Member Reviews
If you like to piece together mysteries and read through secret files to uncover the truth, then this book is for you. It did a great job at slowly feeding you information to uncover the mystery of the Alperton Angels.
I really enjoyed my read and it gave an awesome perspective on cults and the judicial system. Nicely done.
I have to say this is my favorite book I read in August. I could hardly put it down but I had to sleep. I love how Janice Hallett draws me into the world and keeps me there. I feel like I am reading all the documents along with everyone else. It also made me feel like this was a real case that I need to look up.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for letting me give my honest review.
I loved the way this book started out but the second half went downhill for me. I thought it was too long and didn't;t feel the ending worked.
Wonderful mystery with all the twists and turns you hope for. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and pulls you in to every word in hopes you’ll uncover something that might be important later in the book. As always with Janice Hallett’s books, the ending is satisfying and shocking. Definitely recommend!
I love the unique formats Hallett writes in so I knew I had to pick this one up! The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is told through WhatsApp message exchanges, transcribed interviews, and a script. It leaves the reader trying to figure out what they believe to be the truth at the same time the journalist is researching the case. I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to see what Janice Hallett comes up with next!
Janice Hallett is a master at weaving together a clever and engaging plot, and this one had me gripped from the start. Darker than The Appeal but told in a similar way through evidence rather than narration, it's another mystery thriller than I just couldn't take my eyes off!
Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy
Janice Hallett has easily become an auto-buy author for me. I picked up her first book on a whim and have now AFC read two of her books. I find her writing unique and her story telling utterly captivating.
From the moment you pick up one of her works you're in her clutches until you get to the last page.
This one had me in a chokehold. I was enthralled from reading the preview until the last pages. I read every single page including the authors note and acknowledgements.
The premise of this one is so ingenious. You're given a key to a sage deposit box which contains interviews and transcripts and letters and messages from a stubborn will find the answer to the story even of it kills her author. Once you read it all, you'll have a decision to make...lock it back up and walk away or turn it over to the police. What would you choose to do?
Amanda is researching the mysterious case of the Alperton Angels. Facts don't line up. People are dying. The narcissistic cult leader is in prison. And three individuals key to the case are gone. As the story unravels, whose recollection can you trust? Is there supernatural occurrences here? Is this a big conspiracy? Are people lying and if so, why? How far will Amanda go for her new book?
This is yet again, a 5 star read for me. I can't wait to see what Janice offers up to us next.
I'm so disappointed and frustrated. I loved The Appeal, and was so excited to get an ARC for this book. Unfortunately, it just lacks the same spark. For one, we're stuck with basically just one point of view character and she's awful. Normally I'm down for a deliciously hate-able character, but she's too boring to properly hate. And the case itself just isn't intriguing at all. In a mystery, the number one thing I need from the plot is intrigue. I have to want to solve the case, and that just isn't there.
In deference to the author who did give me one book I liked, I will not be posting a review on goodreads. Here's hoping her future works are more my taste.
This book was okay. I was a passionate fan of the author’s previous books, but I just couldn’t quite get into this one. It was harder for me to keep track of the characters and the revelations along the way just didn’t keep my interest. I’m excited to see the author’s next book because although I didn’t like this one, I still enjoy her style.
Pros: Janice Hallett is one of my new favorite authors, and I have read all four of her books. Her storytelling is inventive with the use of emails, text messages, transcripts, newspaper articles and more to unfold the mystery. I liked this book’s use of a true crime journalist as the main character and found the focus on a religious cult to be interesting.
Cons: This is really not a con, but this is my least favorite of the author’s books. The Appeal being so fantastic makes me go into her newer books with very high expectations, which I know is unfair.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the opportunity to read this book.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me preview The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't sure what to expect as this was my first experience with Hallett's writing, and I'm not usually a fan of the "found footage" style. However, I was very quickly drawn into the mystery and found the book flowed very well.
All the action is laid out in texts, emails, and interview transcripts from our narrator, true crime writer Amanda Bailey along with pages from books and scripts she's using to research her new book. I was surprised at how well I got to know Amanda, her transcriber/assistant Ellie, and her rival writer Oliver through their correspondence.
The case unfolds slowly, and you never quite know who is hiding what in their interactions with Amanda. I didn't see the ending coming, so kudos to Janet Hallett for all the surprises! I won't go further into the details because I don't want to ruin the journey for any future readers. This was my first book by Hallett, but it won't be my last.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s previous novel The Appeal. When I saw this was written in a similar style, I was excited. I love the storyline. Who doesn’t love a good cult mystery? There were times I found the flow of the story slow or repetitive, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Interesting ending that tied everything together. Definitely worth the read
I love the way Janice’s books flow. I love that she adds the elements of text messages, emails, phone calls, etc. the breakdown of solving her character's mysteries in her books has it's own unique code. It appeals to my detective Spider-Man senses and sucks me in.
Amanda is a true crime writer with a DON'T ever take no for an answer attitude. I loved her.
The story begins twenty years ago when three people (presumed to have been members of a local cult were found dead in Alperton. A fourth body was found in a nearby flat. At the time, two young members of the cult were ‘rescued,’ along with a baby, who was taken up by the social services care system.
Amanda is hell-bent on finding that baby. And taking her rival Oliver out. Does she?
