A review by nostoat
The Appeal by Janice Hallett

mysterious tense

5.0

A fresh new way to tell a mystery! Absolutely blown away by Hallett's ability to write from so many perspectives, balance the amount of information each character should have and write down, AND call out tricky bits a reader might have missed in the text correspondence of the two young lawyers. It's all so cleverly done, so you never feel you're being told definite facts until the very end where the pieces click into place for everyone, including you. This is the first mystery book I've read where I truly felt I had everything I needed to solve the murder. I really enjoyed taking notes and speculating to myself as I read. 

If you're someone who enjoys experiencing the dramas of others from a distance, this book is thrilling. Getting to see everyone's emails and thoughts about each other, the asides, the gossip, kept me riveted. I'm almost tempted to reread, which is vanishingly rare for me. All in all, highly recommend for mystery fans and gossip lovers alike.