own.

The Fairway Players are gearing up for their Christmas production. This time it’s a pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk and the proceeds are meant to go to repairing the church roof. Leadership within the community theater group has changed hands and though much effort is being made toward casting, rehearsals, costumes and of course, set design which includes an old but impressive beanstalk, there is quite a bit of tension between old and new leadership. Opening night is not without mishaps and some not-so-pleasant surprises including a body in a Santa suit on stage. As the narrative progresses, we follow the investigation in the aftermath of the incident.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett is a thoroughly entertaining read. Humor, drama and secrets with a murder mystery at the core make for an engaging story. The narrative flows well and is presented to us through email correspondence, WhatsApp messages, Christmas letters and police transcripts, similar to The Appeal. While I found The Appeal a tad long drawn, given the short length of this book, I thought the structure and format worked well. However, I thought that the “mystery” element should have been introduced earlier in the narrative ( the body is discovered after the halfway mark) which would have made for an even more interesting read.

I would suggest reading The Appeal before approaching this novella to get a better idea of the backstories of the characters and past events that are mentioned in the narrative.

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novella. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The Christmas Appeal was published (in the United States) on October 24, 2023.