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.

Such a fun little escapade back in the village of the Fairway Players, perfect for this holiday season. I love this format, the author makes it work so well. While I had the digital edition on hand I wanted to see the print version as well and it is so fun. The cover art, on a jacketless hardback, is perfect for this time of year. If you loved The Appeal, I recommend this one as well. It's not as thorough as it's a novella, but it's a fun time.

Reader: Your Assignment, should you accept it, is to read through this file of documents including loose notes, emails, texts etc., reports, discovery production and all that entails, and come up with your solution of what exactly happened to the dead Santa, in the middle of a play.

We wish you luck! this review will self-destruct in . . . oh! wait! Different story. Altogether.

But, very funny and sassy - completely different than your usual Christmas read.

*A sincere thank you to Janice Hallett, Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

A fun and suspenseful mystery to follow along with, that follows a group of characters filled with grudges and drama.

This fascinating tale of a Drama Troupe called The Fairway Players presents readers with a view of the interworkings, underminings, and hilarious miscommunications all through various forms of electronic communication.

What I Loved.
Sarah Jane McDonald - our female lead - is trying her hardest to keep the Christmas Panto, aka Play, Jack and the Bean Stalk, on schedule without too much fuss. Unfortunately, the ousted former Chairs of the Troupe, the Hallidays, specifically Celia, are quite bent on throwing a wrench into Sarah Jane's plans. Watching the messages go back and forth and having to be fielded including dealing with the Halliday's dog, Woof, urinating in the church where they rehearse and put on the play, is laugh out loud funny. Bloody Celia!

What I liked.
The outcome of determination of the two lawyers. I happen to agree with them.

What I thought could have been better.

I'm certain in the hard copy (paper or hardback), this isn't an issue. But in the ebook the messages between the lawyers were presented as pictures. You'd have to enlarge them every time. It became time consuming to do just to read their messages. I think this should be changed.

This is a charming book but I'm not certain everyone will enjoy reading the format of it being conveyed through electronic communication.

The Fairway Players, first featured in Janice Hallett's novel The Appeal, are back! It's time for the annual Christmas pantomime, and the Players are hopeful that their one-night-only performance of Jack and the Beanstalk will go off without a hitch. Except there is a hitch, quite a large one in fact: the discovery of a dead body onstage. Lawyers Femi and Charlotte are tasked with sorting through the Fairway Players' correspondence to determine who was killed, and why, and whether or not foul play was involved.

The Appeal was one of my favorite reads of last year with its inventive, modern take on the epistolary format, so I was happy to be back with the Fairway Players once again. Reading The Appeal isn't necessary in order to enjoy this novella, which works as a fun and entertaining standalone, but I do recommend it. The subtleties and complexities of the characters' interactions won't be as meaningful without the context of The Appeal.

What I enjoyed most about The Christmas Appeal was revisiting these characters, with all their petty jealousies, vendettas, shenanigans, and passive-aggressive comments embedded so cleverly in their correspondence. Hallett is able to convey so much in the lines -- and between the lines -- of their e-mails, letters, and text messages, and there are a few aspects of the plot that had me laughing out loud (especially the "gender-neutral" Christmas "sweets").

As for the dead body -- it isn't discovered until pretty late in the story, so the mystery of its origins feels almost secondary to the plot. Instead, The Christmas Appeal feels more like a madcap epistolary romp with a mystery tacked on at the end. And honestly, that was just fine with me, because I was still so entertained. I hope this isn't the last we'll see of the Fairway Players. Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the complimentary reading opportunity.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

• Christmas mystery novella
• epistolary format
• fun to "solve-along"

I read The Appeal a couple of years ago, but definitely didn't remember all of the characters. It helps to have their backstories. I enjoyed this quick, festive read!

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

I love novellas and was very excited for this one but unfortunately I hadn’t realized it was part of a series! I will be reading the first book before I can properly rate this one!

This was such a delightful follow up to The Appeal! This short novel was so fun and fast to read, and funny!! It was exactly what I needed! I forgot just how much I loved the quirky characters from The Appeal until reading this! I will say, however, that while this book does take place during the Christmas season, there isn't a very strong Christmas vibe, which I was hoping for a little more of. But I still enjoyed it anyway. Told in the same epistolary format as the original, ick this one up if you need something out of the ordinary!

Having seen Janice Hallett's books at the bookstore and adding The Appeal to my TBR wishlist, I was excited to have the opportunity to read and review The Christmas Appeal as part of my holiday reading. What a fun, quick mystery!

As I began this short novel which is written in epistolary form, I was a little nervous about keeping the numerous characters straight, but I needn't have worried, as the writer gives plenty of hints with each of the e-mails. The characters are distinct and memorable, and for anyone who read The Appeal they are familiar. The mystery itself is solved almost at the same time as the body is discovered, with the resolution taking place in the final few pages of the book.

The lead up to the discovery of the mummified body of Santa Claus is filled with small community drama and I had quite a few laughs as characters jockeyed for position in the theatrical production of Jack in the Beanstalk. Which brings me to a confusing point--the book is really not much of a holiday mystery but for taking place during December. The play is not holiday themed, and except for the need for someone to hand out candy dressed as Santa and a character's Christmas letter, there is not much mention of the holiday throughout.

It is, however, a classic mystery novel, written in a distinct style, and quite enjoyable. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the digital copy of The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett. The opinions in this review are my own.

