The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

The Appeal #1.5

208 pages

Publisher: Viper

Publishing Date: October 26.2023

Netgalley

 

Blurb

 One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth?

Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up.

Of course there's also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on?

 

Review

Before I get to my thoughts about The Christmas Appeal a word of warning. While I guess that you could read this book without having read The Appeal, I would strongly advice against such an action. The Christmas Appeal very much moves on from the earlier book and contains (vague) spoilers for the prequel.

While I’m on the subject of similarities between the two ‘Appeal’ titles, I want to add that this second one is very much a continuation of the first story. Once again Charlotte and Femi are invited by their mentor to investigate emails and messages shared between the members of the Fairway Players amateur drama group in order to figure out who was murdered by whom and how it happened.

While the setup of the Fairway Players has changed as a result of what happened in The Appeal, the dynamics between the members are as intriguing and amusing in this sequel. The politics, gossip, and backstabbing in the drama group remain frequent and as delicious as they were before. There is a nice mixture of familiar characters (with one very surprising appearance) and new faces.

Once again, the murder mystery appears to be an afterthought to what is happening within the group. In this book too, (the remains of) the victim don’t appear until near the end of the story. In both books, the reader wouldn’t know they were dealing with a mystery if it hadn’t been for the instructions given to Charlotte and Femi at the very start of the story. And yet, it is all the apparently unconnected interaction between the various members of the group that give us all the clues to what is really happening—provided we pay enough attention.

After discussing The Appeal with my book club I’m more conscious than ever that these books aren’t for everyone. Having the story revealed through what at first glance appear to be irrelevant emails and messages about the production of a (Christmas) play can be confusing. Personally, I love it. While it can be a bit like hard work trying to keep up with who is who and how they related to each other, I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between these people, all with their own agenda, while trying to figure out how any of their communications might relate to the mystery in question.

Finally, while The Appeal certainly had its moments of light relief, The Christmas Appeal is funnier. In fact, it’s a bit over the top, a caper, which feels perfect for a mystery centred around the production of a Christmas panto. And while The Appeal was all about righting a miscarriage of justice, The Christmas Appeal puts a different spin on what does and doesn’t constitute justice. Whether or not you agree with the outcome is a personal choice.

Long review short: The Christmas Appeal is a wonderful sequel to The Appeal and a well-plotted and delightful mystery.

Related review: The Appeal

 

The 4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie

 

Miss Marple #8

223 pages

Publisher: Agatha Christie Ltd/Planet Three Publishing

Library book

 

Blurb

For an instant the two trains ran together, side by side. In that frozen moment, Elspeth witnessed a murder. Helplessly, she stared out of her carriage window as a man remorselessly tightened his grip around a woman’s throat. The body crumpled. Then the other train drew away.

But who, apart from Miss Marple, would take her story seriously? After all, there were no suspects, no other witnesses... and no corpse.

 

Review

Poor Elspeth McGillicuddy. There she is, on a train to visit Miss Marple, when she witnesses a murder taking place in a passing train. She dutifully reports the crime to the police who duly investigate only to find no trace of evil doing. Since there appears to be no corpse and there are no other witnesses, they put her claim down to a bad dream. Miss Marple on the other hand, knows Elspeth and takes her claim seriously and after undertaking a few train journeys of her own, she has a pretty good idea of what may have happened to the body of the unfortunate victim. Miss Marple has no way of actively investigating the crime herself but, never one to be held back, she has a solution.

Enter…

Lucy Eyelesbarrow, who basically operates as Miss Marple’s eyes, ears, and legs is a fabulous character. First of all, there’s her name—Eyelesbarrow, how does Christie come up with names like this one? But most of all I love the idea that after successfully graduating from Oxford she decided to forgo a distinguished academic career to become a sort of highly skilled domestic labourer taking on jobs on a short-term basis for fast amounts of money.

Lucy Eyelesbarrow takes on a job in Rutherford Hall which happens to have grounds bordering the relevant train tracks and on a very expedient bend as well. Miss Marple takes up lodgings not too far away, allowing Lucy and later Detective Inspector Dermot Graddock to confer with her about what they discover and give voice to their frustration that the solution remains out of reach.

Apart from Lucy, Miss Marple, and Elspeth McGillicuddy, the following cast appears in this mystery and must therefore be considered suspects (with the exception of the investigating officers, of course):

Mrs. Kidder – Housekeeper

Mr. Crackenthorpe – Master of Rutherford Hall, invalid and very disagreeable and stingy with money.

Emma Crackenthorpe – Mistress of Rutherford Hall – Mr. Crackenthorpe’s daughter.

Edmund Crackenthorpe: Formerly the eldest son, killed in France during WW II.

Cedric Crackenthorpe – Middle son, a painter who lives abroad.

Harold Crackenthorpe – Youngest son, works in the City, married an Earl’s daughter.

Alfred Crackenthorpe – Eldest son, black sheep of the family.

James Stoddart-West – Alfred’s school friend.

Edith Crackenthorpe – Deceased daughter.

Mr. Bryan Eastley – Edith’s husband, still close with the family.

Master Alexander Eastley – Son of Edith and Bryan.

Dr. Quimper – GP.

Mr. Wimborne – Family Solicitor.

Martine – A French woman who might be the mysterious victim?

Inspector Bacon – Local Police

Detective Inspector Dermot Graddock – Scotland Yard and Sir Henry Clithering’s godson.

