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The Appeal

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The Appeal

By: Janice Hallett
Narrated by: Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji, Sid Sagar
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About this listen

The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year

Winner of the 2022 CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger

One murder. Fifteen suspects. Can you uncover the truth?

There is a mystery to solve in the sleepy town of Lower Lockwood. It starts with the arrival of two secretive newcomers, and ends with a tragic death. Roderick Tanner QC has assigned law students Charlotte and Femi to the case. Someone has already been sent to prison for murder, but he suspects that they are innocent. And that far darker secrets have yet to be revealed...

Throughout the amateur dramatics society's disastrous staging of All My Sons and the shady charity appeal for a little girl's medical treatment, the murderer hid in plain sight. The evidence is all there, waiting to be found. But will Charlotte and Femi solve the case? Will you?

©2021 Janice Hallett (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK Crime Crime Thrillers Murder Psychological Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Suspense

Critic Reviews

"This dazzlingly clever cosy crime novel completely trumps Richard Osman. A modern Agatha Christie." (Sunday Times)

"This is a case you're about to become obsessed with. A triumph." (Alex North)

"Very different but very satisfying. I thoroughly recommend The Appeal." (Elly Griffiths)
All stars
Most relevant  
It was a little hard to work out who was who with the first couple of chapters but I found it quickly resolved and throughly enjoyed this book.

Couldn’t put it down!

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This is a very intriguing mystery that compelled me to keep listening to unravel the truth. The story is told entirely through messages and emails, which gives a voice to most of the characters, and I really enjoyed this method of storytelling. Highly recommended.

A great listen!

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This has got to be one of the cleverest, most gripping crime mysteries I've ever read!

Fantastic read!

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What a different story so unique so very terrific. I really loved this. Well written, so well narrated. Did know I would enjoy this so much.

Riveting

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The voice of Isabel is screamingly annoying. The format of emails as a narrative device was repetitive and unnecessary.

Very predictable plot.

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I thoroughly loved this book.
The characters were so realistic that I was able to put faces to them from people I know/have known.
I highly recommend!

Brilliant

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The narrative device was tedious bordering on unbearable, , but the plot was good.

so-so

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I don think this book is ideal for the audiobook format. The story is revealed through numerous emails. Which is fine as a concept, as in a book you can skim past the email header details, time etc. however as an audio book every last detail is spoken, it becomes rather tedious.
The book starts with a challenge , noting the evidence/clues are there, can you work it out? Again a book would enable you to flick back to see something again, and also remind yourself who is who in this vast cast. This cant be done in an audio book. Especially when driving.
The format falls over as an audio book and you just want to get to the end. This format also means you dont really get to experience much depth of character, so there is little empathy for them and i cant say i particularly cared who died or who dunnit. Recommend as a book if you like to solve the murder, but a pass on the audio version. Shame.

Maybe better as a hardcopy book?

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The 'creative' device in this book detracted immensely from the narrative. Don't waste your time.

Dreary

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.