I went into The Appeal by Janice Hallett not knowing anything about it, so it took a little while to get used to its format, which consists in a collection of materials including emails, text messages, newspaper clippings and social media posts, all related to a legal brief. A lawyer has provided this dossier to his two trainees and set them a challenge: find out who is responsible for this crime in order to free the person who has been wrongfully convicted. They, like us, have no idea what the offence in question might be.
The case centres on an amateur theatre company amidst their multiple crowdfunding activities to help pay for their director's two-year-old granddaughter's very expensive cancer treatment. Busy preparing for their next play, the cast has just gained two members, a couple recently returned from Africa whom a fellow nurse has taken it upon herself to introduce to the other Fairway Players. However, what was meant as a friendly gesture intended to welcome newcomers into the community quickly has unexpected and, dare I say, dramatic repercussions.
While the gradual discovery of the events and people involved made this novel very compelling, it felt like too much information for my poor addled brain to juggle at a time. The context, i.e., raising funds for a cancer treatment, immediately reminded me of the excellent "Scamanda" podcast by Charlie Webster; I highly recommend it to satisfy your rage-listening needs. (As a side note, I don't think I'll ever see or hear the word "Hiya!" again without it sending a shiver down my spine...)
After enjoying her two previous novels (The Body Under the Piano and Peril at Owl Park), I read the audio version of The Dead Man in the Garden by Marthe Jocelyn. Young sleuth Aggie Morton's dear mama is in need of rest and rejuvenation as she continues to mourn the loss of her husband, so she's booked a stay in a spa hotel. Aggie, her Granny Jane and her best friend Hector Perot have come along. As seems to have become inevitable wherever Aggie goes, a body is found... the second one in just a few days. However, as both deaths are attributed to pre-existing medical conditions, no-one suspects that a killer lurks amongst the polite society gracing this genteel watering place — except for our 12-year-old amateur detectives. Fortunately, they can count on a few allies to assist them in their investigation: a mischievous disabled boy, the local undertaker's daughter, and intrepid journalist Augustus Fibley (one of my favourite recurring characters, along with Granny Jane). This may the best novel in the series yet!
I briefly mentioned it in my previous comments regarding this author's books, but this time I especially want to commend her for introducing serious subjects to young readers as part of her thrilling narrative. It's important for them to learn to view difference and diversity with openness rather than distrust, and, like Aggie, to start to accept the idea that a widowed (or indeed divorced) parent might someday find happiness with someone else, without feeling that this betrays the memory of the one who is gone. I must also say that narrator Sarah English once again does a fantastic job with the large cast of characters' voices and accents; her outstanding work truly enhances the reading experience.