[Review] The Appeal - Janice Hallett

Summary: The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their fellow castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival.

But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that a killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered. (Pub Date: Jan 25 2022)

 

I hold contradictory feelings toward this book. While I think it was well planned, and I'm sure it was hard to put everything together, the book itself dragged too much for the conclusion it reached to ease it a bit. 

3+

This is like a small town story, with a mostly closed off "cast". In fact, the main characters are a part of a theater group. We've got Sam and Kel, a married couple who have just arrived from Africa after something made them leave, and they meet Isabel, who tries her best to integrate them with the community, even though she herself is very low in the hierarchy and wanted out by most of them. As the rehearsals start, the director announces his granddaughter has cancer and he needs money to pay for an experimental drug imported from the U.S. They all get together in an appeal to gather the high amount, which seems to be successful until things start happening. We have all that, plus a mysterious message in the beginning to let us know someone is analyzing all that as a court case, but for what? For whom? Against whom?

The book is told through message exchanges between the characters except for Sam's and Kel's, although we get a good idea of how they are joining each of the others' points of view. I can't say it was badly written, each of the senders bring their marks and it's like you can see them in front of you, this part was superb. And I surely cared about the characters, maybe that was what kept me going the most.

But because it's an almost uninterrupted exchange of messages, most of them quite short, it felt like the book had no breaks or too many breaks? It did have, as the people analyzing the case discuss it, but it still felt like an incredibly long chapter until the final quarter, when we learn what is being judged. 

The worst feeling was that as it dragged, I still wanted to know what was happening, it was very intriguing. Because of that, I felt like I had been locked in a room from which I wanted to get out but couldn't. It wasn't as pleasing as a page-turner is supposed to be. 

The conclusion was also disappointing. It wasn't too obvious but it still left me with some questions. 

It's a different type of thriller, so it can be refreshing to many, and it's a quick read. But the pace is all wrong and the aftertaste not so good. I do recommend it for those who like the genre, I think it's worth it.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.