Unique mystery thriller.

This is an absolutely different type of crime or mystery thriller because of the way it is written and how the narrative evolves through different writing styles. Using the various communication formats of emails, texts, WhatsApp messaging, etc., the complicated story evolves via random snippets. The reader is not sure what is true which heightens the skepticism about the story line.

The Alperton Angels case is infamous. Apparently some crazed fools decided they were angels and that they were meant to destroy the Antichrist in the form of a newborn baby. Or was that really what they were doing? Amanda Bailey, a journalist, has been asked to write a book about the old crime. She tries to track down old witnesses and police who were involved in the investigation. Meanwhile, an old colleague turned nemesis, Oliver Menzies, is also tasked with writing about the Alperton madness. As they both try to figure out what happened way back when, people start dying before they can interview them. Very convenient. The cover up is real and somebody doesn’t want them to know what really happened in the warehouse that night.

This was quite an interesting story and I enjoyed it as I tried to discern what was going on so it kept me on my toes. I really like when an author takes a different storytelling approach and does it in such a fascinating way. Some might not like that this is not a linear narrative but I certainly did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

As with most of Hallett's books, this one takes patience for everything to come together.

Told entirely in mixed media format: emails, WhatsApp messages, transcripts of conversations, movie scripts etc., this is the tale of true crime writer Amanda Bailey's investigation into the eighteen-year old Mystery of the Alperton Angels.

At the time, a cult was formed by Gabriel, who convinced its members he was an archangel sent to protect the world from the Antichrist. When all was said and done, three members of the cult committed suicide, one other was found dead and Gabriel was incarcerated for the crime. Two teen cult members, Holly and Jonah, survived, as did the baby "Antichrist." They were all taken into care and no one knows what happened to them. Amanda sets out to find this baby, who is turning eighteen, and figuring out what exactly happened. She soon finds out that Oliver Menzies, another journalist and writer, is also assigned to the story from another publisher. She proposes they work together to uncover the truth.

As with the previous books I've read by this author, this book is long and intricately detailed. Almost a bit too detailed and drawn out at times, as the format is not always the easiest to read and there are occasionally interviews and details that don't seem relevant until things get put together in the end. There's some repetition as things are looked at by different people.

That said, I truly loved the way that all of the pieces to the puzzle and the mystery slot together in the end. Hallett is truly a master of storycraft where she takes all of these disparate points and weaves them together to create an ending that you won't see coming. She drops clues throughout so a clever reader might put some of it together, but overall it's more masterful if you just let the story unfold. Various characters contradict each other and the evidence presented doesn't always match the verbal account. Are they lies? Deliberate cover-ups? Supernatural events?

Once the author started revealing the truth, my jaw just about dropped because she was able to surprise me yet again. Just like she did in The Appeal and The Twyford Code, she manages to construct a highly original tale filled with secrets and deception.

This is my first book by Hallett and I am impressed! The format is unique with the reader: First, you (the reader) are in possession of a key that goes to a safety deposit box that has many documents. Then you have a choice: Put everything back and throw the key away or take everything to the police. These documents are composed of newspaper articles, transcribed phone calls/meetings, WhatsApp messages, emails, and more.

Through these documents you go on a journey with Amanda Bailey. She is a True Crime author hoping to revive her career by writing a book about an infamous case: The Alperton Angels. It was a small cult that killed themselves and involved a teenage mother who thought her infant is the Anti-Christ. It turns out that Amanda is not the only one planning on writing a book on this case, she has competition. And they communicate.

This multi-layered mystery where the details must be paid attention to while reading. There are many twists and turns that occur and keep going all the way to the truth and the shocking ending! I found myself tuned into the story even more as I progressed in my reading. As I read, I felt like I really got to know Amanda through this journey. I absolutely adored Ellie Cooper, the transcriber, who gave her opinions throughout the journey as she transcribed. She was hilarious, and a comic relief was needed for this novel.

I read an arc, so I know formatting was changed around for the finished book, but I would definitely like to see how the finished product turned out. Many thanks to the publisher Atria Books for granting me a copy. I enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for providing my review copy.

I wanted to really like this because the story is there!! I struggled with the lack of prose. It is a collection of texts, emails, DMs, voicemails etc which makes it hard to follow a story and keep track of who is who. The author has obviously shown great organization skills and imagination I just wish it worked for my brain.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels" is a captivating read that masterfully blends mystery, history, and supernatural elements into a seamless narrative. The author's ability to weave an intricate plot full of twists and turns is incredible, considering the writing style is simply a collection of emails, WhatsApp messages, transcripts, newspaper articles, book excerpts, letters, and a screenplay in lieu of traditional narrative. I was engaged from start to finish.

