“One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth?

Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up.

Of course there’s also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on?”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. How are you? I’ve missed you! You may be wondering where I’ve been of late. I’ve been in the midst of a rather long and quite tedious reading and reviewing slump, which was unfortunately coupled with double shoulder surgery. I plan to return to the blog properly in the New Year but until then, I will be sharing the odd meme, along with some of my favourite reads over the past year or so. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett which was published in paperback last week (Thursday 7th November 2024). The Christmas Appeal is also available in hardcover, audio and digital formats and is a must-read for those wanting the festive feels, or for those who just love a darn good mystery!

Way back when (in 2020 to be precise) I read a book called The Appeal by debut author Janice Hallett. I immediately added it to my top books of 2020 list. Nothing unusual there. The book wasn’t published until 2021 so I was actually ahead of the game (for the first [and last!] time!). I had never read anything like The Appeal before. A clever, intricately plotted mystery with beautiful characters who you get to know through their emails and other online communications. It was a book to break boundaries and I was sold, hook, line and sinker. I loved everything about The Appeal so you can imagine my joy when the author published a festive follow up! The Christmas Appeal takes us back to Lower Lockwood and once again to The Fairway Players who are preparing for their Christmas pantomime. One thing’s for sure, with the Fairway Players involved, things are unlikely to go smoothly…

The Christmas Appeal was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was a delight to be reunited with characters from the first book and see how life had moved on since the developments in The Appeal. Their bickering, their backstabbing and their general one-upmanship has not abated and was a joy to watch as the drama group gathered to plan and rehearse their big Christmas panto. The group are presenting ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ to their ever growing community for one night only and oh boy, the amount of work involved in that feat is really quite mind boggling! Sarah-Jane MacDonald is the current chairperson of the Fairway Players, much to Celia Halliday’s chagrin. Which only makes Sarah-Jane all the more determined to do everything in her power to make sure it’s a show that will never be forgotten. Which it ends up being. Only for all of the wrong reasons. And of course, the dead body in the Santa suit!

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Christmas Appeal is pure joy in literary form. I don’t think you need to have read The Appeal first but it will provide some prior knowledge of the characters which can’t be a bad thing. Also, The Appeal is such an excellent, clever story so why not get hold of copies of both and really treat yourself. The Christmas Appeal, like its predecessor, is told using mixed media which can feel a little daunting to start with but it soon becomes the norm and you won’t even notice the difference after a few minutes. I’m still amazed by how well I feel I know the characters, how incredibly well the author conveys their individual personalities and idiosyncrasies through only their written communication. It’s masterfully done. The Christmas Appeal is only a short read at around 200 pages so I found myself flying through the story, desperate to know the truth but also knowing that I should really slow down and savour my time with the characters. Characters I have become really quite fond of. The mystery aspect works really well and I enjoyed the build up to the discovery of the body, along with the reveal of whodunit. All in all, this is the perfect stocking filler for the book lover in your life. I said in my review of The Appeal that ‘the author shows exactly how ‘human’ humans can be’ and I stand by that. A laugh out loud, cleverly penned mystery with a whole lotta heart. A cast of wonderful, honest characters who wear their flaws on their sleeves and muddle along together doing the best they can. I loved every second of this book and I can only hope this isn’t the last time we’re invited back to Lower Lockwood. A wonderful Christmas mystery which I found hugely entertaining and made this old Grinch feel a little bit more Christmassy. Highly recommended.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett was published in the UK by Viper Books on 7th November 2024 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Janice Hallett is the author of three best-selling novels. Her debut, The Appeal, was awarded the CWA Debut Dagger of 2021 and was a Sunday Times’ Bestseller, Waterstones’ Thriller of the Month and Sunday Times’ Crime Book of the Month. Her second novel The Twyford Code was named Crime & Thriller Book of the Year in the British Book Awards 2023. It was also a Sunday Times’ Bestseller and a Financial Times book of the year. The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels was an instant Times and Sunday Times bestseller on its launch in January 2023.

The Christmas Appeal, a fast, fun and festive novella, was launched in October 2023.

Janice is a former magazine editor, award-winning journalist, and government communications writer. As a playwright and screenwriter, she penned the feminist Shakespearean stage comedy NetherBard and co-wrote the feature film Retreat.