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remib's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Murder, and War
cookie_lover's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Very good book, read in 2-3 days. Interesting formatting - story is told via emails and texts. Not quite a 5 star, the formatting lost me a couple of times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Medical content, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Vomit
tylerc04's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book took me a little while to get into. There is a crowd of characters that I had to learn the connections between and understand their views of the other characters. Once more things began to develop into the plot it became more enjoyable as well as confusing. I would advise that you keep a pen and paper next to you if you want help solve this case alongside the narration, if not then just reading along watching them uncover the truth is just as fun. Near the end of the book (100-200 pages left) I really got into it and genuinely started to connect the dots myself. Once I had finished the book I had really enjoyed reading it, despite the rocky start. I would advise anyone who want to read this to maybe give it a chance to get going and not to DNF it too quickly.
Overall a solid read, well enjoyed and looking forward to reading The Christmas Appeal in the winter!
Overall a solid read, well enjoyed and looking forward to reading The Christmas Appeal in the winter!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Suicide
thisbookisbananas's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I love the mixed media and the initial fast-pace of the book. However, I’ll say there are a couple of things that a person picking up The Appeal to read needs to know going into it. 1) The title ‘The Appeal’ mainly has to do with a British meaning for asking people to donate to a charity or fundraiser—not an appeal for a person convicted of a crime. This is the majority of the plot line. I was captivated at first, but then it plodded on and on 2.) The cover of my copy says “One murder. Fifteen suspects: can you uncover the truth?” The murder in this book doesn’t happen until almost 70% of the way through. So the structure of this book is more of a “whydunnit’ and not much of a “whodunnit”.
I wish the pacing had been better because it was 70% of the same plot line over and over and then it galloped to a crazy twisty end. I will pick up another book by the author. This one just didn’t work so well for me.
I wish the pacing had been better because it was 70% of the same plot line over and over and then it galloped to a crazy twisty end. I will pick up another book by the author. This one just didn’t work so well for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual assault and Murder
brittaanson's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is my new favorite mystery format! Sifting through documents to identify what is significant and what isn't, what might be left unsaid, etc. is a fantastic puzzle. Super engaging, but definitely a book that you'll want to give your full attention. I listen to most books on audiobook while doing other things, but this one I saved for when I had the time and mental energy to sit down and read in paperback with notebook and post-its at the ready. Reading on an eReader would also be a good choice, for easy keyword searches when you realize later that something someone wrote a while back may be important.
The emails and texts are written brilliantly, evoking clear personalities in their different styles. It's fascinating to read the difference in tone between a character's public email to a mailing list versus what they text in private to their partner, versus what they purposefully avoid sharing, despite you knowing they have the information in question from what another character wrote to someone else. All of the communication styles are very recognizable and realistic for their characters as well. This book is masterfully constructed, and sucked me right in. I couldn't put it down.
The emails and texts are written brilliantly, evoking clear personalities in their different styles. It's fascinating to read the difference in tone between a character's public email to a mailing list versus what they text in private to their partner, versus what they purposefully avoid sharing, despite you knowing they have the information in question from what another character wrote to someone else. All of the communication styles are very recognizable and realistic for their characters as well. This book is masterfully constructed, and sucked me right in. I couldn't put it down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Violence, and War
browsingthebooks's review against another edition
5.0
Totally gripping mystery. Unique format that forces you to play detective. Great for discussion!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Medical content, Trafficking, Murder, and Pregnancy
This was actually a really clean book as compared to a lot of contemporary mystery novels. Only a couple of curses in the whole thing. No sexual content. Most of the warnings I listed as minor were just references.mousecat's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Addiction and Murder
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
a_davis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.75
honestly I was very skeptical of the email/text format but ended up loving the creativity! SUPER engaging and a quick read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse
missgrangerr's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
LOVED this book! I am a huge fan of stories told in unconventional ways, so seeing this book being told through emails and texts was a huge draw. The story was well told and plotted. Highly recommend to fans of mysteries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, and Sexual assault
lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book drove me bonkers. There is nothing I hate more than when a writer hides information from the reader. Right from the get go, you know there’s been a murder and someone has been arrested, but the author hides who was even killed. There are so many hidden facts that’s it feels as though the author is trying to trick the reader. If you can’t write a plot that includes clues and the basic facts without revealing everything right away, then you probably need more practice.
The main crimes were pretty obvious early on. And there weren’t any characters that I was particularly fond of. So I didn’t really care that much that any of them happened. Except that the author never bothered to write about the impacts on the little girl at the heart of the story. We never once spend any time reflecting on how her cancer diagnosis will impact her and her nuclear family. There’s a “kids are resilient” attitude that is incredibly naive.
The book was way too long. And it just made the deception on the reader that much more obvious. It was easy to read, but so incredibly annoying.
The main crimes were pretty obvious early on. And there weren’t any characters that I was particularly fond of. So I didn’t really care that much that any of them happened. Except that the author never bothered to write about the impacts on the little girl at the heart of the story. We never once spend any time reflecting on how her cancer diagnosis will impact her and her nuclear family. There’s a “kids are resilient” attitude that is incredibly naive.
The book was way too long. And it just made the deception on the reader that much more obvious. It was easy to read, but so incredibly annoying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual assault