The Appeal... Surprisingly Appealing

Please accept my apologies for the pun in the title. It had to be done. 

The Appeal [Janice Hallet] is a proper bestseller. You see it propped up appealingly (sorry again) in bookshops and newspapers breathlessly review the latest work by the author. As recent mystery novels go, The Appeal is second only to Richard Osman's books in success, and the similarity of the cover designs can only be intentional.

Despite being a mystery lover, I'd avoided this book for childish reasons. I increasingly find myself irritated by Osman's whole schtick and therefore the similarity of the covers was enough excuse for me to assume The Appeal was a knock-off of a series I was already inclined to avoid. 

Then someone told me what it was actually about.

So here's the thing to know about me... I LOVE meta and epistolary novels. I've talked before about e, a novel told via office emails in an advertising agency, which I mentioned in a glowing review for Several People are Typing, which is told via slack messages. A murder mystery told via email and Whatsapp could not be more up my street. I became so obsessed with reading it that I broke my book-buying ban to loan it from the library.  

The book covers the emails and messages of an amateur dramatic society in the build up to their new play. The material is shown selectively, as it is presented as part of a legal exercise for law students, with their boss drip feeding them information and hinting at questions they need to address. The messages begin with the toddler granddaughter of the community's alpha couple being diagnosed with cancer, and a £250k appeal for a new treatment being enthusiastically taken up by the locals. When outspoken group newbie (and nurse) Sam starts to suspect the 'treatment' and the doctor involved, things become increasingly volatile.

Much of the book focuses on messages from Issy, colleague of Sam and her obsessive hanger-on. At times this became difficult because Issy is impossible to like - a tragic combo of full-on, needy, incompetent and manipulative. Issy considers herself and Sam to be 'sisters', and though we never see Sam's messages to Issy, we don't need to be told how draining and irritating Issy is for Sam. Equally, Issy's adoration is also used by Sam, to her advantage. 

The mystery kept me guessing throughout, though in truth I never enjoy attempting to 'solve' stories like this. I like to be buffeted along by the drama, making wild guesses, and going 'ooh that's clever!' at the end. I'm sure I could take notes and really make a go at it, but that's not what I care about. If I can work it all out with only my usual level of half-assed effort, I consider a story pretty poor. 

In this case I didn't figure it out either the murderer or any sub mysteries, despite occasional smugly thinking I was on the right track. The things I did work out were pretty strongly hinted at, and then involved additional twists that blind-sided me.

There is plenty of comedy of various levels of darkness to be had over the inherent silliness of amateur dramatics, and the double-standards and hypocritical behaviour people have towards charity and people affected by cancer. There is naturally all the usual two-facedness and gossip that comes with this sort of format. This is contrasted against fairly serious subject matter, and, at times, those two aspects clash. 

The Appeal tries to walk the line between humour and a Midsomer-ish cosy bloodbath... but so much of the book is based around raising money for a toddler with cancer that neither of those genres sit well. There are the usual affairs and blackmail, but never with over-the-top drama - only consequences of situations that arise due to mental illnesses, unpleasant abuse and crippling addictions. 

It works best at its most serious, such as the examination of the social dynamics that make up a group like this, which both clouds and informs us as the mystery progresses. The am dram society is a playground for the richest families, with the Alpha and Beta families taking the lion's share of roles and farming out the less pleasant work to the lower status (and usually working class) members. This is not an equal society and the fact that the appeal financially benefits the (seemingly) wealthiest family among them is not lost on either the reader or several of the group. The appeal takes and takes and the people it benefits don't even have to be gracious in return. 

Though the book is generally excellent, the main weakness is its 'detectives'. The material is interspersed with texts between two junior lawyers who are going into this as blind as you are. They highlight things you might have missed, raise questions, and speculate just as you are doing. They are little more than two names on the screen, interchangeable personality-wise, and at times I found them interfering. They have about as much depth as the 'detective' as the murder mystery party, summing up the facts and making strong hints about what to ask the suspects. All that's missing is the silly hat and moustache. 

As an example of this, I went on to read The Christmas Appeal (the short Christmas spin-off) which returned to their investigations, and the am dram group. Though I was thrilled to catch up with the returning characters (Sarah-Jane and Kevin, ilu) my only reaction to the lawyers was 'oh, you again.' I think the book would be missing something without their functionality, but it could have been done with more subtlety. 

In short, this is a book for those who want a murder mystery with bite, or those who appreciate the puzzle. 

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