I was a little worried going into this that I would not like it as much as I loved the first The Appeal by Janice, however I am glad to announce that I did really enjoy it. I saved it to read closer to Christmas as I know that when I try to read Christmas books too early I am just not into them as much. I started this right before Thanksgiving and I ended up flying through it as I did the first one. It is told in the same epistolary format of the first book. The residents are putting on a play of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new roof. As you can guess, everything goes wrong as these people are really a bunch of kooks Another murder takes place and we are along for the ride as suspicions arise and rumors start swirling among the cast. You do have to get halfway into the short book to get to the murder, but it does not take away from the story. There is so much going on with all of these people that you just enjoy the ride.

The Christmas Appeal is such a fun, festive read. For fans of Janice Hallett’s book, The Appeal, this novella is like a lovely little Christmas gift from Janice to her readers.

Christmas is around the corner and the Fairway Players are rehearsing Jack in the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof. A pantomime put on for charity? Well, it sounds like it’s all peace and good will in the amateur drama company for a change, doesn’t it? Not so. The group are back to their old tricks with petty jealousies, gossiping, not to mention, a dead body overshadowing the Christmas spirit.

Lawyers, Femi and Charlotte, team up to pour over letters, emails, text messages, and police transcripts, in an effort to discover a killer and their victim.

This book is so funny! The sniping between characters and the absolutely ridiculous situations these people get themselves into makes for very entertaining reading.

The only stumbling block for me is the framing of the story with two young lawyers being sent documents from a retired colleague.

The reader must be willing to suspend their disbelief that these lawyers would receive so much correspondence and in such a convenient order for creating a thrilling story structure. It’s a new take on the frame narrative, which I appreciate, but like most novels that use this convention it feels a bit clunky and unnecessary.

That said, I would willingly suspend my disbelief a third time around if Janice Hallett wanted to revisit Lower Lockwood and the despicable dramatists for… Let’s say, Halloween?!

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book through NetGalley.

The Christmas Appeal picks up almost where we left off with the Fairway Players, minus a few members that are indisposed due to the events of the first book that I'll attempt to avoid spoiling. But really, you must read The Appeal before reading The Christmas Appeal--this book won't make sense and there's really no reason you would read it otherwise. But I read the original book and it's novella-length sequel back-to-back, which was quite fun though unnecessary. All the characters were fresh in my mind, and I was well-prepared for the unique format. In this holiday short story, the amateur theater troupe is putting on Jack and Beanstalk, and it's a drama-filled production, on and off the stage, even before a body is discovered in their giant, vintage beanstalk prop. Junior lawyers Femi and Charlotte are given a new file by their now-retired mentor, full of emails, texts, brochures, and more to sift through to see if they can puzzle through the death.

The appeal of The Appeal and The Christmas Appeal--see what I did there--is their unique storytelling format. We, the reader, are given the raw materials to solve the crime, and Femi and Charlotte act as our guiding hands, keeping us on course and giving us hints to some of the more obscure clues. It's so much fun to try and piece things out, and this book is really a cross between a mystery novel and a logic games puzzle. I almost prefer the novella, for its shorter length and holiday infusion, and am amazed at how it packed the same punch as the original story but in a smaller package! This would make a great gift with a copy of The Appeal or for a fan of the original book.

Thanks to Atria for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

The Christmas Appeal was charming. I read The Appeal by Janice Hallett when it came out and it was my favorite book of the year. Hallet's structure of using tests, emails, and interview transcripts as a "case" presented by a retired attorney to two associates is really enjoyable. In this novella, we're back with the Fairway Players and they are doing Jack and the Beanstalk for their Christmas performance. When a long-dead body turns up on stage, all bets are off and the fingers start pointing.

I liked the ending particularly well and thought it was wrapped up nicely. It was fun to visit the characters again and I hope she does another one.
#thanksnetgalley

A funny novella about a colorful cast of characters putting on a Christmas play. Told in an epistolary manner through text messages/emails allowing each character's personality to be featured. This is a sequel, listed as #1.5, and now I'm interested to spend time with the characters again in book #1.

The Christmas Appeal follows the same format as the first book in the series. A murder mystery told through emails, WhatsApp messages, and police transcripts.

Once again, we are invited into the world of the Fairway Players as they begin rehearsals and eventually perform a pantomime for Christmas.

I enjoyed The Appeal and delighted in coming back to this world for a Christmas novella. It was an all-around entertaining mystery!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

this was a fun return to the world of <i>The Appeal</i>, one of my top favorite books of last year! we return to the Fairway Players as they put on a christmas reindition of Jack & The Beanstalk, where things obviously go awry; and is told in the same format of emails and text correspondence, which i always enjoy. I wish there was a bit more of a Christmas feel to it (really felt like the only thing christmasy about it was that it takes place in december) but overall a worthy follow-up novella for fans of the original book.

I enjoyed this for the same reasons I like the Twyford Code, but with a festive twist. The contemporary epistolary novel is such a fun way to modernize a classic style. Bringing up to date technology, slang, and speech patterns to a traditional novel style makes it feel fresh. A perfect bite sized Christmas treat.

I loved The Appeal so I knew I was going to enjoy this one! I loved being with the characters and what tragedy was going to strike the Fairway Players this time. Bonus that it was a quick read perfect for starting out the holiday season!

If you loved The Appeal, then you absolutely must read The Christmas Appeal. All of your favorite theater friends are back, along with a few new additions. This version, set around a Holiday pantomime, is full of heart, humor … and small-town back-stabbing. This delightful book is a short-novella that you can read in a day, and it is the perfect escape from your own holiday-induced family relations issues. At the heart of this story is, of course, a body – but whose is it, and how did it end up on the stage during the main performance of the show? It will take some careful detecting as you read through text messages, WhatsApp messages, family letters, etc. to determine the whodunit, and who it was done to. Happy investigating!