As a big fan of The Appeal, it was fun to revisit The Fairway Players theater group and all of their silly drama and hijinks, as they find themselves smack dab in the middle of a murder mystery.

Though technically a standalone, I’d say this novella is best read after The Appeal. The familiar epistolary format makes for another fun, fast-paced read.

Not particularly Christmas-y, unfortunately, but enjoyable nonetheless! Funny and cozy!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the review ecopy!

The Christmas Appeal was a great way to get back to Lower Lockwood, discovering new and old characters and getting to know what they had been up to in the last couple of years. I loved the new dynamics and the tension behind the scenes of the new Christmas production of the Fairway Players theatre group. And, of course, the looming sense of mystery. And the yummy, yummy pettiness. It really did hit the spot.

Unfortunately, I liked everything around the mystery except the mystery itself. This because (1) I had figured out the central people and pieces of the mystery quite early on; (2) within the book, the mystery itself was solved quite quickly, and I didn’t find the solution as satisfactory as in The Appeal; (3) I did not like the way Femi and Charlotte talked about the case, I found their explanations a bit too forced.

Despite the mystery in itself being a bit underwhelming, I read The Christmas Appeal in one sitting, glued to my reading chair, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I would warmly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a distraction in this dreary weather!

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Any reader who enjoyed Hallett’s The Appeal will undoubtedly be thrilled by the return of the Fairway Players. This time they are working on a Christmas panto, Jack and the Beanstalk (and oh, that stalk!) Once again, there is trouble ahead in this uniquely told tale.

Two young attorneys, known to readers of the first book, are given a series of documents and asked to figure out what evil deed(s) may have transpired. Readers can try to solve the case as they read the documents along with Femi and Charlotte.

I loved the snarkiness of aspects of this novella. Anyone who has ever gotten an overly braggy Christmas letter from a friend or family member will grimace in recognition at the one that starts the story. The responses to it are pretty funny.

Those who enjoy Christmas mysteries and who are looking for a quick read will, I think, enjoy this book. I did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria for this title. All opinions are my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced copy.

This novella was so much fun! The over the top drama coming from a small town theater group was just a riot. I laughed more than I thought I would and found myself highly entertained! The story did have an Agatha Christie feel, and I’d for sure describe this as a cozy mystery.

This novella stems from the original book, The Appeal. I have not read it, but I had no problem following this story. However, it does make me wonder what I missed. The Appeal is now officially on my TBR!

I loved that the story was told via emails, texts, and online messenger chats. This was a unique was to read the story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Christmas Appeal is written in a unique epistolary format. It is composed of letters, emails, texts, and police reports that help piece together a murder that occurred during a play. While the Fairway Players are known for their enthusiastic members, one of them just might be hiding a secret no one saw coming.

Unbeknownst to me, The Christmas Appeal is a follow up to Janice Hallet’s 2021 novel, The Appeal. It is a Christmas novella that picks back up with the Fiarway Players as they put on a production of Johnny and the Beanstock. While I enjoyed the story, I feel it would have been more enjoyable had I read The Appeal. It would have given me insight and clarity on characters.

This is a fast-paced read. Coming in at only 208 pages, it only took me a couple of hours to make my way through the entire story. Perfect for readers with limited time.

While it does contain a murder, it is on the lighter side. In fact, it has been described as a “cozy mystery”. This is the perfect description. I often found myself laughing at some of the bizarre scenarios characters got themselves into.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Janice Halley, and Atria Books for allowing me to read the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Not quite as good as The Appeal. And there was no appeal in this unless it was just donating the funds to the church for the roof? I'd never seen the word 'appeal' used the way it was in The Appeal. Only in the context of appealing a judge/jury's decision in court or the appeal of something like sex appeal! So reading The Appeal threw me until I understood it meant something different in the UK. I do feel like, because this is such a short story, you need to have read The Appeal at some point prior to learn the backgrounds and relationships the Fairway Players have with each other. Otherwise, you just get a cursory glance at this group of people and you may not enjoy it as much.

Happy to include this title in my recent round-up “Holly Jolly Holidays” highlighting seasonal-themed reads for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

This was a completely delightful and funny little novella, written in Janice Hallett's signature 'mixed media' style that centers on the same group of community actors that we met in her first novel, The Appeal. While it might not have been the most “Christmas-y” story I’ve ever read, it was absolutely enjoyable and entertaining, and I devoured it in a single evening!

In this story, the dynamics have shifted a bit among The Fairway Players group since the events in The Appeal, and they are now getting ready for the performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, which was chosen as their annual Christmas show. As expected, shenanigans ensue, a body turns up (in a Santa suit, no less), and lawyers Femi and Charlotte are tasked by their boss to get to the bottom of what happened this time and why.

