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A review by jennshelfishlife
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Appeal is about a small, close-knit community involved in a murder. The story is told in epistolary format, where readers will read email exchanges (note: read the funny end notes on the emails), text messages, interviews, and litigation paperwork.
There are numerous characters in the story; fortunately, it was easy to follow each of their accounts since the characters are outlined in the Fairway Players theatre group's role sheet.
Martin Haywood's family, the alpha family, is undergoing a tragedy in their family as the young granddaughter is diagnosed with rare brain cancer. The family needs a life-saving therapy, still undergoing testing, in America, which leads to a crowdsource event led by the Fairway Players. However, the story is not as simple as that, and readers will delve into the Haywood family's discourse with Dr. Tish Bhatoa and the latter's history. Sam, a nurse, and new Fairway Player, begin to dig to uncover her suspicions of Dr. Bhatoa and finds more than she expected, leading to her untimely death.
A lot can be said about the story and the multiple storylines and how they intersect, but I will leave that to the readers. This reader would also like to note that the irony of the play being rehearsed is not lost on this reader.
The Appeal is a page-turning novel that left this reader appalled and amazed at how the story and the mysteries were unveiled.
The story has triggers (e.g., fraud, cancer, murder, rape), but they are mild, except for the fraud.
I recommend this novel to fans of mysteries and epistolary storytelling.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
There are numerous characters in the story; fortunately, it was easy to follow each of their accounts since the characters are outlined in the Fairway Players theatre group's role sheet.
Martin Haywood's family, the alpha family, is undergoing a tragedy in their family as the young granddaughter is diagnosed with rare brain cancer. The family needs a life-saving therapy, still undergoing testing, in America, which leads to a crowdsource event led by the Fairway Players. However, the story is not as simple as that, and readers will delve into the Haywood family's discourse with Dr. Tish Bhatoa and the latter's history. Sam, a nurse, and new Fairway Player, begin to dig to uncover her suspicions of Dr. Bhatoa and finds more than she expected, leading to her untimely death.
A lot can be said about the story and the multiple storylines and how they intersect, but I will leave that to the readers. This reader would also like to note that the irony of the play being rehearsed is not lost on this reader.
The Appeal is a page-turning novel that left this reader appalled and amazed at how the story and the mysteries were unveiled.
The story has triggers (e.g., fraud, cancer, murder, rape), but they are mild, except for the fraud.
I recommend this novel to fans of mysteries and epistolary storytelling.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship