Welcome to Litsy!

A neat whodunit written completely in emails and text messages. That part was super interesting. IMO, there was one too many side plots occurring and the book was about 50-100 pages too long. But still, definitely a pick and highly entertaining. Loved reading about the busybody main character and how the other characters truly saw her. A fun read!

You all were correct! This book was fantastic! Once I got through the beginning & found a rhythm, I flew through this book. I don't think I've ever annotated with this level of intensity. It helped me immensely. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I liked not loved this book. It wasn‘t a five star read for me and I‘m glad I borrowed it from the library instead of buying it, but a solid “Pick”. I had to put a sticky note on the page that listed everyone, I found myself referencing that a lot 😆

I raced through this puzzle constructed from emails and text messages. I love epistolary novels, and this one is great! The frame story is two law students are reviewing the evidence for an appeal. Someone has been convicted of the murder of a member of a community theater group, and the two law students are tasked with looking for the real story amidst the emails. The emails and texts are interrupted by the students‘ musings via text. So fun!

When I started this I was unsure about the format, but after about 20 pages I was completely hooked. The story unfolds in a series of emails, texts, and memos. The central story surrounds a group involved in a community drama club who start raising money for a sick child. Things escalate into so much more though and even I didn't have things fully figured out until the end.

Intriguing, entertaining, and overall just a great mystery read.

Told in a series of emails, texts, and memos, this novel showcases a community theater production of Arthur Miller‘s All My Sons. During rehearsals, Two-year-old Poppy is diagnosed with a rare brain tumor and her family must crowd-fund to afford her treatment. Lots of red-herrings and a murder keep you off-balance until the end!

I need some help from anyone who has read The Appeal by Janice Hallett. I started it & got about 40 pages in & realized I still didn't understand anything going on. I can't keep the characters & their relationships straight.

I want to read it. Everyone who has finished it has said amazing things & I have serious FOMO.

For anyone who has read it, how did you keep it all sorted? Any tips, tricks, or advice are appreciated!

There was no competition for March, although I read some really good books, The Appeal grabbed me on page one and didn‘t let me go until the very last word. It‘s rare these days that I genuinely can‘t put a book down to the point where it make my hubby grumpy 😂 I‘m excited to see what can compete with this book in April!

14/22 When a book stops me browsing Litsy it must be be good. This one had me hooked from the start. It was clever, witty and if you have ever had an encounter with AmDram you will have the added bonus of a sly smile on your face throughout. I enjoyed the format of a pack of evidence to be picked apart, and a ending, although not totally surprising, was satisfying. I would definitely recommend to any mystery lovers out there. 4.5⭐️

This book has A LOT to answer for. I went to bed early last night because I was tired. Thought I would read a few pages of my new library book… at MIDNIGHT I thought uh oh I have to get up soon 😣😂 definitely the sign of a good book!!

I stopped by B&N. I limited myself to two books & I had a tough time deciding, but I'm happy with my choices! I've heard a lot of interesting things about the tagged book. It's a mystery that incorporates texts, emails etc. Very intrigued by the premise.

A fun quick read, had a hard time putting it down . It‘s a mystery told through email, messenger and transcripts. Pet peeve - this is a North American ebook so the units of money and distance have been changed which bothers me. The story explores issues of class , privilege , charity- can‘t say more as don‘t want to spoil the story

As a professional fundraiser, this book is fascinating to me. It‘s about a fundraising appeal for a little girl with cancer but something is going to go terribly wrong.

I enjoyed the premise and once I got used to the email chain style of the book I was able to read this rather quickly. I just couldn‘t get in to it after a day of reading email chain after email chain at work, so I waited for the weekend 😊

I read this in 2 sittings and it was 2 because I fell asleep last night. There has been so much hype about this book. I loved it. I thought it was interesting, clever, creative, and fun. 1 murder. 15 Suspects. An appeal that sees 2 young female lawyers given the original trial evidence of a series of emails, texts, social media and letters. I was so caught up reading the story that I stopped reading to assess evidence. Erie ending. 4.5/5

Really fun epistolary mystery. If you‘re in the mood for some armchair sleuthing, definitely recommend.

Our hew episode of Books On The Go is up! Annie and I discuss this fun crime novel. 🎧

This was a book I could not put down. Incredibly original with such intelligent writing. I didn‘t even try to guess who the murderer was

I love books that are told in non-traditional ways. This one is composed mainly of emails, DMs, and text messages. The story starts with an appeal for money within a theatre group to help fund a young girl's cancer cure. Not everyone agrees on the treatment and a body is found. The bulk of the story is two lawyers going through correspondence trying to find the real killer. There are many twists, some more obvious than most.

Not a #BookSpin #DoubleSpin or #Bingo, but this book has captivated me. It's told through email, DMs, and text messages as two lawyers try to makes sense of a case that ended with a body. I'm about a third of the way through.

