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A review by yuunoel
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
(2022/03/12 - 2022/03/15)
Intriguing format.
The Appeal by Janice Hallett is a novel that is told by emails, notes, and text messages. It is certainly one of the most unique ways to tell a story.
You can tell that this book is well-thought-out. If you were to re-read this, you can find little snippets of text that allude to the murderer. Uhm anyways, that's the only good thing I can think of. ✌
It definitely is an interesting format, but it gets stale when you just read emails over and over again. Multiple times I just wanted to DNF this book. I originally wanted to make a board full of notes with the red yarn and potential suspects like in murder mystery movies, but when I found out the sheer amount of characters, I quickly stopped doing that. None of the voices are distinct enough to differentiate them apart. The story was boring. Especially in the first half. It only gets exciting around the 60% mark, but even then I thought it was too late for me to get fully invested in the storyline and the characters.
Speaking of characters... I hated them. Not one character I like. They all seem like insufferable shits and if I were to meet any of them in real life, I would run in the opposite direction. Now, don't get me wrong, I love morally grey/imperfect characters. But the thing is, there has to be at least one redeeming quality in them. Like, they could be a villain who can blow up buildings and people without a second thought, but simultaneously they are kind to animals and frequently volunteer at animals shelters??? Yes please. 🥰 You are now one of my favourite characters. None of the characters have a likable trait, and even if they did, I wouldn't know, because we can't read about their psyches. WE ONLY HAVE THE STUPID EMAILS THEY SEND TO EACH OTHER AND ALL OF US KNOW WE TEND TO ACT/SPEAK IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN HOW WE THINK WHEN IT COMES TO OTHER PEOPLE'S PERCEPTIONS!!
I was initially going to rate this as 3 stars, but then I realized how many things I disliked about this book. The only reason I gave this 1.5 stars and not 1 was because of the notable style and the fact that it gets moving around the 60% mark. Would I re-read this? No. This will probably be one of the murder mystery novels I will not be re-reading. Would I recommend this? If you find joy by sitting through emails and picking them apart one by one.
This is the part in my reviews where I put a quote that that made me laugh (and if I can't find a funny one: a beautiful quote). There were no quotes like that 😶
- noel
Intriguing format.
The Appeal by Janice Hallett is a novel that is told by emails, notes, and text messages. It is certainly one of the most unique ways to tell a story.
You can tell that this book is well-thought-out. If you were to re-read this, you can find little snippets of text that allude to the murderer. Uhm anyways, that's the only good thing I can think of. ✌
It definitely is an interesting format, but it gets stale when you just read emails over and over again. Multiple times I just wanted to DNF this book. I originally wanted to make a board full of notes with the red yarn and potential suspects like in murder mystery movies, but when I found out the sheer amount of characters, I quickly stopped doing that. None of the voices are distinct enough to differentiate them apart. The story was boring. Especially in the first half. It only gets exciting around the 60% mark, but even then I thought it was too late for me to get fully invested in the storyline and the characters.
Speaking of characters... I hated them. Not one character I like. They all seem like insufferable shits and if I were to meet any of them in real life, I would run in the opposite direction. Now, don't get me wrong, I love morally grey/imperfect characters. But the thing is, there has to be at least one redeeming quality in them. Like, they could be a villain who can blow up buildings and people without a second thought, but simultaneously they are kind to animals and frequently volunteer at animals shelters??? Yes please. 🥰 You are now one of my favourite characters. None of the characters have a likable trait, and even if they did, I wouldn't know, because we can't read about their psyches. WE ONLY HAVE THE STUPID EMAILS THEY SEND TO EACH OTHER AND ALL OF US KNOW WE TEND TO ACT/SPEAK IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN HOW WE THINK WHEN IT COMES TO OTHER PEOPLE'S PERCEPTIONS!!
I was initially going to rate this as 3 stars, but then I realized how many things I disliked about this book. The only reason I gave this 1.5 stars and not 1 was because of the notable style and the fact that it gets moving around the 60% mark. Would I re-read this? No. This will probably be one of the murder mystery novels I will not be re-reading. Would I recommend this? If you find joy by sitting through emails and picking them apart one by one.
- noel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Child death and Rape