Do you like it when books are narrated in unique styles? I had heard of The Appeal and really wanted to read it. I didn’t get to it yet, but I was excited to get a chance to review The Christmas Appeal. It is a unique story told through a variety of mediums including emails, text messages, police reports, etc. A full cast brought the story to life.

The Fairway Players are putting on a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for the Christmas season. The production is trying to get going with arguing players, missing players, egos, etc. During the first production, a dead skeleton in a Santa suit appears on stage bursting out from the beanstalk. How did the dead body get into the beanstalk and why?

I thought the way this story was told was very innovative. I also loved how the mystery went in one direction and was seemingly solved, but then the real story was revealed at the end. The story was very engaging on audiobook, and I enjoyed also reading along in the physical book. I loved trying to figure out the mystery, but I also loved the humor as well. This is a standout audiobook production. If you love audiobooks, you should definitely try this one out.

This is meant to be a follow-up to The Appeal, but I read it fine as a standalone novel. I do want to go back and read The Appeal now.

I recently discovered Hallett while reading The Twyford code. I love the way she writes a mystery. She is in a category all her own. The Christmas Appeal was a fun whodunnit that used email and text communication to tell the story. I really love when books change things up like that and it was so fun to try to figure out who and what was going on. I had no previously read The Appeal so I do suggest reading that first. I had a hard time keeping up with the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eArc copy!

I have not read "The Appeal" but I was able to jump into this novella with no issues. It was written in the form of letters/emails/texts which was very interesting and lent itself well to the mystery, as two lawyers receive all of this information from their former mentor as a bit of a test to see if they can figure out what happened. There were a lot of characters but it was pretty easy to keep track of everyone and how they were connected. I may read "The Appeal" now; I'm sure reading this out of order may have some spoiled some things for me but the characters really don't talk much about what happened before so I don't feel like I already know what happened at all!

(3.5⭐️) Many thanks to @atriabooks for the #gifted free copy of this book.

Humorous and entertaining. This cozy mystery was a fun, escapist read amid all the chaos of the holidays.

The local theatre troupe, the Fairway Players, were hard at work in preparation for the upcoming Christmas pantomime. But a dead Santa found amongst the set, upends the cheer and festivity.

The formatting of this read, told through mixed media, was captivating and fresh. It allowed the primary characters greater depth than is typical in a novella.

And those dynamic characters, full of drama, snark and cynicism, kept me in stitches, solidifying this novella a delightfully amusing farce.

I went into this read blind, not realizing I needed to read The Appeal first. While I still enjoyed this novella completely, I do think the backstories found in The Appeal would’ve made this read even more enjoyable.

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.