In one of the most unique and mind-stretching styles, Janice Hallett delicately delivers an almost comedic tale of love and death in The Christmas Appeal.
While the town of Lower Lockwood and its Fairway Players are preparing for a December production of Jack and the Beanstalk, the past is about to rear its ugly head. Sarah-Jane and Kevin MacDonald are putting together a more recent number of the famed play when the beanstalk from 30 years prior rises from the ashes to be used on stage. As the group starts to rehearse the typical small-town antics between people begin. The skeletons in the closet come out eventually and you’ll have to read it to see it.
Dropping information from the start through messages, emails, and transcripts from police investigations, this story flies by easily. Hallett will keep the gears turning in your mind with how she pieces everything together in her rather unconventional writing style, but one that I found easy to follow. Paying quick attention to the way the people communicate, it sounds very similar to modern society norms within small communities and how the holidays can become burdensome. Character development takes a backseat to a fast-paced story that makes you feel like you’re in the middle of the action.
The story reads fast and dangerous as a whole host of people are planning and scheming while others are just trying to keep a lid on the incessant negativity following the production. Hallett has opened my eyes to a new style that was completely foreign at first but all consuming when it was all over. I couldn’t believe that I read through as quickly as I did and found myself going back to a specific conversation multiple times to see if I could piece it together myself before I got to the end.
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Purchase The Christmas Appeal
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