This is my third book by Janice Hallett and I can finally say her books are not for me.

Her writing style is set in a variety of different communication styles (ie. Email, text message, etc), though this one is largely theatre script based. I find these styles to not always be coherent even when reading the physical/e-book copy. The other issue I had with the writing style this time is the chapters seemed to be increasing longer than her other books.

While the story is sound as always and I find myself excited to see what happens in the end, this novel lost my attention around 30% through. I did push through however, but it took a while.

Special thanks to Netgalley & Atria books for providing me with an advanced readers copy.

The story of the Alperton Angels seems like another cult brainwashing murder suicide. Except the teenage girl saved her baby, the supposed Anti-Christ, instead of letting it be killed. Years later, true crime novelist Amanda Bailey wants to find, and interview said baby, now 18-year-old. However, she’s not the only one looking for the teenage mother and the child. Oliver Menzies, Amanda’s rival, has better connections than Amanda. Forced to work together, they quickly realize that there are inconsistencies in every piece of information about the Angels and the events that turned deadly.

Janice Hallett has a very unique writing style that works for her story telling. Here, it was a series of emails, text messages, letters, and transcripts. However, I never felt that I was missing something vital to the story. In fact, one of the things I like about Hallett is the fact that she can catch me off guard. I was not expecting the twist(s) towards the end.

The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars was because I did not like Amanda or Oliver. I did not like how selfish and overly ambitious they were. It made the story go rather slowly at the beginning. It wasn’t until roughly halfway through that I began to see the mysteries, and that was what hooked me.

Overall, I rate this novel 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I just finished The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, and I'm left disappointed and more than a little confused. I listened to the audio version of this book, and while the reading was excellent and entertaining, maybe I would have been able to better follow the storyline had I read a hard copy. Outlier opinion here, as most seemed to love this book, as I have loved everything else this author has written. This one, though, just wasn't for me. My main problem was I had no idea what was going on throughout most of the book.

What I did like, the beginning and the end. Janice Hallett has a style, and she is a master of the modern day epistolatory-style novel. I personally like this, and she has a lot of humorous dialogue and repartee between her two main characters, Amanda and Oliver. In the background we have Emma, who is transcribing Amanda's notes, and she will also become a very important character. The ending was a surprise, and an interesting one.

At the beginning of the novel the reader is presented with the key to a safety box, read the papers within and decide if you will turn them in to the police, or not. Then we follow Amanda and Oliver's joint efforts to solve the 18-year-old mystery of the Alperton Angels Case.

This is where things got a bit murky for me. I think I would have been able to keep up with the twists and turns better if I had been reading, rather than listening. As it was, I almost gave up on the book and dnf. I kept having to backtrack to try to figure out what important piece of information I must have missed. Maybe this is all me, as others seemed to have no trouble keeping up!

I loved all three of Hallett's other books, and will definitely read her next. This one, however, was a three star read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Janice Hallett, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This latest novel by the author of <i>The Appeal</i> has a familiar feeling to Hallett’s other novels, and I looked forward to the journey which starts out with instructions that say essentially: here is a case file, decide whether you will turn it in to the police or make sure it never sees the light of day. I was intrigued.

Unfortunately, as the plot and characters are revealed, I lost interest. It has too many characters and a plot that is too tangled. Overall, the ending is not worth the substantial effort of reading 400+ pages of “mixed media” i.e. emails, transcripts, WhatsApp messages. Also, I didn’t like that the plot involves religiosity and potential otherworldly forces, which I didn’t realize beforehand and may have been enough to make me pass entirely.

What didn’t work for me may work for you though. Readers who have enjoyed Janice Hallett’s other books will find a very familiar format here. Those who like mysteries and appreciate Christian cult adjacent elements may like this too.

I was provided an arc for review. Opinions are all mine.

Her best yet! I really loved this very twisty story of a reporter trying to get to the bottom of murders committed by a religious cult. I'm not a big reader of epistolary fiction but I really loved the investigative aspect and wow the twist and turns were crazy. Just amazing plotting in this book!

