The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett: audiobook vs book, which should you choose?
The story involves a pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk and a murder. The mystery is told entirely in emails, texts and voicemails, and four narrators perform the audiobook.
Short answer: for The Christmas Appeal audiobook vs book choice, we say read it on Kindle (60% confidence, close call). Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji and Sid Sagar read it for Profile Books in about 3 hours 35 minutes, unabridged, and who reads which character is not stated. The reason is the format. The story is told entirely in documents, and the printed book shows them as written. AudioFile does praise the narrators.
Read it on Kindle
The book is told entirely in documents, which the printed book lays out as written, and that points to print. AudioFile’s praise for the four narrators points to audio.
Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. It never changes a verdict.
Confidence 60%, which puts it in the close call band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition, our verdict (Profile Books) | Isis CD edition |
|---|---|---|
| Narrators | Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji and Sid Sagar | The same four |
| Length | About 3 hours 35 minutes (3h 35m) | About 3 hours 22 minutes |
| At 1.5x | about 2h 23m | about 2h 15m |
| At 2x | about 1h 48m | about 1h 41m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Complete and unabridged |
| Audio publisher and year | Profile Books, 2023 | Isis (Ulverscroft), 2023 |
The Audible UK page we read showed the narrators but not the length. 3h 35m comes from the Hachette Audio listing on Listening Books, and Audible series pages show 3h 35m and 3h 36m. These may all be the same recording on different platforms, which is not confirmed.
Lengths checked 23 October 2026. Speed times are calculated.
The Christmas Appeal
Janice Hallett
- Genre
- Crime; a Christmas mystery novella
- Published
- 2023
- On audio
- About 3 hrs 35 mins, four narrators
- Series
- Follows The Appeal, with the same Fairway Players; The Silent Appeal comes next
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: award-winning or praised narration (6), 6 points. Reading: story depends on images or layout (9), 9 points. 60% of the confirmed points favour reading, so the verdict is read it on Kindle at 60% confidence (close call).
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji and Sid Sagar, Profile Books, 2023, about 3h 35m, unabridged
- Casting
- Who reads which character is not stated
- Critic review
- AudioFile praises the cast
- Alternatives
- Isis CD edition with the same four narrators
- What you miss
- The look of each document in print
What this book actually is
The Christmas Appeal is a 2023 novella by Janice Hallett, a Christmas follow-up to The Appeal with the same Fairway Players amateur dramatics group, now staging a pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk. Reviewers describe it as book 1.5 in the series; The Silent Appeal comes next.
Like The Appeal, it is told entirely through documents, which lawyers Femi and Charlotte examine. Who the victim is forms part of the puzzle, so this page does not say.
The case for reading it
The case for reading is the format. Every page is a message from someone, and in print you can see at a glance who sent it, when, and in what form. That makes it easier to compare accounts and spot inconsistencies, which is half the fun of a Hallett mystery. One listener found the audio “a bit difficult to keep up with” at times.
Whether print uses different typography for each kind of message is not confirmed.
The case for listening to it
The recording uses four narrators, Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji and Sid Sagar, and AudioFile says they individualise the dialogue so well it sounds like a larger cast. On audio, messages from different senders are read in different voices, which does the job that formatting does in print.
At about 3 hours 35 minutes, it is a single evening’s listen, or about 2 hours 23 minutes at 1.5x.
The audiobook in detail
Profile Books published the audio in 2023, read by four narrators. The Audible UK page we read did not show a length; the Hachette Audio listing on Listening Books gives 3 hours 35 minutes, Audible series pages show 3h 35m and 3h 36m, and the Isis CD edition with the same narrators is listed at about 3 hours 22 minutes. These may be the same recording, but that is not confirmed.
Who reads which character is not stated on any listing we read. Speed times: about 2h 23m at 1.5x and 1h 48m at 2x (calculated).
Who should ignore this verdict
Anyone who prefers to take in a mystery on audio. Four narrators read the messages, and AudioFile says they individualise the dialogue so well it sounds like a larger cast. Who reads which character is not stated, so a sample is worth trying.
Anyone short of time. At about 3 hours 35 minutes it is a single evening’s listen, or about 2 hours 23 minutes at 1.5x.
Kindle
- See each email, text and transcript as written
- Easier to compare accounts
Audiobook
- Four narrators, praised by AudioFile
- About 3h 35m, or 2h 23m at 1.5x
- Unabridged
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
Daisy Jones & The Six
A novel told as testimony, where a full cast makes the audiobook work.
The Thursday Murder Club
Cosy crime where one actor voices the whole cast.
Letters from Father Christmas
Letters, against a three-voice recording.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
❄ See every Christmas book, read or listen →
Questions people ask
Who narrates The Christmas Appeal audiobook?
Four narrators: Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji and Sid Sagar. Who reads which character is not stated.
How long is The Christmas Appeal audiobook?
About 3 hours 35 minutes, unabridged; at 1.5x about 2 hours 23 minutes (calculated). An Isis CD edition with the same narrators is listed at about 3 hours 22 minutes.
Do I need to read The Appeal first?
It follows The Appeal with the same Fairway Players, and reviewers call it book 1.5 in the series, so reading The Appeal first gives you the characters’ history.
Should I read or listen to The Christmas Appeal?
Read it on our checks (60% confidence, close call). The story is told entirely in documents, which the printed book shows as written. AudioFile does praise the four narrators.
Is The Christmas Appeal told in emails and texts?
Yes. The whole story is told through emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, voicemails and police transcripts.
Do you agree with this verdict?
We said read it on Kindle. One tap, no sign-up.
Spotted a mistake on this page? Tell us and we will fix it. Or tell us how the site could be better.
How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: Audible UK’s listing and series pages, Listening Books, Audiobooks Now with AudioFile’s review, a library record for the Isis edition, and NetGalley reviews.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
Deciding about a different book?
Search for it. If we've written it up, we'll take you to the verdict. If not, we'll add it to our list of books to check.