True crime author Amanda Bailey decides to write a book covering a twenty year old cult case, becoming entangled with both the mystery surrounding the story as well as another writer researching the same topic.

Like Hallett's other books this one is told through e-mails, texts, interviews, DMs, etc. Unlike The Appeal, the plot of this novel didn't grab me or hold my attention. The group of "angels" were described as a cult when there were at most 3-4 people involved so didn't come across as super cult-like. I found the most interesting part of the book to be a personal revelation about Bailey's motives rather than the tangled true story surrounding the cult and related crimes. It's clever, but also seems like maybe it's trying too hard. Recommended for Hallett fans only.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is another mixed media mystery novel from Janice Hallett. If you have read The Appeal or The Twyford Code, this book is in that style but I found it distinct in style and much easier to get immersed in than TTC.

Told in texts, transcriptions of conversations, and novel chapters, this is the story of Amanda Bailey, a true crime author, who is investigating a cluster of cult deaths twenty years ago that also involves a missing baby. Amanda is at odds and trying to work together with another author, Oliver Menzies who is working on his own novel about the Alperton Angels.

I won't give much or anything away about this one, but I will praise how easy it was to keep reading and how steadily Hallett revealed interesting information or twists from what I was expecting as the reader. As was a frequently criticism of The Appeal, this is a long one. Other than that, I was very pleased and highly recommend it if you like her style or want to give a full mixed media novel a try.

I'm really starting to love this author's writing style! This story had a lot of moving parts and they came together beautifully at the end.

This is my first book by Janice Hallett and I’ll be honest I was not very impressed. I never felt that Hallett wrote a compelling mystery even with the great idea of a cult and a missing child. I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews for Hallett but I can not echo those reviews.

Having read Hallett's two prior novel (Twyford Code and The Appeal), I was looking forward to her latest book. While the mystery aspect did not disappoint, her narrative devices have started to wear a bit thin, In this and in the Appeal (as well in the forthcoming The Christmas Appeal novella), the plot is laid out through chronological text messages, emails, and transcriptions of interviews, all about a case involving minors some eighteen years before. I've adapted to the style, but as a device, it's wearing thin. I enjoy the plot, but it is a struggle to wade through it in this writing style. I'd love it if she would write a more "traditional" prose novel next!

I’ve read 3 of Hallet’s books so far, and this one was BY FAR the best. I was on the edge of my seat and scared sh*tless at times. There were so many moving threads that became intertwined… I genuinely did not know how it was going to end. It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel that sucked me in so intensely. A delicious, fast-paced mystery novel with many twists along the way. I do wish the main character was more developed. She seemed less so in the way most other characters were.

I have been a fan of Janice Hallett since my first read of The Appeal! Since then I have devoured her books and I devoured this just the same. Ms. Hallett has a unique ability to write two cohesive stories in one. In the three books of hers that I have read, The Appeal, The Twyford Code and this one, I have had the experience of starting the book and having a certain understanding of what is happening and then Ms. Hallett is able to flip it on its head. For this book to turn from a story about a cult to a kidnapping and revenge story is marvelous and extremely impressive.

To my knowledge Ms. Hallett is the first author to consistently write in the atypical sense of only including texts, emails, and voice recordings. I believe that this allows the reader to dive deeper into the story and yet makes it easier to be blind sided when things change. The main character Amanda can easily leave certain things she learns about because we do not hear her thoughts and unless she has written it down or recorded it, the readers and Ellie have no knowledge of it. At the end of the day I believe that I could read Ms. Hallett's grocery list and be enthralled. She is consistent and truly never lets me down as a reader. I am planning on starting "The Christmas Appeal" and I expect to be just as entertained.

The queen of epistolary mysteries has done it yet again! 👏

I freaking loved The Appeal, felt lukewarm about The Twyford Code and have been eagerly awaiting Janice Hallett's next book ever since. And boy, does she not disappoint.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is a multi-layered puzzle filled with intrigue and suspense. I had so much fun reading it! I even got quite scared reading it at night because of the direction I thought the book was going in.

There are lots of characters but written in a way that's not hard to keep track of. I just couldn't stop turning the pages and trying to piece everything together. The author delivers twist after twist that blew my mind, with each reveal leaving me more and more shocked 😱 Loved how everything was executed and came together too!

Like her previous two novels, this is a work of genius and creativity. How does Hallett come up with all these?! Can't wait to get my hands on her next book already!

I was absolutely glued to this book! I could not stop reading this gripping mystery for nothing!! This book has stayed with me days later. This is a must read!!
I just reviewed The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett. #NetGalley
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This is my first fully mixed media book, and what a fun way to read a mystery! We're following a journalist's research into a mysterious, decades-old case of a crime involving a small cult. I enjoyed the layers to the story and the different perspective. The pacing was a little off for me, but the unveiling of the conclusion was worth it. I will read more from this author in this format.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for a free copy of #TheMysteriousCaseOfTheAlpertonAngels by Janice Hallett. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

I have never read one of Janice Hallett's books before. Thus was really fun. It was like an escape room in book form. You had to pay careful attention to figure out all the clues to solve the mystery. The author does a very good job with doling out the information at the right pace, and introducing blind alleys as well. But she does not withhold much. The twist at the end did not relate to the mystery itself, which was nice. The reader didn't feel cheated. All in all, it was a very satisfying brain teaser. Highly recommend.

