December Book Discussion: The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
Somehow we are already in December even as we finish our November discussion. With Christmas on the way I have selected 'The Christmas Appeal' by Janice Hallett as our December read. Some of us read 'The Appeal' in September last year and this book is the sequel. It is more lighthearted than 'The Appeal' and is a novella so is a short read for this busy time of year.
You don't need to have read the first book to follow the plot for this one, however you may wish to read 'The Appeal' first if you haven't read it and don't want to be given clues to the first mystery (the solution of 'The Appeal' is not revealed, but given many characters from the Fairway Players Theatre Company return and some do not, it could give some things away). I reread both books in order to lead the discussion and given their format, they are fairly quick reads.
Here is a link to our discussion of 'The Appeal' if you want a reminder of what we discussed https://forums.shipoffools.com/discussion/5927/heaven-2024-september-book-club-the-appeal-by-janice-hallett#latest
Like the first book, the format of 'The Christmas Appeal' is largely in emails, text messages and Whatsapp conversations. There are even some traditional Christmas letters. Here is a synopsis of the book on the publisher's page https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Christmas-Appeal/Janice-Hallett/9781668035887
I will put the questions up on the 16th so we have a few extra days to answer, but feel free to join in the discussion at any time. Also feel free to continue the November discussion into December of course!
You don't need to have read the first book to follow the plot for this one, however you may wish to read 'The Appeal' first if you haven't read it and don't want to be given clues to the first mystery (the solution of 'The Appeal' is not revealed, but given many characters from the Fairway Players Theatre Company return and some do not, it could give some things away). I reread both books in order to lead the discussion and given their format, they are fairly quick reads.
Here is a link to our discussion of 'The Appeal' if you want a reminder of what we discussed https://forums.shipoffools.com/discussion/5927/heaven-2024-september-book-club-the-appeal-by-janice-hallett#latest
Like the first book, the format of 'The Christmas Appeal' is largely in emails, text messages and Whatsapp conversations. There are even some traditional Christmas letters. Here is a synopsis of the book on the publisher's page https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Christmas-Appeal/Janice-Hallett/9781668035887
I will put the questions up on the 16th so we have a few extra days to answer, but feel free to join in the discussion at any time. Also feel free to continue the November discussion into December of course!
Comments
1. Did you attempt to solve the mystery or just enjoy the ride? Sarah Jane claims farce is dead, but Hallett definitely put some farce into the mystery. Did you guess who was in the beanstalk and how they got there? Were you surprised by the new Fairway Players who had secret identities?
2. This book is definitely lighter and more humorous than The Appeal. Did you have a favourite comic moment?
3. There is conjecture by the investigators over who may have known about the body in the beanstalk before it was discovered. Do you suspect any of the long-term Fairway Players of covering up the crime?
4. Sarah Jane compares the Fairway Players to a family. How much do you agree with the is point of view? Given the ongoing battle for power between the McDonalds and the Halliways can you see a long-term future for the group?
5. How does class play out at the theatre company? Have you seen similar dynamics in real life in church or community groups you have been involved in?
6. Do you think it was the right choice not to report Joyce Walford to the police? What about the ethics of how the McDonalds disposed of the drugs? Did the ends justify the means in both cases?
I was along for the ride. I did not guess although I thought it might have been the husband that died a year before. Secret identities do not surprise me in Hallett.
2. This book is definitely lighter and more humorous than The Appeal. Did you have a favourite comic moment?
The drug deal and all that ensued around it.
3. There is conjecture by the investigators over who may have known about the body in the beanstalk before it was discovered. Do you suspect any of the long-term Fairway Players of covering up the crime? Not other than those who perpetrated and covered up the death.
4. Sarah Jane compares the Fairway Players to a family. How much do you agree with the is point of view? Given the ongoing battle for power between the McDonalds and the Halliways can you see a long-term future for the group?
It is certainly a dysfunctional family. The Halliways should be expelled. Who needs an OBE and a pretentious spouse. ;^)
5. How does class play out at the theatre company? Have you seen similar dynamics in real life in church or community groups you have been involved in?
Clearly those with more class receive the better roles. The lower class memories are relegated to being underlings.
6. Do you think it was the right choice not to report Joyce Walford to the police? What about the ethics of how the McDonalds disposed of the drugs? Did the ends justify the means in both cases?
Yes. The disposal of the drugs was funny and underscored some of the class elements of the book.
I'm very much a go along for the ride type of reader of detective fiction and this was no exception, specially as I read it in one sitting, so probably skimmed quite a bit of it.
2. This book is definitely lighter and more humorous than The Appeal. Did you have a favourite comic moment?
I liked the farce when the skeleton Santa popped out of the beanstalk and the audience thought it was all part of the show. The drug deal 'sweets' sub-plot seemed a bit too flagged and heavy-handed to be as enjoyable.
