✨more like 3.5 stars but rounding up to a 4 because I gave The Appeal by the same author a 3 star and I enjoyed that wayyyy less than this one!

✨hallett’s books are so easy to read and put down and pick up whenever you have a couple minutes. the way they’re formatted you could read for 30 mins at a time and get through a great chunk of the book.

✨I enjoyed this mystery a lot and was on my toes until the very end. there were multitudes of twists and I thought how the book ended was great. highly recommend picking this one up if you’re thinking about reading a book from this author!

Janice Hallett books are hit or miss for me, and this one was a miss. The story felt a little disjointed and I struggled to connect to the characters and story. I did not finish at 35%

Thank you for the advance copy of this book!

It's very hard for me to get into and read books written the way Janice Hallett writes them. For someone who has to communicate a lot (using a lot of different methods) for work, it can subconsciously feel like work to read a book that is structured as if it is a series of work communications. So trying to unwind from work by reading a collection of other people's work communications can be difficult. It is a testament to Hallett's storycrafting that it feels worth pushing through when it's not something I'm doing for a job or something I even have to do. When the story shifted to showing us the unproduced film script, it felt immediately more engaging to me.


A particularly odd quirk of the format is that people don't normally text or email descriptions of their own or other people's appearances, like we would get in a traditionally presented novel. So the characters have to take shape in the readers' own heads. I did not recognize this until later in the book, when I realized I had a few characters confused for other characters, because I mostly only had names to go on, which I assumed I'd straighten out later. I'm sure the "Interview Wish List" was included for this purpose, much like the cast list of the theatre production in The Appeal.


This format is unique and cool in many ways. It makes you feel like the "curator" of the collection did a fantastic job organizing everything they've found in order to preserve several "reveals" to the reader until points where they would have maximum impact. And it's all just things Hallett wrote specifically to be that way. Brilliant stuff. I particularly enjoyed that several passages were transcribed recorded conversations or interviews including the main protagonist and then we saw her transcriber talk to her about them, giving us a debrief of sorts on the recorded events and the main character's thoughts on them.


Moving on to the content: this book focuses on a cold case involving a cult. I'm in. We follow an impassioned writer who is investigating events from 18 years prior and has to communicate a lot with people who were around at the time, which lends itself really well to this format. The turns the story goes on were creative and engrossing. The reveal of what actually happened all those years ago was extremely compelling, and the moment of realization that our protagonist already had documentation that revealed the true events of that night was thrilling. 


I did not expect the present day twists the case took and what happened to our main characters, but thought they were a great, satisfying end to the story.


The dedication at the end shocked me to tears.

I love love love books in epistolary and this was no exception! There is just something so fun about digging through emails, texts, transcripts etc that makes the story so much more real! And what a fantastic read! A few disturbing bits and a lot of excitement that kept me glued to the final page!

Highly recommend this book. I love how Hallett writes using texts and emails and it keeps the story moving quickly. I couldn't put it down and she is an auto read author for me!

When I read the description for this I was a little bit weary because this isn't really my favorite type of mystery or thriller. However, when I saw that there was a cult aspect, I was intrigued. The first half of the book really had me hooked and I was surprised by how much I was enjoying it. However, the second half was pretty lackluster and kind of lost me. I did enjoy the ending and liked all the explanation but didn't think it was evenly paced with the first half of the book. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

At first I was enjoying this book. Then the plot got confusing and the book dragged on. I got an advanced readers copy from netgalley but my review is unbiased. I really enjoyed “the Christmas Appeal” and am disappointed in this book. I will still read other books of hers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels" and all opinions expressed are my own. This book sounded interesting. I couldn't get pass the format to read it. I tried. DNF

A twisty turning mystery that keeps you entertained and thinking until the end. The author is great at letting small parts of the true “story” of the Alperton Angels come together slowly while a second story around the main character develops underneath it. This one does require some attention as there are lots of characters with double names and timelines to follow. Overall it was a lot of fun and I did enjoy it. I definitely great summer read if you like to puzzle.

Janice Hallett has done it again with a completely original mystery told in a unique way. Like her two previous novels she kept me guessing until the very end. There were parts that were a bit confusing because she’s telling the story from so many different angles, but overall I really enjoyed it. That ending is a doozy though!

💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels features two rival authors after desperately hunting down the same scoop. Amanda Bailey and Oliver Menzies have a history together, not necessarily pleasant. Yet they're about to be back in each other's orbit as the both investigate the whereabouts of a baby who survived a cult, the Alperton Angels, close to two decades ago.

The Alperton Angel cult brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. Eventually, the girl came to her senses and contacted the authorities for help. It was a huge case at the time, which garnered a lot of attention due to its sensational and bizarre circumstances. The Angels committed suicide, but the baby was free and survived. However, after that, the baby disappeared, their circumstances never made public knowledge.

Now that baby has turned 18, and the world is dying to know, where have they been all this time? What is the true story behind the Alperton Angels cult? And where is the baby now? Who have they become?

Amanda and Oliver, against their own inclinations, decide to collaborate in their baby research. If they both agree to focus on different aspects of the case, it shouldn't be a problem to both cover the case at the same time. In fact, it may actually be helpful, as each book could create more interest for the other. But the truth about the Angels is much more disturbing than they originally anticipated, putting them dangerously close to the heart of the story.

Janice Hallett has made quite the name for herself as the Queen of the Unconventional Narrative. Her books are always a journey, a truly a unique reading experience. As the Reader, you are supplied with all of the same documents a researcher may use when studying a real life case. You have access to things such as emails, text messages, news articles, and even transcripts from phone conversations.

