Title: The Christmas Appeal
Author: Janice Hallett
Publisher: Viper
Synopsis:
ack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up.
Of course there’s also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on?
My review:
The Christmas Appeal is a brilliant return to the world of the Fairway Players, and one I enjoyed just as much as the first in the series, The Appeal – in fact, I think I might have enjoyed The Christmas Appeal even more!
We’re back with Femi and Charlotte as they’re asked to look at a case once again involving the Fairway Players. The story is great fun, featuring a return to characters who, if you had to interact with in real life, you’d likely want to strangle, but reading about them and their interactions with each other is SO entertaining. And if you’ve read The Appeal, you’ll know some of the extra detail around the character’s backstories which adds extra depth to their sniping!
As with The Appeal, the humour is quite subtle – sometimes you almost have to re-read a sentence to realise the digs the characters are aiming at each other. And of course, it’s a return to the winning format of various text messages, emails and transcripts which makes this book so much fun to read.
At only just over 200 pages, this is a short, sharp Christmas read which makes for addictive reading. Highly recommended!
My rating: 5/5
Many thanks to the publisher, Viper Books, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.
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