I could not put this book down. It moves very quick because of the epistolary form. There are a ton of characters, but I found it very easy to understand each of their roles in this savvy story. Very fun book, that you will not want to miss.

I don‘t know what to make of this book. The title has somewhat of a dual meaning but basically It‘s the story of a community that comes together to help a sick child

But here‘s the thing: most of the book is emails and texts. Before you think that would be easy reading, there are so many characters major and minor, it was hard to keep track of who is emailing whom. You can figure out the main characters so if you‘re smarter than me might be ok

I'm a sucker for an epistolary novel (recs accepted in the comments!) and have heard great things about this one. 1/3 of the way through and am completely hooked!

The Appeal is a murder mystery told through a series of emails, text messages and memos.

The format threw me off at first, but once I got used to it, I could not put the book down. If you are looking for a stellar mystery with an amusing and large cast of characters; the Appeal certainly fits the bill.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this cosy mystery. The first half was super engaging, I couldn‘t wait to get back to it. Told through emails, it was fun to try to guess what was going on behind the scenes & she observes brilliantly the personalities in a theatre group & different tones people adopt in emails. She creates suspense: Is Issy a clingy friend or something more sinister? Fun (too many?) characters. The legal side was unrealistic but a fun read.

Birthday week book haul!

With a title that works on two levels, this mystery unfolds over the course of emails, texts and news articles to show a story of fraud, obsession, greed & ultimately, murder. The Fairway Players theater group lie at the center of it all. The large cast size may slow things down a bit, but it‘s easy to get sucked into it all & genuinely feel a part of it all! Some readers may be better than others at spotting the clues! A sure discussion-starter!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, considering i'm not usually one for whodubbits. I think it was especially due to the style. It's like you're the 3rd member of the investigative team helping to solve the mystery by considering the evidence (in the form of notes, emails, pamphlets, texts, etc). Very engaging. I read it in one day and would love to read more books in this type of format.

There has been a murder in a small British town and the people involved are part of the small theatre group that is fundraising for a young girl with cancer. We as the reader get the chance to solve the murder at the same time as the two young lawyers that are reading through all the case exhibits. The format makes it complicated and I never felt very connected to many of the characters, but it is still a fun read. I gave it a 3.5/5.

I want to start 2021 afresh so I'm going to post the rest of the year's #12booksof2021 now, one after the other.

ROLL ON 2022 (surely it won't be worse than 2020 or 2021?) (Famous last words).

August's pick is this brilliant epistolary murder mystery. It made me laugh out loud, it kept me guessing and I breezed through it.

If you enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, I recommend trying this one next! 😁

Oh my GOD, this book is so much fun. If you ever want to feel like a detective, this book is it.

Cozy evening vibes 📖🕯️

"Can't wait to see your flat. It looks lovely on street view."

F***ing hell Isabel, contain your stalkery (is that a word??) self ???

Our girl Isabel is getting creepy. 😱

I love epistolary novels. This one is a mystery novel. 2 law clerks (chatting over WhatsApp) have to solve a murder mystery using only electronic communication between a fairly large group of individuals. It's complex and interesting.

#BookSpinBingo square 15
@TheAromaofBooks

US pub date is 1/25/2021
#ARC #Netgalley

Calling all cosy crime fans! (I've seen it said on GR that it isn't cosy, but I found it cosy + dark humour!)

This epistolary murder mystery was excellent fun. Lots of infuriating and quirky characters made it compulsively readable and I laughed out loud several times. Written as a collection of emails, texts and documents, it'll keep you theorising until the end. (In fact, I was still theorising after the solution 😅😂)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Solid 4 stars

I really enjoyed this book, it is a quick read as it is written through emails, text messages, reports and interviews. There is quite a cast of characters and thankfully there was a list of who everyone is. I was gripped the whole way through.

Loving this cosy epistolary mystery so far... although no one has been murdered yet! It's pieced together as emails and messages. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.

I have a problem. #bookmail #bookhaul

Tea and currently reading. Have a buddy read on The Appeal at the moment and Smile of the Wolf is A Box of Stories book which I have a box every 4 months and read a book each month as well as my massive TBR list!

New arrivals 🥰🥰🥰

Black and British by David Olusoga, a collection of Margaret Atwood's poetry and a fun-looking Whodunnit 😊

Unfortunately the poetry collection doesn't include my favourite of hers (Variations on the word love) but there will be many, many more for me to explore.

A murder mystery with a difference as the book consists entirely of emails, text messages, & letters. The clues are all there for the reader to work out whodunnit.

It was a novel read, but it began to wear out its welcome towards the end. 4🌟

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Serpent‘s Tail/Profile Books/Viper, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley