Sometimes, one reads a book that is so good, so fiendishly clever, so gripping, so un-put-down-able that the only way to describe it is, well, as fiendishly clever and gripping and un-put-down-able.
And this, dear reader, is “The Appeal”, which is truly clever, amazingly crafted, and totally unpredictable. This is a murder mystery like no other, which will tax you right until the very last page.
A village amateur dramatics group faces a moment of crisis, when the popular and well-liked founders’ young grand-daughter is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Fund raising for the vital, but very expensive drugs starts, but as the days and weeks pass, questions are asked, and doubts begin to surface – about motives, about medicines, about friends and neighbours.
And then there is huge showdown.
And the next day there is a dead body.
The book is written as a series of gradually revealed, incomplete e-mails and text messages, with the time frame going back and forth, so if you’re like me, you will keep flipping back to the list of characters, or to an earlier email, to check names and dates.
There are also chunks of WhatsApp messages between the two young lawyers who have been assigned the case by their pupil master, who is hilariously un-tech-savvy.
Sometimes there are sticky notes (Post Its) attached to documents, for all the world like a real-life file.
Since this is a murder mystery, I cannot and will not plot spoil. You must work your way through the information you are given, and try and figure out whodunnit, like the young lawyers Femi & Charlotte must do. They are not aware of the whole story, and neither are we…a-n-d I’d better stop right there, before I inadvertently spoil things for you.
You are in for one heck of a treat!
100% recommended.
It’s a really enjoyable, clever read. My only problem was that I didn’t find any of the characters really likeable!
Point well & truly taken!