I cannot have enough of Janice Hallett's books. The structure and style are fresh breath of air even after 4 books. I like how she uses different communication styles and mediums to tell the story. And this one... what a story it is!

Two old nemesis were fighting for the same prize: a chance to identify the Alperton Angels baby from 18 years ago. No one knew who this baby was, whose baby this was. Only thing people assumed was young couple had this baby, only to sacrifice it for Alperton Angels. This was another sad cult story that true crime fans would want to revisit because no one parted the veil of mystery around this yet. But damn, I'm sure no one expected this much a back story to it

Emails, WhatsApp chats, notes, and several tries of Chapter 1… None of those would have prepared me for the actual Chapter 1 of the book. I was under the spell of this book for good 2 days. Cannot wait until everyone else get their hands of this book!

Rating: 4.75

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a digital copy through Netgalley! I’ve read Janice Hallett’s “The Appeal” and “The Twyford Code” and enjoyed them both (“The Appeal” much more). I think “The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels” is on par with “The Appeal” in terms of enjoyment, if not better. Like “The Appeal,” I wish this was an interactive book where you could flip back and forth to different parts of evidence. Overall, I highly recommend this to mystery and crime lovers! I couldn’t stop reading because I just wanted the reveal. This was a bit creepier than her past books but it’s left me reaching out for more mystery reads.

Note: A majority of this review is spoiler free save for the last two paragraphs - you’ve been warned.

The story premise
When you start the book, you’re told that the documents were found in a safe deposit box - material compiled for a true crime book. As you read through the documents, you have a decision to make - will you release the information found or to destroy it? I’ll share my decision at the end of this review. The materials in the deposit box consist of email and text exchanges, as well as pages from books and papers. As you read through the contents, you start to piece together some connections, but also question the various narratives. Who’s at fault for the massacre? Was it a cover up all those years ago? Can you trust the police or social services?

My deductions
Obviously I read this with my detective hat and monocle on because that's just the way my brain works. There were moments where my deductions were close to the final reveal and some that were clearly inspired by some of my favorite crime shows.

The reveal
We discover that a LOT happened the night of the Alperton massacre and I think it was quite the learning moment from various angles: the lengths that people will go to manipulate others to do their bidding, the lengths that people will go to circumvent systems in place, and the lengths that people go to protect others. It’s hard to indulge in this section without dropping spoilers but whatever you think is happening…well there’s likely more to that thread if you pull on it.

My decision
I’ve done my best to not divulge any spoilers but I think I have to with regards to my decision on what to do with the documents. My decision is to release the documents from the safe deposit box while I’m in another country. Along with that release, I would include a letter strongly arguing for Gabriel to remain in prison given his strong manipulative abilities against vulnerable people, such as Holly and Jonah, who were so convinced by Gabriel’s rhetoric that they killed someone. While it’s likely that the reveal may not do much and would shake up the lives of those involved, I feel a sense of justice (I’m a Libra - sue me).

If you’ve read “The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels,” I’d love to talk to others about it - the reveal and the decision with what to do with the documents.

Hallett's books are so fun to read. They're always entirely based on mixed media. There's no prose in between to fill in the gaps. We as the reader learn everything that happened and all about the characters through the e-mails, voice recordings or transcripts, text messages, etc. Hallett never quite tells you what happened. It's all one big puzzle that you have to figure out by reading mixed media - and reading between the lines. It's amazing how well you can get to know the characters without a third or first person narration filling in the gaps. Hallett has a talent for somehow managing to build fully developed, complex characters without actually telling us anything about them.

In this case, the story centers around a journalist who is trying to find out what happened in an old case of cult-related murder. Most of the mixed media is her text messages and transcripts of her conversations. The transcribers little asides throughout the transcripts were my favorite part. My only complaint was that the ending felt a little abrupt after everything we went through to get there.

This is my third Hallett novel and I can't wait for the next one. I've loved them all.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I think this might be my favorite Janice Hallett yet. I highly recommend for anyone who liked her other books, or is interested in mixed media/nontraditional narratives (like current buzzy book Murder in the Family, for instance).

The framing of this story is truly wild. Well, the whole thing is wild. Essentially a woman who writes true crime books is commissioned to write a story about a famous case known as the Alperton Angels, about a group of people (a cult, really) who allegedly believed they were angels and whose cult ended when all but one of them were found brutally slaughtered, with the leader charged and imprisoned. The only people who survived were two teens and a baby, and now that it’s been several decades, nobody knows what happened to any of them. So she works to track down the survivors, to talk to the parties involved - including the police - about what really happened and the solving of the case. Suspiciously, a bunch of people who are tangentially connected, including several who believe in a conspiracy theory surrounding the case, end up mysteriously dead just when she feels like she’s getting close. Then she finds out an old rival is also writing a book about the same case, and they start corresponding and eventually collaborating to try to get to the bottom of things.

