The Christmas Appeal Audiobook By Janice Hallett cover art

The Christmas Appeal

A Novella

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This immersive holiday caper from the “modern Agatha Christie” (The Sunday Times, London) follows the hilarious Fairway Players theater group as they put on a Christmas play—and solve a murder that threatens their production.

The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking among the amateur theater enthusiasts with petty rivalries, a possibly asbestos-filled beanstalk, and some perennially absent players behind the scenes.

Of course, there’s also the matter of the dead body onstage. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they investigate Christmas letters, examine emails, and pore over police transcripts to identify both the victim and killer before the curtain closes on their holiday production—for good. Amateur Sleuths Cozy Crime Thrillers Mystery Christmas Crime Fiction Holidays Thriller & Suspense Thriller Suspense Witty Winter Genre Fiction

Critic reviews

"Four gifted narrators bring listeners this holiday treat told through emails. A dozen members of the Fairway Players, an English amateur theater group, discuss their upcoming pantomime of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Their emails reveal the essence of each writer—their subtle power grabs, petty jealousies, and barely concealed hatreds. With so many characters, it could have been difficult to identify each speaker. Happily, Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji, and Sid Sagar so deftly individualize the dialogue that the production sounds like it has more than four narrators. The story includes a dead body and crime solving, but what's best is its dry humor and wonderfully depicted characters."
All stars
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I mean, what is there to say? Janice Hallett is a superlative writer, the standout star of my 2024 reading list. The audiobook actors were once again amazing, and performed the dozen or so characters with such skill that one could identify who was writing a text message before the third syllable was uttered. If you have an extra few hours for a good long holiday walk, spend it listening to this book.

Another Hallett Home Run.

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I am loving this format of audiobook/book. As an audiobook, it feels a lot like it might have been listening to a mystery radio program years ago. I thought the performance was wonderful.
The story itself is intriguing and full of wit. I feel that I might listen to it yearly!

This format!!

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This is a fun little novella full of cast of questionable characters. Once you get into the story, it's hard to stop!

A Modern Christmas Murder Mystery in Epistolary Form

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I thought this was a fun read with an interesting style. I listened to the audio while I read with the book and I can say it definitely lends itself more to reading than listening but is still a good read for the holiday season.

A funny holiday mystery…

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There is nothing to dislike here, as this is a treat to read and listen to.

The humor, characters, and plot are excellent. The print edition is great because the characters and humor are easier to savor.

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