So well done. I was hooked from the get go. I wasn't sure how the format would be, framed as the research for a book and conversations between many parties. But it absolutely worked!

This book has many layers and came together at the end, flawlessly. Amanda was a force and Oliver was incredibly frustrating. But her journalistic mind is at work here, and her relationship with her assistant Ellie holds so much of the book together (ECs comments during transcription are great).

Highly recommended. It's a mystery, yes but so much more. This would be a great Knives Out mystery.

4.75

this was fucking insane. watching two “level-headed” people slowly become more & more obsessed with a case (on two different ends of the spectrum) was fascinating. and the mystery delivered!!!! i cannot wait for janice hallett’s next release.

thank you to netgalley for an arc.

Janice Hallett is the 21st century master of the modern day epistolary. This tale is told via emails, transcripts of interviews (with wry commentary from the transcriptionist), What’sApp texts, podcasts, film scripts, Post-It Notes, and online articles. The media of today is mostly generated by one person, Amanda Bailey, a true crime journalist, as she rushes to complete a competing manuscript (her rival is a former colleague) about the “Alperton Angels”, a notorious murderous cult of nearly two decades ago, and locate/interview their now 18-year old intended victim, a baby of unknown gender that the “angels” believed was the ant-Christ.

Amanda is intelligent and driven. She’s not above using some deception when trying to obtain sources or coax contacts into revealing more information, but she’s reasonable, usually careful, and understands the risks when multiple sources are suddenly dying mysteriously.

Amanda’s rival, Oliver Menzies (pronounced “Mingus”) starts accompanying her when their editors decide the two should work in tandem and take different angles. Oliver is having personal troubles — a recently deceased father and a phone stalker — facts that creep into his conversations with Amanda, and affect his emotional status as they make new discoveries. The challenge for both of them first is to locate “the baby”.

Ellie Cooper, the stenographer who is listening to the interviews, is our Greek chorus, deciphering moods of voices, cheering on revelations, and playing good angel/bad devil for Amanda.

I love this form of storytelling, although I’d definitely not recommend it in audiobook form (Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling’s latest, The Ink Black Heart, was terribly confusing when texts were described — a big portion of this narrative). It’s amazing how tension can build from successive revelations in texts and interviews — leading to a twisty conclusion. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Not usually a topic in texts or emails. No “I wonder what your devious green eyes are looking at” email questions.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Again, everyday conversation usually isn’t much for describing the surrounding vegetation.

Amanda is a well-known true crime author who has been invited to write a book about the mysterious case of the Alperton Angels, a small cult which twenty years ago committed mass suicide after attempting to sacrifice an infant they believed to be the Anti-Christ. All the most sensational details you can think of attend this case, but Amanda - who has reluctantly teamed up with neurotic Oliver, a fellow author - begins to realize that the truth might still be hidden - and still dangerous.

This is my second Janice Hallett book. While I've read plenty of epistolary works before, this author's trademark is to notch things a bit higher, entangling the reader as deep in the mystery as possible, encouraging them to really root through the clues for the truth. I definitely understand what she's doing - I'm just not sure still if I prefer it!

The mystery is a twisty one, of course, and made rather more confusing at first as the story unfolds in fits and starts, with plenty of digressions and snarky humor in between. My gripe from my last Hallett book, that there's no one to root for, is not the case here, as I got quite attached to Ellie and even Amanda, even if I wasn't convinced the latter always made the best choices during the course of the investigation. I also really enjoyed the commentary about how close a writer can or should get to their story - I had picked up on the parallels with the likes of Michelle McNamara and Jill Dando even before the author paid them homage.

However, I just found the solution of the case too mundane in an odd way. A lot of coincidences had to pile up to make the story as bizarre as it was, so seeing it all unravelled felt almost underwhelming. Additionally, I didn't really find the solution very realistic in some places. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here - but in such a straightforward plan, why the angels, Gabriel? I wish we had gotten more clear answers there. Also, I didn't like Oliver throughout, but by the end he was really off the rails in the worst way.

My final opinion? Hallett is a good read for the puzzles - but as I am not really a puzzle person, she is simply not a good fit for me!

Janice Hallett NEVER disappoints. Her stories are more experiences than anything else. You are immediately engrossed in the story. She the reader up to feel as thought you are IN the story, actively trying to solve the mystery. This book is no different! You will not know what’s going on until the end and your jaw will DROP

SOOOO SATISFYING!!

The way Hallett structures these mysteries is just so fun and mind-blowingly impressive! They hook you in from the very beginning, are so easy to read and so rewarding to find clues. She turns her readers into investigators and it’s the best thing. This is my favorite work of hers yet. I only wish we got a new one every month 😅 anxiously awaiting future books!!

I read this one when it came out here was my review:
5⭐
Man, another win from Janice Hallett. This woman takes the mystery genre, and turns it on its head.
In her newest release we are following journalist Amanda Bailey, and what she uncovered about the cold case of the Aperton Angels. The Angels were a small cult in the early 2000s, who convinced two teenagers that they were angels and that the baby they had procured is the Antichrist. We are following the case 18 years later when Amanda is commissioned to write a true crime novel about the case, and hopefully find "The Baby" who is turning 18.
With all that in mind, this book is so much more. You have crazy characters, a mystery, and it unfolds through documents, messages, etc...
Go into this story as blind as possible, it takes you on such a ride. I think I gasped out loud several times. I cannot wait until next January when we get another amazing novel from one of my newest favorite authors.
You will not regret giving this one a little of your time.

