The Appeal: The smash-hit bestseller

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If you're looking for a crime novel that is very different but very satisfying I thoroughly recommend The Appeal by Janice Hallett. I loved it -- Elly Griffiths, bestselling author of The Postscript Murders Sam tells James she knows what’s going on. James kills Sam, using his twins’ birth as an alibi. Issy knows James did it, but for some reason, she agrees to keep his secret. It was initially inspired by a script I wrote many years ago, and which I rewrote for this novel. It didn’t go anywhere as a film script, but the story never left me. While searching for my next project I read it again and my first thought was ‘this feels like it happened many years ago’ – possibly because I’d written it many years ago – but for some reason it felt like an historic case. That triggered the idea for a present-day true crime author attempting to rehash an old crime story for a low-budget beach read – and unexpectedly uncovers aspects to the case no one realised at the time. What are the advantages and disadvantages to you as an author, or to the reader, of telling a story in this way? These are the people you have to see in private practice: the epitome of white entitlement. They think the earth should stop turning for their child to be cured. It doesn’t occur to them no one else is as committed to their family as they are. If they’d seen what we have, they’d be grateful for the many privileges they not only take for granted, but demand, with no sense of their own insignificance in the world. They could afford these drugs if they sold their assets, but they are affronted by the very idea of paying for healthcare and prefer others to foot the bill.

I wasn’t aware of any other writing while working on my first two novels. If it’s a movement, then hopefully it’s like most movements in art – it arises naturally in response to what we as a society choose to consume as entertainment. A lot of readers say they like that my style is different, so it could simply be that a change is as good as a rest… Brilliantly crafted, The Appeal is a refreshingly different take on the modern crime novel. Full of suspicion and secrets, I raced my way to the end - and what an ending! -- Lisa Hall, author of The PartyI haven’t read All My Sons for a while, and my memory is fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure it’s about a family who is hiding a dark and shameful secret. If anyone has insights into the connection between the play and this story, please let me know in comments! We have some exciting news. The English author Janice Hallett has a new novel on the way, and if you’ve read The Appeal or The Twyford Code, you’ll know just what a big deal this is. She’s an author who has caught the imagination of crime fiction lovers everywhere, writing cleverly layered mysteries that roll together elements of half-forgotten secrets, true crime, made-up urban myths and a peculiar sense of, well, Englishness that’s definitely amusing but is hard to actually describe.

Thanks JJ for the review – sounds like I need to get my hands on this book sooner rather than later! Is it a book I can get via my local Kindle store – or does the ‘murder dossier’ format require a hard copy?

Takes the whodunnit to a whole new level. Intriguing, clever and above all, wholly original. A rare feat indeed, and to be savoured -- Elizabeth Haynes, bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner Wholly original, constructed as delicately as a spiderweb, and as heartfelt as it is intelligent, I could not stop reading The Appeal -- Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street I’d never heard of this one either, until someone told me about it…that’s how hearing about stuff works, isn’t it? When their little grand-daughter Poppy falls ill with a rare form of brain cancer they launch an appeal to raise a massive amount for a revolutionary, and as yet untried treatment, available only in the States. At the same time The Fairway Players continue to mount a production of All My Sons by Arthur Miller. Through their cast lists and committee minutes we are provided with a handy aide-memoir to who's who.

What a book. Right up there with the best I've read this year. Great characters, smart structure, and kept me guessing all the way to the end -- Dan Malakin, author of The Regret I haven't enjoyed a book this much since Standard Deviation. Congratulations, Janice Hallett! -- Louise Voss, author of The Last Stage Is Sam just being paranoid given her unhappy history with Tish? Or is something truly sinister afoot, something that could cost one or more of the Fairway Players their lives as Sam seeks to expose the truth? This is author Janice Hallett's first novel, inspired by her lifelong interest in amateur dramatics. And for a first novel it is a tour de force. Fiendishly clever, highly original and totally gripping -- Cass Green, bestselling author of In a Cottage in a WoodMunchausen by Proxy is typically an individual mental illness resulting in abuse perpetuated by a single person, usually a mother, who has control over the victim, typically a child. Why do Martin and Poppy’s parents agree to be in on the deception? Paige, Poppy’s mother, doesn’t seem to be in on it. But how is that possible? The summary files, as you say, are just an irritating way of summarising what we already know and don't add anything. It's like the author doesn't trust you to follow anything.

When Martin and his wife Helen, head of local theater group The Fairway Players and owners of a posh golf club, announce that their granddaughter Poppy has a brain tumor. Their friends, colleagues, and neighbors rally around them. I raced through it and liked it a lot, but I did find the law student framing really annoying and contrived: Oh, The Maze is certainly much drier — there’s a clear focus on the relationships and interactions between the characters, and a very clear importance on that element of things being key. The Appeal is also a love letter to another kind of masquerade, to acting even in amateur dramatics. As Issy writes to James Hayward, Martin’s son and the play director, who’s called away to his heavily pregnant wife’s bedside ahead of the opening night performance: I still don’t really understand why Issy agrees (offers?) to take the fall for James. It made no sense to me.Brilliantly original, inventive and clever. I loved this book and you will too -- Phoebe Morgan, author of The Doll House One of the most enjoyable books I've read all year. Extremely addictive, it will reel you in, one piece of evidence at a time. Ingenious and highly original -- Alex Pavesi, author of Eight Detectives