Maura (maura853) -
Helpful Score: 1
I liked it a lot -- wickedly funny -- until she went and spoiled it all by solving the mystery.
With such a build-up, it was almost inevitable that the ending was a disappointment. The epistolary format, and the slowest of slow boils, was a brave choice by Hallett, but it made it hard to care whodunnit, or even particularly care what had been done ...
With such a build-up, it was almost inevitable that the ending was a disappointment. The epistolary format, and the slowest of slow boils, was a brave choice by Hallett, but it made it hard to care whodunnit, or even particularly care what had been done ...
Krystle S. (krystle) reviewed The Appeal: The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Summary: We follow a group of amateur theater performers as they hold a cancer fundraiser and deal with a murder of one of their own. It is told through emails, messages, and police reports.
Overall: This epistolary novel builds little suspense.
Characters:3/10 I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. There was not any sort of physical descriptions. It may be handy to tab the cast of characters page if reading a physical copy.
Uniqueness: 8/10 I haven't read a crime book in the form before.
Plot: 5/10 I wondered how it would end, but getting there was painfully slow for around 80% of the book.
Concept: 8/10 I appreciated that we don't know who died until well into the book.
Absorbing: 2/10 I was tuning out the repetitive nature of the emails/headers.
Keeper/Re-Readability: 2/10
Enjoyment/Entertainment: 3/10 this was a great premise, but it wasn't for me.
Overall: This epistolary novel builds little suspense.
Characters:3/10 I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. There was not any sort of physical descriptions. It may be handy to tab the cast of characters page if reading a physical copy.
Uniqueness: 8/10 I haven't read a crime book in the form before.
Plot: 5/10 I wondered how it would end, but getting there was painfully slow for around 80% of the book.
Concept: 8/10 I appreciated that we don't know who died until well into the book.
Absorbing: 2/10 I was tuning out the repetitive nature of the emails/headers.
Keeper/Re-Readability: 2/10
Enjoyment/Entertainment: 3/10 this was a great premise, but it wasn't for me.
