Soon “the appeal” is underway – play performances, sponsoring running events, raffle tickets, and a whole host of ways to raise money to pay for this drug. And then there is Issy who is one big mess of weirdness, contradictions, lies, and creepy clinginess.

But it was a baptism of fire, after the bubble bath, to be – occasionally – at the cutting edge of what was happening in current affairs. Still, if you are looking for a uniquely presented mystery, then this one should have strong appeal. Though it wasn’t difficult to figure out who the culprit could be, some of the facts revealed in the process came as a surprise.Initially, it was fun to take notes and play armchair detective while reading the book but after a while, following the sequence of events and the characters became a tedious job. I can fully recommend this book, it has many twists and surprises along the way that makes you re think about the character you have chosen to be the murderer and why. The family of the little girl are all involved in the play as directors and stars, some secondary talents and a couple of newbies. This ingeniously conceived whodunnit encourages the reader to turn detective in a murder case set against the backdrop of an amateur dramatic club. Someone has already been convicted of this brutal murder and is currently in prison, but we suspect they are innocent.

There's reason to believe that the incarcerated person is actually innocent, however, but if they are, who is the murderer? When their little grand-daughter Poppy falls ill with a rare form of brain cancer they launch an appeal to raise a massive amount for a revolutionary, and as yet untried treatment, available only in the States. Recommended to anyone desiring a change from their regular mystery stories and who desire to immerse themselves in a compelling, challenging and unique puzzle. Nevertheless, I enjoyed how the narrative did not type cast Poppy’s family as saints or simply figures to be pitied.One of this crew is about to go down for the crime, but in the run up to the trial, their lawyers parse through the evidence themselves. I felt like I was a fly on the wall, getting to peek into the lives of these people but I also knew that much of what was being written was meant to deceive. The community's everyday life is disrupted by the frenzied effort to raise an ever-increasing total of money. It seems like the family is tight lipped about the drug therapy and other details which is suspicious a little and when we add murder into equation, things get juicer and more complex!

If you're looking for something insanely gripping to take to the sofa with, then run to The Appeal by Janice Hallett.Then she came up with a far fetched plot and tried to think of what false hints she could throw at the reader to keep them guessing, but the truth is you really stop caring half way through. And as rehearsals progress and funds mount up, then two themes of this story, the play and A Cure for Poppy, become increasingly entwined, resulting in a deadly outcome. Set in a small town in England, the leading and most influential figures are Martin and Helen Haywood.

It’s well written, I like the touches of humour, the astute observations on a community and the intriguing way the cast of characters reveal themselves.The broad ranging plot takes us far and wide and into a number of areas which initially seems daunting in scale. Too many characters, random introduction of characters, a thread involving time spent in Africa that was entirely too vague and was never fully explained- though one does get the gist of it- mostly- it was just too disjointed, too busy, and not at all suspenseful, in my opinion.