Lucy soon discovers that this is not a happy family. Mr. Crackenthorpe is rather stingy and seems to take delight in not helping his offspring financially, mostly because he feels hard done by as a result of his own father’s will. Unsurprisingly, his children, particularly his sons, aren’t all too fond of their father.

Two further murders take place later on in the story, which narrows the cast of suspects a little but it won’t surprise anybody when I say that the ultimate solution is rather surprising. It doesn’t come out of nowhere however, and looking back, the clues were there although I have to admit I missed them and failed to come up with the answers before Miss Marple revealed them in a rather shocking and delightful finale.

As I mentioned before, I really liked Lucy as a character. Another favourite was young Alexander because of his fascination with the crime and his determination to search for and find clues. While the other characters are all described vividly and come to life on the page, I can’t say I liked them very much. The three brothers were equally awful and selfish. Emma doesn’t show any selfishness but I found her a little bland, although that worked nicely in contrast to her brothers’ awfulness. I did like Dermot Graddock and the fact that his role in this story meant that Sir Henry Clithering got a mention in this book.

And that’s all I’m willing to say about this story. If you would like to know more you’ll have to read it. 😊

I picked this title because I’m currently listening to the All About Agatha podcast and this title is coming up soon. Past experience tells me that Catherine Brobeck and Kemper Donovan will be a lot more critical of this story, the characters, and the mystery than I am. In fact, if I have a criticism it is that Miss Marple doesn’t appear more prominently in this story. Other than that, this was a delightful mystery, well-plotted and executed, and a great read. Just what I would expect from the Queen of Crime.

Blow Down (Plumber's Mate Series #4) by JL Merrow: Release Blitz with Review

Author: JL Merrow

Release date: July 12, 2016

Amazon

ARe

Samhain

ISBN: 9781619234611

Length: 249 pages

Series: The Plumber's Mate Mysteries

Pressure Head (Book #1)

Relief Valve (Book #2)

Heat Trap (Book #3)

Blurb: 

Death is what happens when you're making other plans.

The last thing newly engaged plumber Tom Paretski needs is to stumble over another dead body.  He's got enough on his mind already as the reality of his impending marriage sinks in. Not only is his family situation complicated, his heroism at a pub fire made him a local celebrity.  Now everyone and their uncle wants a piece of his psychic talents.  Hired to find a missing necklace, Tom and his fiance, private investigator Phil Morrison, wind up trying to unmask a killer - and there's no shortage of suspects, up to and including the local bishop himself.  As Tom and Phil try to uncover the truth, they find themselves pulled in all different directions by the conflicting pressures of their families and their own desires.  But the murderer they're up against is a ruthless schemer who won't hesitate to kill again.  If Tom and Phil aren't careful, their love - and all their plans for the future - could be blown down like a house of straw.

Warning: Contains a bishop of questionable Christian charity, a necklace of questionable taste, and a plumber of questionable nationality who may be running out of time.

My thoughts:

I’d completely forgotten how much I love reading mysteries. Well, good mysteries that is. English village style mysteries. Mysteries inhabited by CHARACTERS. And ‘Blow Down’ was the perfect book to remind me. I had a ball reading this story.

I have to make a confession first; I didn’t actually read the first three books in this series. Yes, I’m asking myself ‘why the hell not?’ too, but that doesn’t change the fact that I read this book without any knowledge as to what had happened previously. And it didn’t matter. Of course I can’t judge whether or not I would have enjoyed this book (even) more if I had read the three preceding titles, but I do know that I never felt lost in this book. Not once did I wonder what something or somebody was referring to, or whether I was missing something. The book provides enough background information for the uninitiated to be fully emerged in the story, without ever dumping said information on the reader.

Tom and Phil are fabulous characters. I want to be their mate and wouldn’t mind going for a pint with them—even if I’m not much of a beer drinker. I loved them as individuals and I loved them together. They’re gruff; more inclined to slag each other off than to be lovey-dovey. And like typical men, they’re disinclined to talk, leading to huge statements being made in the form of abrupt outbursts. All of which, of course, only served to make those moments when they do allow the mask to slip and their feelings to shine through, all the  more touching.

The mystery in this book was good. It is what I would consider to be a ‘typical’ English village mystery with a limited cast of all too likely suspects, most if not all of whom have something to hide—be it murder or something else. I’ve read many mysteries in my life and one of the reasons I started reading other genres is because I got too good at guessing the culprit. A mystery just isn’t as much fun when you know who ‘done’ it as soon as the character is introduced. I was delighted when the revelation of who the murderer was, surprised me and yet made perfect sense.

And then the humour... I can’t remember the last time I laughed as much or as loudly while reading a book. In fact, I laughed out loud so much my poor husband went from bemused to somewhat worried. But then I made him read the following passage and, well, he laughed:

“Rugby, now… Well, it’s just a bunch of big bastards getting up close and personal with each other, innit? Sort of like wrestling, only not faked, with intervals of some bloke built like an armoured car grabbing the ball and legging it, trying to make it to the other side of the pitch before fifteen other blokes, some of who’re built like Chieftain bloody tanks, throw themselves on top of him.”

Oh, and did I mention this is the most English of stories?

Long review short: I loved this book. An interesting and well plotted mystery, combined with great characters, a charming couple, and laugh out loud humour made what for me is pretty much a perfect read.

Author Bio: 

JL Merrow is that rare beast, and English person who refuses to drink tea.  She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.

She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy and her novella Muscling Through and novel Relief Valve were both EPIC Awards Finalists. 

JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers' Circle and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.  Find JL Merrow online at www.jlmerrow.com, on Twitter as @jlmerrow, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jl.merrow