I loved, loved, loved this quirky little mystery composed entirely of emails, police reports and similar documents that are sent to two lawyers by the retired Kings Counsel who trained them. He’s identified another mystery involving the Fairway Players in Lockwood, who are preparing to put on their annual pantomime on December 23rd to raise money for the church roof. They have a vested interest in this as the church is where this community theater group holds its performances. There is a book using the same approach that Hallett wrote involving the same group. It’s called The Appeal.
I laughed out loud at the competition and snarkiness between the couple that thought they would run the theater after its founders left and the couple that was elected to head the theater. I easily followed the plot even though it took me awhile to figure out who was reviewing the documents WE are reviewing them, along with two young lawyers, to figure out what mischief some folks are up to, the nastiness people can get up to when the most important thing in their lives is the community theater, the craziness that goes with staging even a one night show including putting together goodie bags for children and figuring out who will play Santa cause the Santa of many years passed away. This format does not work for people who are easily confused when trying to follow a series of emails and who is sending them and why. It was a treasure for me. It’s only tangentially Christmassy and would be enjoyed all year round.
They Called me Bookworm 