What a delightful new work from Janice Hallett! In the Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, an old culty case is revisited for Amanda Bailey’s upcoming book. A keen journalist with a difficult past, Bailey is determined to produce the first true crime bestseller on the strange Alperton Angels, a religious cult that died by suicide after failing to eliminate the AntiChrist. Challenges arise immediately, with few leads and Bailey's old professional nemesis taking on a his own project on the same case. Hallett's signature multimedia style is elevated again in this one, as she takes on even more types of communication to relay the story - using newspaper clippings, WhatsApp messages, emails, and even scraps of discovered notes. Twisty and compulsively readable, this is a fun campy thriller that will keep you guessing to the end.
I loved Janice Hallett's previous books--The Appeal and The Twyford Code--and couldn't wait to read The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels. It did not disappoint! The Alperton Angels tells the story of a "cold case" that involved the deaths of several members of a cult. Interest is sparked in the true crime community as a baby who was rescued from the cult is now turning 18. Two writers (and frenemies) are set to pen updates to the story.
The book is told in Hallett's trademark style, through a series of interview transcripts, emails, WhatsApp messages, and other types of communications, which makes for a really fun read. Although the switch between the various sources is necessarily a little disjointed, the story flows really well, and you get a surprisingly good feel for the personalities of the characters--not just what they're like now, but how they got to this point.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review!
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels has what I like to call the Janice Hallett unique plot. How her mind works is amazing! It has all the components of her previous books including the unusual writing form, this one is in email, phone, message and transcription form. It leads the reader through the intricate details of the suspenseful storyline only to surprise them with an extraordinary ending.
This story revolves around a religious cult back in 2003 called the Alperton Angels, named after the town they lived. The cult included teenagers, a baby, its leader and followers. Back then in the basement of a warehouse four bodies were found. It was ruled a mass suicide of the cult. Gabriel the leader was found guilty of murder and put away for life. The teenagers Holly and Jacob and the baby (which the cult believed to be the anti-Christ) disappeared and have not been heard from since the night of the massacre.
It is now eighteen years since the incident and the mysterious baby would be of legal age. Crime writer Amanda Bailey has a new idea for a book. She informs her publisher she would like to look into the old case and try and find out what happened to Holly and Jacob, but more importantly what ever happened to the baby. Although a few books have been written about the cult and the incidents which occurred in the warehouse, no one at least to Amanda's knowledge has tried to find the baby.
But she is in for a shock. Her publisher comes back to her and says it's a great idea but another writer, Oliver Menzies is working on a story with another publisher, so if they share notes it could work. Amanda unfortunately knows Oliver from years ago and doesn't really think very highly of him but, if that's the only way to research the story, she'll suck up her feelings and go with it.
So, Amanda, Oliver and Ellie Cooper (the transcriber of all the interviews) begin their search. But what they soon find is those involved in the case all those years ago have very different memories of what happened. They also find some of the people closely associated with the investigation at the time or those who were investigating the investigation have died. Some it seems by accident.
As Amanda and Oliver try to one up each other on what information they have been finding out (or hiding from the other) Oliver begins to have a bit of a breakdown of sorts after his prison visit to interview the mysterious cult leader, Gabriel. But neither can find any information on the baby. All this leads to more questions than answers.
Then Amanda catches a break and finds she is close to perhaps finding the baby. But the closer she gets, the more danger she believes she's in. With Oliver hot on her trail, she needs to be the first to break this wide open. Who is this mysterious baby once accused of being the anti-Christ? How are Holly and Jacob really involved in what happened all those years ago. Will WE ever find out what happened!
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is another Hallett triumph in both imagination and suspense. It will hook you from the beginning, reel you in and throw you back so fast your head will spin. And you will love every minute!
Thank you #NetGalley #Viper #Janice Hallett #TheCaseoftheAlpertonAngels for the advanced copy.
I raced through this book, I loved the email,text and transcribed conversations format that make up the book. Solving the many contradictions of the case pits the spiritual/supernatural vs. a conspiracy. The author is not afraid to go there with extreme outcomes for our characters.
If you a reading an e-book version of this book make sure your ereader can show the emojis that come up. They add a lot of humor to the texts and emails. ( The kindle app on my iPad showed these but they didn’t show on my kindle itself ( my kindle is admittedly a few years old. I don’t know about newer models))
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e arc.
Wow, this is a wild book! I've read Ms. Hallett's two previous novels and was very excited about this one because I was certain it would be an inventive and twisty tale and it did not disappoint. The subject matter — a cult who plans to murder a baby because it's the anitchrist — is dark stuff but because it's so dark and weird it ratchets up the suspense and the stakes of the story.
As with her other books, this one doesn't use traditional narrative prose but transcripts, text messages, emails and scripts to piece together the mystery. it's a very creative way for a story to unfold and while there is a lot to sort through it really puts you at the heart of the investigation as Amanda, the author of the booking within a book, uncovers the truth.
At multiple points as information was uncovered I gasped audibly. It's quite a ride and very enjoyable.
Oh my goodness I loved this book so much! I had read "The Appeal" and was very eager for more of her work, and this one did not let me down. I am a huge fan of the epistolary novel style, and I like how she writes with an edge of humor, even if it is ultimately a rather dark story. I've already shouted this one out on a few of my social media channels, so hopefully it's inspired more people to preorder it and pick up her past books.
Once again Janice Hallett does it again! My only complaint which is what made this a r star instead of a 5 star was the inclusion of the book pages.
I found them unnecessary. And I ended up skimming them. I don't feel they added anything to the book that I personally needed for the story.
Other than that this was an amazing and quick read because you get so immersed into the story.