So fun! Not totally necessary to read The Appeal beforehand but not as enjoyable if you don’t. I loved returning to the Fairway Players and this was a short fun romp for the holidays.

I really enjoyed this Christmas novella! Similar to The Appeal, this book is written in mixed format - emails, text messages, letters, police transcripts, etc. - making it a very fun read. There’s a lot of humor in this one. At times, I was literally laughing out loud 😂 This can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend reading The Appeal, as I really enjoyed that one as well! Defiantly add this one to your Holiday TBR next year 😊

This was a fun follow up to The Appeal, in which I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this cast of characters as their theatrical drama ensued and a murder is revealed! If you aren’t familiar with The Appeal, you’ll be just fine reading this as a standalone too.

It’s also written in mixed media format which made for such a quick read! The characters are so quirky and entertaining and I honestly had no idea how it would play out! If you’re a fan of Only Murders in the Building, then you will love this. Overall, a satisfying Christmas novella that I highly recommend! (4.5 stars rounded up)

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Atria for my #gifted copy!

I adored this book! Janice Hallett is quickly becoming a favorite author for me. Her writing is quick witted and compelling. I love that these are quick reads, they keep you guessing, and they are just pure fun. Even though I've never guessed the ending, it doesn't feel like they are cheap or put together poorly. It is super enjoyable. I look forward to reading her other two books I have on my TBR.

In the vein of her previous book, the Appeal, Hallet takes readers through emails, texts, WhatsApp messages and even police transcripts to solve a mystery that has taken center stage at the Christmas production of the Fairway Players, a community theater.

While advertised as a cozy mystery, a modern day Agatha Christie, I’d actually say this is just as much, if not more, a story of community drama. These people do not like each other. There is a definite power struggle for leadership of the group, a bunch of people trying to one up (or outright sabotage) each other and mix up after mix up. To be honest, it got a little tedious and, in my opinion, would have benefited from a bit MORE mystery. The body in question was not discovered until the halfway mark and the whodunnit reveal happened shortly after.

One of the advantages to the format is that you get the voices of the characters and see the miscommunications in real time. There were a few funny parts - think more slap stick comedy - along the way that I wasn’t expecting, especially the story line involving the “sweets.”

If you’re looking for one more short Christmas read that doesn’t take itself too seriously this one just might fit the bill for you.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this Christmas mystery. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this novel and gave up. I struggled with the format of messages, letters and emails.

This book was written non-traditionally (entirely through e-mail and text threads), which was fun and it was very short so I got through it within 24 hours. I had a hard time keeping track of the characters, though, which may be because I have not read ‘The Appeal’ yet. It also felt to be a little lacking on the Christmas theme. I saved it along with a few other Christmasy thrillers/mysteries for around Christmas on purpose because I am a seasonal reader and was in that mood.

As a defense attorney myself, I found the ethical dilemma the lawyers felt at the end a little odd. They were sent these communications apparently to ‘solve’ the mystery but it appears the individual who sent them already had known what happened, so what was the purpose of sending them to the lawyers? I have no idea.

Thank you to Atria Books, the author, and NetGalley for the e-galley.

3.5 stars. This short novel is a pure delight. It is a laugh out loud, holiday themed mystery featuring characters who will warm your heart and also set your teeth on edge. It is written in a mixed media format through text messages and emails which kept the story moving along. It was interesting to delve into the different characters thoughts and feelings through their correspondence with others.

It would be a great gift/stocking stuffer for your favourite family member.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

A fun trip back to a play with the Fairway Players. This time they are putting on a Christmas panto around Jack and the Beanstalk! It's a crazy amount of busyness leading up to the production and personalities are clashing. Add into the mix a dead body on stage. Love the back and forth Whats App texts between Femi and Charlotte as they bounce ideas off each other to figure everything out and present their brief to their mentor RT Tanner, KC (retired).

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the review copy.

Oooh this was such a fun return to the characters of the Appeal and their kind of messy relationships. As always, Hallett's talent for writing mysteries entirely using mixed media was captivating. I always look forward to Hallett's books and this was no exception. They're always fascinating and unique reads. This one is more of a novella so it's quick and easy to read. I think it could stand alone without reading the Appeal, but it won't be quite as fun as a lot of the references made won't make sense.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I read this over Christmas break as it took place over that time. It set the mood for the holidays. Format was in email or text correspondence. It was a quick and entertaining read.

The Christmas Appeal was a great way to revisit the Fairway Players.

This was a quick read that gives as much as the Appeal did.

We find the Fairway Players getting ready to perform for Christmas. What could possibly go wrong? With these characters, everything.

I thought that this was such a fun and enjoyable murder mystery book to read and found it very easy to get through! I love when books incorporate the mixed media style of writing and I just thought that made the book so much more entertaining and interactive in regards to trying to figure out the mystery with the main characters by reading through the emails, texts, and police transcripts. There were some characters throughout the book that I didn’t find that meaningful or that I had a strong connection to, but other than that I fully enjoyed reading this book and thought it was a fun murder mystery to read for Christmas time!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book!

