Janice Hallett released her debut novel, The Appeal, in 2021 to almost instant acclaim. Her unique style of telling the story solely through emails, newspaper clippings, and digital communications between characters quickly made the book a fan favorite—and eventually won her the CWA New Blood Dagger Award. In 2023, she revisited the small village of Lower Lockwood and specifically the members of their local theater troupe, The Fairway Players, in The Christmas Appeal—a hilarious holiday-themed novella. To the surprise and delight of her ever-growing fan base, this year brought readers The Silent Appeal, a new full-length novel featuring The Fairway Players and told in Janice Hallett’s now trademark style.
As with all the “Appeal” books, the framework for The Silent Appeal is that lawyers Femi and Charlotte have been asked by their boss to examine the documents and evidence in a murder investigation to see if an appeal for the lead suspect is warranted. As in all the books, readers don’t know at the beginning who has died or who has been accused of that crime. This technique allows Hallett to keep readers on their toes second guessing all interactions that follow.
The Silent Appeal finds The Fairway Players once again preparing for one of their theatrical productions. This season the group will be performing Agatha Christie’s play, The Hollow. Series regulars, Sarah-Jane and Kevin MacDonald, are the co-chairs of this year’s production and the novel opens with Kevin holding auditions for the show. Some roles are highly coveted, while others are less desirable. So undesirable, in fact, that the group will need to open its doors to one of their most controversial members once again.
Complicating matters, Sarah-Jane’s sister Nicky-Rose has unexpectedly returned to town after several years working on cruise ships and living in Barbados. What exactly accounts for her sudden return is another mystery readers will witness unfolding in the court documents. Fortunately for The Fairway Players, Nicky-Rose has some experience with large scale theatrical performances, and her input may just help the community group win some local theater awards.
Also new to the community (and the community theater scene) are some friends of Fran Elroy-Jones, who has opened her home to a young married couple and their cousin. It wouldn’t be a Janice Hallett book if things didn’t go awry. Could an unfortunate accident on the evening of a sleepover fundraiser on The Hollow’s set have been a precursor to murder? It will take Femi, Charlotte, and the reader to figure that out. There are enough secrets, affairs, and secret affairs in this village to confuse even the most diligent detective (and reader).
It takes a writer of Janice Hallett’s skill level to create tension solely through written documents. Hallett is able to give personality to each character simply via their written words and while that might seem strange to some readers, once a reader turns themselves over to this style, they will quickly find themselves hooked. The solution to the case in The Silent Appeal is both satisfying and surprising, leaving most readers closing the covers hoping for more return visits to Lower Lockwood. Any time spent with The Fairway Players is bound to be fun…albeit, dangerous fun of a quirky nature.
BUY LINKS: The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett
Disclaimer: An e-galley copy of this title were provided to BOLO Books by the publisher. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
