The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett
Hallett tells her story entirely through emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, and brief memos and journal entries. While this is the third time Hallett has visited the Fairway Players, she gives plenty of context so that new readers won't feel lost and returning readers will enjoy revisiting old friends.
Sarah Jane and Kevin MacDonald are co-chairing the Fairway Players as they prepare to put on Agatha Christie's The Hollow. Sarah Jane's sister, Nicky Rose, returns to Lockwood under mysterious circumstances after spending the last 20 years in Barbados. Along with returning members of the group, the cast adds some young friends of Fran Elroy-Jones and returning member Isabel (Issy) Beck.
The framing device is two young attorneys, Charlotte and Femi, searching for grounds for a possible appeal of a murder conviction at the behest of their old mentor. They do this by reading through mountains of messages among the various characters. This is part of the joy of this story. It places you, the reader, in their shoes. Can you see what they see? Can you spot what they missed? Can you find not only what is written in the lines, but what is hidden between the lines? There is an excitement to reading along, in mostly chronological order, trying to determine who will be murdered and by whom!
As clever as the mystery is, it wouldn't be half as enjoyable without such appealing characters. Sarah Jane and Kevin are juggling the roles of producer and director of the play alongside family dynamics, including a young child and the return of a long-absent sister. Lonely Issy is so happy to be invited back and so desperate for friendship. Fran wants to be helpful to a young couple and their cousin, while they appear to be walking all over her.
The story moves along briskly with the staging of the play as the backdrop while you pick up clues about the characters and the secrets many of them are hiding. As in real life, tone can sometimes be difficult to detect in emails or texts. One of the clever ways that Hallett deals with this is by recontextualizing messages. A group email and its responses may convey one message. A WhatsApp conversation about the email may change or clarify the message, and a text between a couple of people may further clarify or interpret the message. This introduces clues as well as red herrings. All are effective because even when the clues aren't pointing at the murder, they are usually pointing at a secret. The humor arises from the very relatable interpersonal relationships between the players. There are some things you're willing to share with a large group, and some more pointed comments that are reserved for a select few.
One of the difficult things about this style of writing is finding a natural place to pause reading. I often paused at a particularly funny line or a shocking revelation, of which there are several. Hallett also pauses the story to give Charlotte and Femi a chance to confer, trading reactions and guesses about what they've read so far. It gives you the chance to see if your guesses match theirs or if you've spotted things they haven't. I spotted some clues and missed others, but I never felt cheated.
If you enjoy this style of storytelling, I think you will enjoy this book immensely. If you are a fan of more traditional narratives, your mileage may vary. I found this story addictive and difficult to put down. Hallett has a talent for both jaw-dropping revelations and laugh-out-loud humor. Trying to guess the murder victim as well as the murderer turns out to be a lot of fun!
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
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