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sarasreads 's review for:

The Appeal by Janice Hallett
5.0
adventurous informative mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I loved this book. A lot. It was completely gripping, unique in its format and certainly lived up to the hype. 

The entire story is told through emails, texts and letters, and it worked extremely well. At the beginning, I did wonder if I'd be able to keep up with the sheer amount of character correspondence in this way, but I quickly realised just how accessible that literary device can be when delivered so expertly. 

There were an array of contrasting characters, but thankfully it was easy to keep up with who was who and how they fit into the group as a whole. With such a multitude of people, there was a lot to unpick and I very much enjoyed doing so alongside the two law students studying the case throughout the book. 

The mystery itself was multilayered and rasied plenty of interesting questions. The timing of revelations were spot on and the amount of times I changed my mind on theories and suspicions was testament to the enigma of the whole thing. 

For a novel with no set chapters, I absolutely whizzed through it and struggled to put it down inbetween reads. Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to reading more by this author.

Overall, an inventive mystery novel for a modern audience.