It was a really fun, cute read with some laugh-out-loud moments along the way. As with her previous novels, the story is told in the form of emails and text messages, and is just so successfully done. I was hoping for a holiday read that felt seasonal but without all the syrupy sweetness/romance, and that's exactly what I got in this one - snark, humor and a smart mystery that allowed me to just go along for the ride and enjoy it all by the light of the Christmas tree. Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t love this one. I really enjoyed the original Appeal, especially the format of it with emails, texts, etc, but I felt like this one was really hard to read. I also was disappointed that it was basically the same story just with the deceased in a Santa suit.

I am a huge Janice Hallett fan. Her unique style shines through in her most recent novel, The Christmas Appeal. This holiday season The Fairway Players are performing Jack and the Beanstalk and there is a murder afoot. Tons of unreliable characters and suspicions drive the story and made me flip and fly through the story. The novel is told through email, police transcripts, and letters with multiple narrators, Janice Hallett's wit and smart writing glitters through the page like a holiday star. I felt like was watching a performance unfold in my mind. Perfect little Christmas mystery for the holiday!

I loved The Appeal, so I was excited to read this mini-sequel. It was fun to revisit a lot of the characters from the first book, although it did take me a while to re-orient myself to who was who. The mystery in this book isn't nearly as compelling, but I still enjoyed this as a fun seasonal distraction.

There’s nothing quite like the drama of a community theatre group!

This was a fun, Christmas themed novella that follows the Fairway Players as they put on a Christmas pantomime and all the drama that ensues - both onstage and off. The story is told through a series of transcripts, texts and emails leading up to and following their production. I would have loved to go deeper on everything that was happening beyond and get more of each character’s point of view.

I enjoyed Sarah-Jane’s character and have met folks like her in the community theatre space with a real conviction to ensure the “show must go on”.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A novella sequel-ish to The Appeal with plenty of Christmas vibes to go around!

Full disclosure: I did not read The Appeal first, so honestly I was a smidge lost at first. As a novella, this story picks up with the expectation that readers already know the characters and setting. Which I did not. But Hallett's characters are so eclectic and her writing is so to-the-point that you get to know everyone right away -- it wasn't long before I felt like I was all caught up. I gave this story 4.5 stars instead of a full 5 stars because I felt like the murder mystery was lost in all of the hullaballoo that was the hot-mess-express of the pantomime production. There was a ton of in-fighting, sabotage, and shenanigans that the murder itself seemed almost an afterthought. I really enjoyed the story and found it very entertaining, but I wouldn't really classify it as a murder mystery...

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 204 / Genre: Murder Mystery

I found this cozy Christmas murder mystery to be so inventive, fun, and entertaining. The Fairway Players theatre group is putting on a play when a dead body emerges from an old massive beanstalk prop. Lawyers Femi and Charlotte are tasked with figuring out who the dead body is and what happened.

The entire book is basically a collection of emails, text messages, news clippings, and police reports as gathered by the lawyers. I read and listened to the audiobook on this one and although the audiobook was well done, I think reading this one was a better format for this book due to the unique structure.

Overall, I loved the hilarious and snarky banter between characters. This provided a nice break among all the holiday romance I’ve been reading.

Thank you, @NetGalley and @AtriaBooks for the advanced copy of this book. I really enjoyed it.

This book was so fun! Very quick read and had me laughing out loud. It was easy to follow and I enjoyed the mystery. Would absolutely recommend!

I actually haven’t read The Appeal, book #1 in this series (this is a mini novella that is book #1.5), but I still enjoyed this immensely!!

This was a super fast, super fun Christmas read that was uniquely told through a series of text messages, police transcripts, & emails, piecing together the story of the Christmas play that ended up with a dead body on stage!

Laugh out loud funny (seriously, Matt was so confused as to why I kept snorting at my kindle 🤣), this makes me want to devour all of Hallett’s work!

If you’re looking for a lighthearted, easy read this season, I highly recommend this one! 🎄🎅🏼

Similar to the original The Appeal, a fun mystery written entirely through emails and texts. A perfect ready around Christmas time, and will be recommending it to others.

The Appeal was absolutely one of my favorite books of 2021 so I was thrilled to get The Christmas Appeal from NetGalley. I really hope there are more adventures for The Fairway Players forthcoming. This one was such a fun read plus it was way funnier than I remember The Appeal being. I highly recommend this is you liked The Appeal or love fast moving, funny mysteries with a holiday slant.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.

Not my favorite. I wasn’t a fan of the layout. I got super confused between all the emails and texts. There was to many characters to keep up with. And I guess it goes with the appeal. I think I would have liked it more if I read that first. Didn’t feel like a thriller to me.

I enjoyed this one! As a fan of The Appeal, I was excited to dive back into the world of the Fairway Players. This was a quick, breezy read that was easier to follow than The Appeal. Still, it could have benefited from a character list at the start, as it had been some time since I read the first book. It was a little light on the mystery front, but I still found it to be fun and it did make me want to keep reading.