In a town full of secrets…
Someone was murdered.
Someone went to prison.
And everyone’s a suspect.
Can you uncover the truth?
Dear Reader – enclosed are all the documents you need to solve a case. It starts with the arrival of two mysterious newcomers to the small town of Lockwood, and ends with a tragic death.
Someone has already been convicted of this brutal murder and is currently in prison, but we suspect they are innocent. What’s more, we believe far darker secrets have yet to be revealed.
Throughout the Fairway Players’ staging of All My Sons and the charity appeal for little Poppy Reswick’s life-saving medical treatment, the murderer hid in plain sight. Yet we believe they gave themselves away. In writing. The evidence is all here, between the lines, waiting to be discovered.
Will you accept the challenge? Can you uncover the truth?
I was so lucky to have won a copy of The Appeal by Janice Hallett from Viper Books during an Instagram giveaway, I’d already read the raving reviews and I flew through it during the in-between days after Christmas. This dazzling debut is published in hardback today (14th) and I am sure it’ll be making its way to the top of many of your TBRs. If you have yet to purchase a copy, you can find it here.
The Appeal is an innovative multi-character thriller that has you bubbling away with suspect as the suspense filled storyline unravels with the use of various writing formats, including emails and messages. At first, I felt that this unique concept would be difficult to navigate in regards to keeping tabs on the characters, but with time you, as the reader, become accustomed by each individuals voice, you don’t need to check who the sender of an email is because the mannerisms are so differentiated from the rest. The way Janice has orchestrated this gripping, nail chewing crime thriller is outstanding, her attention to detail and the carefully calculated cracks that develop not only between the drama group but also the the facade of some individuals.
There are several plot threads ribboned through this novel, ones that the author has paid attention to in order not to miss tying it up, risking a fraud edge amongst the plaiting of the storyline. There are no chapters, but rather communications, each one threatening to unearth a secret, uncovers a gasping truth that lay under a rock for safe keeping. Although I couldn’t really bring myself to fully like any of the characters, they all perfectly served their purpose and were developed really well. Everything that Janice wrote was brilliant, craftily executed and goosebumpingly gripping.
So there you have it, many, many reasons why you should quickly add The Appeal to your TBR this January!
The Reading Closet 