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The Appeal cover art

The Appeal

By: Janice Hallett
Narrated by: Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji, Sid Sagar
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Summary

The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year

Winner of the 2022 CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger

One murder. Fifteen suspects. Can you uncover the truth?

There is a mystery to solve in the sleepy town of Lower Lockwood. It starts with the arrival of two secretive newcomers, and ends with a tragic death. Roderick Tanner QC has assigned law students Charlotte and Femi to the case. Someone has already been sent to prison for murder, but he suspects that they are innocent. And that far darker secrets have yet to be revealed...

Throughout the amateur dramatics society's disastrous staging of All My Sons and the shady charity appeal for a little girl's medical treatment, the murderer hid in plain sight. The evidence is all there, waiting to be found. But will Charlotte and Femi solve the case? Will you?

©2021 Janice Hallett (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"This dazzlingly clever cosy crime novel completely trumps Richard Osman. A modern Agatha Christie." (Sunday Times)

"This is a case you're about to become obsessed with. A triumph." (Alex North)

"Very different but very satisfying. I thoroughly recommend The Appeal." (Elly Griffiths)

What listeners say about The Appeal

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
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    3 out of 5 stars

Probably better in print

Interesting way to write a story, but the audiobook experience isn't ideal, despite am array of excellent narrators. The majority of the book consists of email readings, which quickly becomes tiresome when all the headers, dates, etc, are read out. And the list of characters and suspects is vast. About 2/3 of the way through, the huge list of suspects and characters is read our, so in print, you could refer to this, but on audio, you cannot.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lnggggg

fabulous performance by just four readers but it took too long to read out all the messages then the rest was rushed

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Different!

I did enjoy this however towards the end got a bit fed up floating back and forward between the emails etc.
While I would recommend it to others not quite the hype of better than Richard Osman, comparable to Agatha Christie.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Very strange format

I can’t make up my mind about this book. The story line was interesting although quite transparent as far as getting the whodunnit part. I found the format in which it was written most irritating. All the e-mails and times at which they were written I felt was most unnecessary. The book may have been better to read rather than to listen to. Not a great success with me and I would not recommend it to anyone.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great VA

really liked the Voice acting! esp how different characters had different accents to distinguish them

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Something a bit different - bear with it though!

Definitely an audiobook with a difference. At first I was wondering whether I'd be able to stick with it, but thanks to the stellar cast of narrators it soon became a pleasure not a chore to listen to, Despite a plethora of characters, and one helluva lot going on within the storyline, the narrators ability to each voice several characters so distinctively, made it much easier for this 'reader' to follow than perhaps I would've if I'd read the printed version. I often struggle with novels that have many characters, but on this occasion, the Audible version of this book made it a very gratifying listen. Stick with the unfamiliar format, and you'll be rewarded with a good listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Completely compelling!

Brilliant and original, and unable to tell where it was going. I was absolutely gripped!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Maybe even better in print

This is good story and it was performed really well. However, and as a devoted audible fan it’s hard for me to admit, this is probably better done in print.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely brilliant!!!!

Any one who loves Agatha Christie or court room dramas will love this. The characters are amazing as is the story. The narrators are also excellent.

Right till the last I didn’t fully get the conclusion and I really do not want to spoil it because I enjoyed the never ending twists and turns.

Only warning once you start listening you won’t stop so only on a day off or when you don’t have to get up for work. About to start from beginning to see if I catch it right during second listen.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

quite different but good.

I wasn't quite sure about it at first, but I got quite invested and by the end was desperate to know if I got it right! very cleverly written and I liked the different characters.

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