These things are blended together in such a way that eventually helps to perfectly piece together the overall story. It's pretty amazing how well Hallett can build out a story using solely these mixed media elements. For me, her novels seem to work better via audiobook, but that's 100% personal preference. I have read one of her books physically, and it at times it seemed jarring, and occasionally, even a little boring. The other two I have listened to via audio, and because of the vibrant narration, have felt more pulled in and engaged with the story. This one in particular was fantastically executed via audiobook and I would recommend that format.

This story got pretty wild. I definitely wasn't expecting the direction it ended up going. Writing a novel in this format has got to be extremely challenging, but somehow Hallett nails it every time. I won't claim to have been able to follow every single detail of this. Hallett's stories are impressive in scope. There's a lot going on, and at times, it can feel chaotic. Regardless, this one was never dull. Fast-paced and intriguing the whole way through, this was a great time.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Hallett's uniquely-presented and impeccably-plotted Literary Mysteries will keep me coming back as long as she keeps cranking them out.

I can't wait to see what's next!

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC of the book.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is a tragic story about a cult that ended up with brutal deaths. This case inspired many books but no one knows the details and truth behind it. The true crime author Amanda and her rival/collaborator Oliver are trying to write new books on this case. As they go deeper in this story they realize how things were mysteriously different from what was reported before.

I love Janet Hallett’s writing style and how she manages to tell this incredible story with messages, voice records transcription, excerpts from books. As I reader I was taking this journey with the characters, the hints were there and it was easy to piece the puzzle together. I always look forward her books and they don’t disappoint.

Janice Hallet does multimedia storytelling like no one else. Sometimes I’m just in awe of how I’m learning about a character entirely through their texts and emails with others. I don’t think there is a finer example of show don’t tell than Janice’s books.

The story was intriguing and kept bringing me back to the page. I loved to hate Amanda Bailey and I have no doubt you will too when you read it.

A fun cult-story that I recommend to anyone who loves to get lost in a mystery!

I currently have a copy of this one on display in my library window. What a treat! I'll certainly be watching for more from this author and perusing her backlist as well.

There were so many times where I forgot I was still reading a crime thriller and not an actual paranormal horror novel. This is a great read that keeps you guessing constantly. As my second Janice Hallett novel, the Alperton Angels were different yet just as creepy as the characters in her debut novel. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future, especially because it seems her grasp of epistolary fiction is phenomenal.

Hallett’s way of crafting a mixed media mystery is just top notch. Her stories are always layered with multiple reveals, and include large cast of characters that are fun to follow, and this one was no different! Hallett is easily a new favorite author for me and I tore through this book.
This one even borderlines on horror in parts, with some seemingly supernatural/occult stuff that can get pretty gruesome. Another fresh and easily bingeable mystery from Hallett!

I really enjoy Janice Hallett's books and while this isn't my favorite of hers, I found the whole thing still be twisty and fun. I loved the Manson cult vibes of this story and appreciated the whip smart female protagonist here. I found the ending to be unexpected as well. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Janice Hallett is a literary genius. The way she is able to tell a coherent story through these documents is a special kind of magic and is one of the reasons why I keep coming back to the mysterious genre.

This book follows a search for a cult and the secret baby involved in its downfall. This book is full of twists and turns and jawdropping moments. While there were some moments that were confusing at the beginning while trying to keep track of everything that was going on, once I got a handle on the story, I flew through it. Even though it's a long book I got through it in a few days.

Janice Hallett will never cease to surprise me.

I was excited to read this one by Janice Hallett - I had heard good things about her books and I generally love books that use letters, email, etc. to tell the story. This did not grab me and I’m not sure why. There were a lot of characters to keep track of so maybe the format didn’t work and this would have been better as a narrative story instead of an epistolary style. The back and forth between relating what happened in the past vs. the investigation in the present may have contributed as well. There were also a lot of different formats - email, transcripts, scripts, etc. that made it hard to figure out how everything was tied together. While this one was not a favorite, I do plan to read more from Hallett.

Amanda Bailey is an accomplished true crime author assigned to her next case: The Alperton Angels. Eighteen years ago the cult of the Alperton Angels told a girl her baby was the antichrist and on the night of their ritual the plan fell apart and the cult members killed themselves. Now, Amanda is on the hunt for the baby, who will soon turn eighteen. However, Amanda isn't the only reporter on the case. Oliver Menzies, Amanda's former colleague and rival, is working on the Angels for a rival publisher. Amanda and Oliver are forced to work together to uncover the mystery of what happened to the Alperton Angels after they keep receiving conflicting reports, reach dead ends, and find dead witnesses. As they get closer to uncovering the truth about the Angels the danger from the cult and from learning the truth about what happened eighteen years ago puts both of their lives at risk.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels was another great "found documents" mystery from Janice Hallett. The reader gets to examine the emails, texts, and interview transcripts from Amanda and try to uncover the truth alongside her. I found the book very compelling as Amanda keeps finding more and more creepy details and conflicting facts from the original case. The epistolary format was incredibly fun because it would just leave so many bread crumbs that you got the reward of piercing together later once more information is revealed. The central mystery had a surprisingly complex but very satisfying conclusion. The conflict between Amanda and Oliver really keeps the book moving and I enjoyed the surprises Hallett created for changing the perspective on a lot of what is presented in the book. It was very hard for me to put the book down. Highly recommend this for people who want a unique kind of mystery book or for people who want a little bit of horror elements in a mystery, since the book focuses heavily on a potential antichrist and the impact that could have on the world.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels in exchange for an honest review.