Thw twists and turns were unbelievable, completely unexpected, and I could not put it down.

The best thing about reading a Janice Hallett novel is how you find yourself completely immersed in the world she builds. Its like watching an exciting movie in your head. I am a huge Hallett fan and enjoy her mysteries tremendously. I still think The Twyford Code is one of cleverest mysteries written,

The story in this book unfolds entirely in emails and WhatsApp messages (a Hallett trademark). It pertains to an old case relating a baby and a cult that in the current timeline our protagonist - Amanda - wants to solve. There were lots of twists and turns and I zipped through the book wanting to figure out the how.

Looking forward to the next one!

Amanda Bailey wants the truth. As a journalist and writer, she hunts for the facts of serious crimes and murders. The Alperton Angels will be no exception. When tasked to write a book and find the mysterious baby who was said to be the Antichrist, Amanda must use her wit and reasoning to dig deep. The small cult known as the Alperton Angels believed that an infant child would be the end, so when the cult members are found dead by suicide, what happened to the baby? Nearly eighteen years have passed, where is the baby now? Amanda gets stuck with a rival, Oliver who soon seems to be drinking what the Angel's leader is spewing from prison. The two journalists are on a collision course that will reveal much more than meets the eye.

This book is not told in a traditional format. The entire set up is told through text messages, emails, scripts, interviews, and a couple other mix medias. It became hard to follow for awhile at the beginning. There are a lot of players and characters that Amanda and Oliver interact with to keep straight. The plot is pretty twisty though, the ending ties it all up. What you think you know, could be very wrong. Overall cool writing style, hard to keep characters straight.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the advanced copy of this book.

Let me start by being completely honest - I love this book. Somehow Janice Hallett has managed to outdo herself with this one, which I think I enjoy more than the Twyford Code which was one of my favorite reads this year.

In The Appeal, Hallett uses emails and text messages to show the reader what is happening in real time up until the murder is committed. That book works because in many ways there are no main characters and we never get a read insight into what anyone is truly thinking or feeling - the reader - along with the two lawyers analyzing the documents - can only speculate about what is really happening. In the Twyford Code, we get somewhat unreliable transcripts of voice messages saved to an old iphone - most are the impressions and testimonials of a single character. That book is a mystery within a mystery. And finally, in this book, we get a combination of both. There are several main characters who are involved in the crime (crimes?) but we learn about them mainly through the point of view of Amanda Bailey - noted true crime author. It works extremely well. Amanda is a flawed but relatable main character and her former assistant Elie, who does most of the transcribing is a good stand-in for the audience.

Amanda has been tasked with covering an 18-year-old story for a true crime book series. The story centers on the suicide of three cult members, a murder, and two runaway teens and their baby. Amanda’s job is to find the baby for an exclusive before the child’s 18th birthday and it takes her down a twisty path that includes police, social workers, spiritualists, authors, etc.

I learned after finishing Hallett’s first mystery how important inconsistencies and discrepancies are. Rarely are they just a matter of witnesses getting something wrong or forgetting details and even with my close attention to detail there were a few wild twists in this one towards the end. In addition to delivering a fascinating mystery, Hallett is also commenting on out obsession with true crime and what it can do to us as people. Amanda and her competitor, turned collaborator, Oliver both begin to unravel somewhat as they pursue their stories. It also reveals some of the unscrupulous and unethical ways these stories are reported and brought to consumers.

The beauty of Hallett’s work is that while the mystery is front and center - her insight into our society and the human condition is always the larger takeaway. At the end of the Twyford Code, I thought about redemption for days. At the end of Alperton Angels, I was left thinking about forgiveness and ghosts of the past.

I have a few nitpicks but nothing major - there were some threads that didnt quite connect for me at the end. I won’t spoil but I was confused about the significance of the “missing pages.” I also didnt think the excerpts from the works of fiction moved the plot very much. One or two would have been fine but they kept going on for pages.

That said, this was an excellent mystery that I will probably reread in the future. Hallett has done it again.

This book isn’t yet widely available to US readers but as soon as it is you should gran a copy.

Very grateful to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

Note: This ARC was provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my 3rd read from Janice Hallett. As an avid mystery and thriller reader, I thoroughly enjoy her writing style as it forces you to be fully engaged. The outline of the book encourages readers to feel as if they’re fully immersed in the storyline.
The fresh perspective on the power of cults or any sort of manipulative, controlling relationship gives the reader a deeper understanding of the human condition.

All in all, such a treat of a read. I look forward to future works by the author.

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of The Mysterious Case of The Alperton Angels. Janice Hallett is quickly becoming a "must read" author for me with her unique writing style and this one is no different. Presented as WhatsApp messages, emails, and transcripts of conversations, we are given details into the gruesome Alperton Angels case. Hallett keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the last pages. Lots of interesting characters and twists and turns.