I just love Janice Hallett’s writing style! This was the perfect holiday mystery to break up all the Hallmark type books that are typically read around the holidays. The only thing that negatively impacted my reading experience was that I didn’t remember all of the characters/some of the plot from her previous novel, The Appeal. But I was still able to read and understand most of it! This made for a fun and enjoyable read!

"... The Fairway Players were a close-knit team who came together to support each other when the need arose. It's clear that our sense of duty and comradeship never dies and that family - whatever it may mean to you - is a bond that stretches beyond our blood ties to those we share our precious time on earth with. That, for me, is the true meaning of Christmas."
- The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

I loved The Appeal, Janice Hallett's debut novel, so I'm delighted she wrote a Christmas novella in the same style with the same cast of characters. The novella is told in emails, text messages, police reports, newspaper articles, etc. and features The Fairway Players, a small community theatre group in England.

A few years have passed since the action of The Appeal, and The Fairway Players are preparing their annual December pantomime to raise money to repair the church roof. The play is Jack and the Beanstock, and in a controversial move, the director insists a HUGE decades-old beanstock prop be removed from long-term storage to become the centerpiece of the production. In the midst of the performance, the prop splits apart, a shocking discovery is made, chaos ensues, and the police investigate.

I enjoy mixed media books and love feeling like a voyeur while reading all of the correspondence; this was my favorite aspect of The Christmas Appeal. I laughed numerous times while reading the snarky messages shared between various family members and their "frenemies." I also enjoyed picturing the physical humor that takes place. The mystery storyline felt weak and was almost unnecessary to the plot for me.

While it isn't mandatory to read The Appeal before The Christmas Appeal, readers will better understand the history and 'power dynamics' between key characters if they do. It's best to read this in print; email messages are always annoying in audiobooks.

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the review copy of this festive novella.

This was an interesting novella that takes place around Christmas. Beyond this fact, there really are no other Christmas feels to this book. Soooo, if you’re looking for an involved holiday whodunnit, this isn’t quite that.

This novella can be read in one sitting, which made it worth if for me. Multi-email / Multi-text POV format was a new one on me and was a fun little change. I was intrigued long enough and the storyline unfolds in an enjoyably quirky way.

This is not a serious whodunnit but more of a light drama with a murder mystery thrown in 1/2 way through and gets revealed pretty quickly. Cozy vibes. I did have a little trouble at first with the cast of characters but eventually was able to keep everyone straight.

Solid 3.5 for me as it kept me interested but felt a little too confusing and filled with more fluff than clues.

I loved The Appeal and was ready to return to this world and this format. Told through multimedia messages and similar communications, The Christmas Appeal is set up as a series of items sent in a portfolio to a team of women to solve. The receivers of the portfolio are the same team who worked together to piece together The Appeal, and I squealed to see their exchanges and banter again. I LOVE this format! It feels like you're playing detective along with them; looking for clues and analyzing motives. We follow the trials and tribulations of a group attempting to put on a Christmas play, and the hijinx keeps coming. This was a wonderfully fun holiday murder mystery.

The Christmas Appeal

by Janice Hallet

I found myself confused at the beginning of The Christmas Appeal and puzzled most of the way through. I have no way of knowing, but I suspect that I would have understood more of this novella if I had read The Appeal first. Notes at the end of this book tell me it is set in Lockwood, the location of The Appeal written three years earlier. The Fairway Players, a community theater group, are the focus of both books. This is an epistolary novel of sorts composed entirely of a few emails, some transcriptions of police interviews, and lots of What’s App messages. It was very confusing because none of the characters were actually “knowns” to me. The story begins with a lawyer presenting these documents to two other lawyers for their review. The reason is obscured. The characters are mainly theater people presenting a traditional British Christmas pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for reroofing the church where they present their productions. A good portion of the novella is mean- spirited exchanges regarding power struggles within the theater group. Eventually a skeleton makes an onstage appearance. Fortunately the cast improvises and carries on to the amusement of the audience.

The mystery and the ethical questions raised were marginally interesting. I found some good laughs in a few of the lines, but in general this British novella was not my cup of tea.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 3/5

Category: Mystery, Fiction, Novella, Epistolary

Notes: According to Goodreads, The Appeal, the parent book to The Christmas Appeal (#1.5), follows this same format.

Publication: October 24, 2023—Atria Books

Memorable Lines:

Mrs. Walford: The truth is, we don’t talk about it. Not the bad memories. You focus on the good things—that’s the way to live. Sgt. Crowe: You may be right there, Joyce. Mrs. Walford: When us Walfords find an obstacle, we pick it up, give it a wink, then a kick out the park.

3.75 stars!

I adore Janice Hallett and loved The Appeal and was excited to read this novella. Although I love the mixed media aspect of this, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't very Christmasy nor was I intrigued by the murder mystery. Regardless, I was glad to revisit this world and I love Janice Hallett's writing so it was fun to read this as a palette cleanser.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review!

I LOVED The Appeal so this was a really cute dip back into that world. I would read anything Hallett writes with these characters in that world.