3. There is conjecture by the investigators over who may have known about the body in the beanstalk before it was discovered. Do you suspect any of the long-term Fairway Players of covering up the crime?
When we know the identity of the body I assumed that Joyce had something to do with it.
4. Sarah Jane compares the Fairway Players to a family. How much do you agree with the is point of view? Given the ongoing battle for power between the McDonalds and the Halliways can you see a long-term future for the group?
I find the McDonalds and the Halliways (who I kept on confusing with the Haywards from the The Appeal) both rather dislikeable characters, though fun to read about.
5. How does class play out at the theatre company? Have you seen similar dynamics in real life in church or community groups you have been involved in?
My mother always said that the family friend who was a rather good actor never got staring parts in the amateur group he was involved in as he wasn't posh enough or in enough with the right people. I think all groups can have a tendency to have 'in' and 'out' factions, but I've never come across any group quite like the Fairway Players.
6. Do you think it was the right choice not to report Joyce Walford to the police? What about the ethics of how the McDonalds disposed of the drugs? Did the ends justify the means in both cases?
I thought not reporting Joyce was probably the right thing. Am I the only one who keeps on thinking of Joyce in The Thursday Murder Club books when I see her name? I wasn't quite so sure about the way of disposing of the drugs though. I'm not sure why I can condone one serious crime and not the other. Maybe because the distributing of the drugs could have a far wider negative impact.
I had no idea who was in the beanstalk and the denouement was a surprise. Also didn’t guess the policeman actor.
2. This book is definitely lighter and more humorous than The Appeal. Did you have a favourite comic moment?
I found the first half funnier than the second. Was amused by the idea of an elderly woman playing Gary Lineker.
3. There is conjecture by the investigators over who may have known about the body in the beanstalk before it was discovered. Do you suspect any of the long-term Fairway Players of covering up the crime?
Yes, I suspected the obnoxious entitled Hallidays.
4. Sarah Jane compares the Fairway Players to a family. How much do you agree with the is point of view? Given the ongoing battle for power between the McDonalds and the Halliways can you see a long-term future for the group?
No, I can see the group imploding shortly.
5. How does class play out at the theatre company? Have you seen similar dynamics in real life in church or community groups you have been involved in?
Many years ago I was in a pantomime group, but thankfully didn’t come across any class divisions. Of course there are tensions, especially as producers & directors tend to be theatrical and controlling by definition.
6. Do you think it was the right choice not to report Joyce Walford to the police? What about the ethics of how the McDonalds disposed of the drugs? Did the ends justify the means in both cases?
Yes, Ron got his comeuppance. I didn’t find the farcical goings on with the drugs amusing so really couldn’t care less!
I empathized a lot with Sarah and Kevin -- not having read the previous book, my introduction to the characters was Cecelia's round-robin letter, which immediately positioned her as a villain in my mind. No sympathy for Cecelia!
As a mystery, I thought it had weaknesses.
--The overall setup of the lawyer presenting the case to his two protegees, but withholding significant information as a "test" for them, didn't work for me as a way to frame a mystery.
--I do like the use of emails, texts, etc., as a way to tell a story, but I think if it's exclusively told that way, with no overarching narration, there are gaps that don't get filled for the reader.
--There was no possible way of guessing the identity of the corpse in the beanstalk because I don't think we'd ever heard of Joyce's first husband or his disappearance until he was identified. Once we got his backstory, I did suspect Joyce had done it, so the resolution wasn't a big surprise.
I like a mystery where all the clues are there for the reader, but cleverly hidden so that you don't put it together until the end, and then the solution seems inevitable. I didn't have that feeling with this one at all.
On the positive side, I thought it was neat how some of the other elements -- the asbestos rumour, the solution to the drug disposal problem, the actors who auditioned but never turned up, the undercover police officer -- all came together nicely.
With the inevitable exaggeration for comic effect, I did think the sketch of a community theatre group riven by petty rivalries, back-stabbing, and snobbery, was lots of fun to read. In the Christmas show I just volunteered for, the drama of The Guy Who Built the Much Too Large and Completely Unworkable Sleigh Without the Director's Permission could have been a murder mystery with just a few tweaks -- I love high drama about completely low-stakes things like a local Christmas play, so that aspect of this story was really fun, even if the murder mystery was a bit underwhelming.
I also was able to relate a bit to the experiences of the theatre company, having been part of the choir at a mega church Christmas production one year, with 7 performances over 3 or 4 days. There was certainly some personal dramas and gossip that put me off volunteering again. Don't ask me about the flannel shirts drama!
Also this year I saw a local theatre production of a Shakespear play and signed up to their mailing list for information on future productions. Now I also get emails inviting me to audition or join the behind the scene crew and they are very similar to the fictional emails, without the politics and drama. Hallett has experience in local theatre so she knows how it runs!