Oh I LOVE this book - so crafty, so devious, so imaginative

Hallett is the author of The Twyford Code and The Appeal (Major FAV!) and utilzes the epistolary method much like a famous artist picks up a pastel. Each of her stories have been quite different but all make great use of emails, letters, found media, and other manners of communication.

The Alperton Angels are a well known cult story - a group that attracted and brainwashed young teens and focused on preparing to war with the Anti-Christ. The story ends with a mass suicide and the potential Anti-Christ missing as a newborn baby.

True crime author Amanda Bailey is hoping to solve the case and rescue her career in one perfect book. She is working against the clock and her nemesis Oliver who just happens to be writing a book as well.

Through emailed commands from publishers, to the transcripts created by the intrepid assistant Ellie, we have a front row seat as Amanda and Oliver travel down a rabbit hole researching and uncovering more and more information about the cult.

A precarious balance of stories and threads that come together in a very surprising conclusion that will please everyone. If you love a cult story, a true crime story, epistolary stories or just want experience a master at work, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is for you!
#Atria #Atriabooks #TheMysteriousCaseof theAlpertonAngels #JaniceHallett

This book was a lot like her earlier books where you are solving the mystery through a collection of text messages, emails and other communications and without narration.

It was fun to piece together what happened even if the ending wasn’t a surprise if you’d been paying attention! All in all it was a fun book even if all the characters were pretty awful.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I am a huge fan of Janice Hallett's books. The book is entirely in the format of correspondence of various types and transcriptions of calls/meetings. Most of it is from the point of view of an author trying to write a book about a cult tragedy from about 18 years ago and her competition with another author writing about the same topic. As the reader follows her investigation, there ends up being some repetitiveness which slowed the book down for me. I also wish I could see the emojis which hopefully will be included in the final e-book. I enjoyed the insights into the publishing industry and the true crime fan community. Once again, the author provided a clever mystery with a unique premise completely different from her previous books. I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

4 stars- enjoyed this one, especially the format of the first section.thank you to the publisher & netgalley for the oppty to read the arc.

This book is a BLAST. I loved Janice Hallett's The Appeal, but for whatever reason the Twyford Code (which was told through voice memos) didn't quite work as well for me. The Alperton Angels hit a similar note to the Appeal for me, thanks to the distinctive voices of Amanda and Ellie. I found the mystery a bit overly complicated, but it was still compelling, touching, and funny.

Thank you to Atria for the eARC and physical ARC! This was such a treat as Janice Hallett is one of my favorite authors.
Alexa, play “Mastermind” by Taylor Swift. This novel!!! Janice Hallett is an auto-buy, must read for author for me. Her 3rd novel is ambitious and captivating. I stayed up far too late reading it, just as I did with her first novel, The Appeal. This is a master class in mystery and reader engagement. These epistolary novels are her signature and I’m all in. If you love mysteries, trying to figure out twists and whodunits, this is the book for you. It’s fast paced, never boring, and keeps you guessing and going over every detail. What a pleasure to read! 5 stars and more if I could give them!

I'm a big fan of Janice Hallett's. I absolutely devoured The Appeal and gave it an easy five stars. Unfortunately, this book just didn't feel like it had the same spark as her debut. I still love the use of mixed-media storytelling. It propels the book along at a quick pace, perfect for thrillers. The twists and turns in this book were just as good as her first two. I didn't see any of it coming and was completely captivated by the last third of the book. The premise was completely original which is hard to find in the thriller/mystery genre.

However, I didn't quite enjoy any of the characters. Mostly because it was hard to get a grip on their personalities. Many times I thought I figured them out and they would do something or say something that seemed absurd for them. They seemed a little scattered. Also, I didn't totally appreciate some of the anti-Catholic sentiments that were woven through the story. They were unnecessary and harmful.

Overall, it was another good book by Hallett that is perfect for fans of her other works and true crime fans.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC. Janice Hallet has such a clever way of telling stories and drawing a reader into the world. What starts as a simple story about a former cult expands into so much more. Hallet’s characters are interesting and endearing. The mystery was a page turner trying to piece all the parts together. This is probably my favorite work of hers so far! Definitely recommend to all mystery fans!

This is the latest from Janice Hallett and once again she gives us her modern trademark style of mystery that involves the reader. More in the vein of The Appeal than The Twyford Code, this is another irresistibly page-turning mystery. And I am a total sucker for it. I read so many thrillers, or even simply books, that reading one of Janice's books is so much fun because I don't see it done in any other books. It's refreshing!

Anyone who has read her books before should love this one because her style is the same as her past books. And if you haven't read anything from Hallett, this is the time to start.

What ensues is told as a patchwork of text messages, emails, transcriptions, extracts from books and scripts, etc. This is a format I simply never get tired of! Because of the format used, it can feel very drawn out. There is no clear storyline and a confusing multitude of characters, who may or may not reappear later in the book.

It is a fun, entertaining, and humorous on occasion, mystery. This would have been the perfect fall mystery! With that all said, it does require patience and paying attention to detail to follow the many threads and all the twists and turns on the path to uncovering the truth. And in the end, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is a story about deception, resentment and professional rivalry as much as it is a crime novel. It relies not so much on plot twists but on shifting the reader’s perception of what the story is really about.