Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Janice Hallett - 5 stars!
Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a children's book, written by Edith Twyford, that he showed to his remedial English teacher. His teacher, Miss Iles, thought it contained a secret code and took the children in the class on a field trip to a relevant location for Twyford. When Miss Iles didn't come back from the trip, Steven believed the code was real. After being released from prison, and with the help of an old iPhone from his son, Steven decides to investigate the mystery. He tracks down his old classmates, has help from a librarian, and documents all his conversations and thoughts about his past on the phone.
Janice Hallett has done it again. In The Appeal, the book was told through a series of text messages. This one is done through a transcription app of Steven's conversations. So it's written as a phonetic interpretation, complete with redacted swear words and funny spellings (missiles instead of Miss Iles, for example). Such a creative way to tell this mystery story and I loved it! It will take some time to settle into the way the story is told, but it is well worth it. It's sad, funny, exceptionally clever, and full of heart - and that ending - perfection!
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