(5)The Appeal by Janice Hallett

 

The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival.

But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that the killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered.

A wholly modern and gripping take on the epistolary novel, The Appeal is a “daring…clever, and funny” (The Times, London) debut for fans of Richard Osman and Lucy Foley.

I bought this book at the local bookstore over a year ago, and I don't know why I let it sit on my desk for so long. I LOVED it.  Two detectives are trying to sort through all of the texts and emails for key players in a homicide. The book reads fast, but it reminded me of a "mystery-in-box," where the reader is given clues and "sticky notes" from the detectives. I had figured out a key piece of the mystery, but not the whodunit.

This book is for anybody who loves a good, old-fashioned mystery.