Over the years I have read a lot of crime fiction. Everything from vintage “cosy” crimes from the British Library Crime Classics series, through to gritty American detectives running round cities after serial killers, but I’ve never before read anything quite like The Appeal by Janice Hallett.
A different style of crime fiction
It’s not so much the setting of her novel ( an English town with events centred around an amateur dramatics society) but the way the book is presented that sets it apart from others. Rather than a narrative, the book is basically a series of different forms of communication between characters. Let me explain.
The book starts with a quick covering letter from a QC (Roderick Tanner), who is a senior partner at a legal firm, to two women – Femi and Charlotte. It’s a brief note basically saying that it’s best that they don’t know anything else before reading what he has enclosed. He points out that only a limited number of emails, texts and messages could be recovered so the correspondence is not complete, however what there is is presented in roughly chronological order. He’s also included extras like newspaper clippings and social media activity. And that’s it. As the reader you know nothing more as you start this book.
The second page is a text message conversation between Femi and Charlotte where it seems they are as puzzled as the reader about why they are not being provided with any background. After that all of us (readers, Femi and Charlotte) are just left to start reading the information provided.
Reader or researcher?
For the reader it’s a strange experience. A bit like starting off a research project, trying to keep track of who everyone is, who is saying what, and to whom. About a dozen or so pages in there’s another note from the QC as he’s asked his secretary to draw up a list of some of the people involved and their relationships to each other. This is a page where I found myself folding over the corner and referring back to it frequently as I continued to read email exchanges between characters.
As the book continues the reader gets some text conversations between Femi and Charlotte as they read the pack alongside us, and some updates from Tanner as he produces additional information and documentation at various points. You’re not always sure what you’re reading about, or why you’re reading it, but I found my interest piqued and I struggled to pull myself away from all the emails and other messages between people. It’s far from a relaxing read as a result, but more like a puzzle book where you’re playing detective to try to find out who did what. However it takes a while to even understand what has been done! It’s an incredibly clever way of twisting the genre of crime fiction.
Who did what, and to whom?
Towards the end Femi and Charlotte start to draw their theories together and produce papers suggesting what might have happened, who was guilty and why. They have a few different theories and as they are presented it can be a bit tricky to keep remembering what you actually know, and what is just being suggested by the women. Tanner also keeps popping back to explain why they are working on this case and from what angle.
I realise that much of what I am saying here will sound very mysterious, and it has to remain that way if you’re going to read the book yourself. As Tanner said himself to Femi and Charlotte at the start, it is best to “know nothing” before reading everything. What I will say though is that if you strip away the way in which the “story” here is presented, there is underneath it all an excellent crime fiction story that I think would stand on its own two feet well against other books of the genre in terms of characters and plot line. It’s slightly twee in places, but when you see how popular Richard Osman’s books are you know there is a very definite market for that type of modern cosy crime fiction book.
A Christmas Sequel
I’m delighted to spot in a recent Waterstones newsletter that there is a Christmas sequel out this year – called The Christmas Appeal – in which a now retired Roderick Tanner gets back in touch with Femi and Charlotte as the am dram group at the centre of The Appeal appear to have found themselves tied up in another crime. If you’re looking for something to lose yourself in on Christmas Day then I’m guessing this will be the perfect book!
Where to buy The Appeal
The Appeal is available from all good bookshops and you can buy it online here. Janice Hallett has written a total of four titles now and call can be found here.
Disclaimer: I was handed a copy of The Appeal by my mum, who herself bought it as it was the chosen book for a book group on a cruise she went on earlier this year. Links in this post to Amazon are affiliate links. If you click through to Amazon from one and make a purchase it will cost you no more than usual, but I will receive a small commission. Thank you for any purchases that you do make.
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