In the Silent Appeal, Janice Hallett has masterfully succeeded in telling a murder story without giving us a murder, victim or suspects until the end! Brilliant! To add to the delight and humor, some of the same characters return from her first book, The Appeal. Once again, the story is told via email and text and group chats.
This year’s Fairway Players theatre production is Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. It is being directed by Kevin and Sarah Jane McDonald. As the auditions begin and there are a couple of juicy women’s parts up for grabs everyone vies for the starring roles. But unfortunately, both Kevin and Sarah Jane were hoping Sarah Jane’s mother would help them out by babysitting, but she opts to audition at another playhouse leaving Sarh Jane as the babysitter in chief and Keven the director in confusion.
Sarah Jane’s sister Nicky Rose who has not been seen in these parts in years as she has been living in Barbados and who with a business partner owns an entertainment company which cruise ships hire talent from appears out of the blue. For what reason? No one knows.
She will not tell anybody why she has come back and acts very mysterious. But she has a knack for theater and Kevin immediately hires her to be his assistant. As the players receive their parts, some not very happy with the casting, one in particular drops out which unfortunately for Kevin leaves him and Sarah Jane searching for a substitute. And who they find is someone, well, the readers will know very well for stirring up trouble as well as being overly friendly. What a treat I may add!
The story takes the reader through the rehearsals, a stage accident and the very different personalities of the characters and the secrets most of them are keeping. Some, affairs, some blackmail and some obsessive. But not as shocking there are secrets, misunderstanding and a very unlikely heroine!
Until opening night when a theatre award critic is in the audience and lo and behold someone is murdered!
I truly don’t want to give anything of substance away as The Silent Appeal is so funny, enjoyable, mysterious and actually very surprising! The uniqueness of the plot and the twists and turns in the lives of the characters will keep you riveted until the last word! My one wish is this series continues.
Thank you #NetGalley #AtriaPress #TheSilentAppeal #JaniceHallett for the advanced copy.
Amazon.com: The Silent Appeal: A Novel (The Appeal Series): 9781668083710: Hallett, Janice: Books
Edit Review – The Silent Appeal (The Appeal, #2) | Goodreads
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