Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Silent Appeal in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: September 1, 2026
Summary:
From “modern Agatha Christie” (The Sunday Times, London) Janice Hallett, a follow-up to her blockbuster debut novel The Appeal, featuring the Fairway Players as they put on Agatha Christie’s play The Hollow and find themselves embroiled in murder, blackmail, and betrayal once again.
Welcome back to Lower Lockwood. The Fairway Players return with Sarah-Jane and Kevin MacDonald as committee cochairs. This year, they have chosen to stage Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. But auditions aren’t their only problem: Sarah-Jane’s sister, Nicky-Rose, is suddenly back in town under mysterious circumstances, having sold her home in Barbados, left her business providing entertainment on cruise ships, and moved back into their mother Carol’s house.
As always, they’re short on men, and new Player Fran Elroy-Jones enlists a young married couple and the husband’s cousin to join. But no one wants to play the part of the hated Gerda, leaving Kevin and Sarah-Jane with no option but to reach out to an old member they know would be happy to perform in any role.
As with any production, tensions run high, and our intrepid lawyers Femi and Charlotte are tasked with uncovering exactly what happened on the opening night of The Hollow—and whether the correct person has taken the blame.
My thoughts:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I absolutely love Janice Hallett’s books! They are so clever and fun to read and this latest one is no exception!!
I was thrilled when I saw that she was not only revisiting the Fairway Players, but that they were going to be putting on an Agatha Christie play, The Hollow — and it’s one I’ve actually read! So fun!!
I love that once again this book was told completely through text messages, emails, letters and journal entries. Everything is laid out for us to solve the mystery…and we are privy to what the detectives have, reading it as they are. It’s so fun to try to piece everything together…work out the clues as they are and see if you can get there before the reveal happens.
And I absolutely love the snark that comes across — believe me, with the texts and emails flying back & forth, the use of emojis and what is said, or not not said in some cases, I was laughing so hard! The relationships between couples, friends, siblings, family members…yikes! Not all is as happy as one makes it seem.
This might seem like a huge book — it is almost 500 pages — but I flew through it in just over 24 hours. It is so easy to get caught up in the drama and want to solve the murder! Oh…and no need to fret if you have The Hollow on your tbr…no spoilers are given!
A satisfying follow-up and I’d love another!!
Books in this series:
1. 5 The Christmas Appeal
2. The Silent Appeal
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