Such a fan of this author, and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

My review appeared on Jen Ryland Reviews on 1/30/2024 plus promos on Instagram and Facebook

Eighteen years ago a cult slaying took place and there have been questions about it ever since. Two young people and a baby escaped with their lives, but where are they now? What happened to the baby? Amanda Bailey, a true crime writer, is determined to find that out, with a book deal in the offering, she’s seeking every avenue to find said baby. Rival author Oliver Menzies is also on the baby’s trail, but when they are forced to collaborate they begin to realize that the story is much darker than they thought. Will they be able to solve the case before they, like others before them, become a part of it? Uniquely written using interviews, texts, emails, manuscripts, articles online, etc. this book draws the reader in and goes quite dark, with each twist we have a new piece of the puzzle only to find out there’s more to the story, much more. It takes a long while before the final BIG twist, but it was totally worth the journey! Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was a great mystery with lots of twists and turns. I loved that the story was based around a cult. I've been watching a lot of cult documentaries lately and this cult felt very realistic. The author did a nice job with the psychological aspect of brainwashing that takes place in a cult.

The whole book is written as letters, interview transcripts, phone conversations, and WhatsApp messages. It's an interesting format for a book and I was a little worried if it was going to work, but I think it was well done. It added something fun to the book.

My only complaint is that there were a lot of characters and at times it was hard to keep track of who was who because the communication jumped around throughout the book. I did find the search feature on the Kindle nice to look up names and refresh or confirm that I had the right person. I think the author realized this though, and did a nice job bringing everyone and everything together at the end, so you were able to solve the mystery and connect all of the dots. It was a well-done summary/ending.

This was a fun read and I would make a fun book club selection.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

The Alperton Angels were a cult that almost sacrificed a baby, and now that the baby has almost reached eighteen, two possible true crime books have been optioned. However, the authors have history and there may be too many secrets for either book to come to light.

I adore an epistolary novel, and Janice Hallett is the queen of the modern version using emails, various texting apps, etc. The way this particular mystery unspooled throughout the book was excellent and I never felt deceived or too confused to keep up.

The cult vibe was definitely the best part of this book.

Like most of Janice Hallet’s books, there were a million bits and bobs (in the form of emails, text messages, WhatsApp messages) that come together at the end to reveal the big picture. Unfortunately, the big picture in this one was lackluster and unbelievable. I had trouble connecting with any of the characters, and thought the end end was unnecessary (trying not to give spoilers).

Thank you #netgalley for this #arc - I do still love the format of Hallet’s books and will definitely read the next, but did not think this was her best work.

Synopsis:
Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared.

Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Alperton Angels is a mixed media novel where the reader is faced with the choice of letting each and every document remain locked in a safe-deposit box or bringing the entire box and its contents to the police. Author Amanda Bailey is writing a new book about the case of the Alperton Angels, a doomsday cult that has pervaded true crime circles and remained on the minds of those in the London communities where a grisly ritual gone wrong occurred over 20 years ago.

I found this story intriguing from the first set of WhatsApp messages to the last emails. Since the novel was told through research, texts, emails, and interview transcripts, you never quite knew who to believe or what to trust. If you are looking for an inventive thriller with just the right amount of creepiness, check this one out.

I read The Appeal and LOVED it! The epistolary style, the community theatre setting, the fun mystery. But unfortunately since then, Janice Hallett's other books just haven't worked for me. The Twyford Code was almost a DNF for me and honestly this one should have been too. I am just not a DNF'er and want to give a book a chance to turn it around with an amazing ending.

I think for me with this one - the epistolary/mixed media style with What's App messages, transcribed recordings, emails, move scripts, etc. just got old after awhile and honestly made the book feel disjointed and confusing. There were SO many side characters that the main journalist talked to and contacted through these communication methods, and I just got confused sometimes & it just made me kind of uninterested after awhile.

The overall idea and plot of this book - a cult where the members believe they are angels that ended in multiple people dead (murder? suicide?) and a baby who may or may not be the anti-Christ now turning 18 and two journalist/writers trying to uncover who they are and what actually happened.

I just think the execution didn't work and I am bummed over that. Even with some reveals in the end, it just didn't really work for me. I can see where people love this author and it will work for others, but I may move on from her work and let others enjoy her books, just not me.

This is my second attempt at a Janice Hallett book, and unfortunately I’m not finding them to be particularly satisfying.

Epistolary format is difficult to use (particularly for mysteries) but can be excellent when we’ll-crafted. I don’t find these books to be well-rendered in that regard, and find the format to be both grating and tending toward unintentional obfuscation of plot here.

The tone is a bit hard to take as well. The author is going for snappy humor, but it feels very try-hard, sort of sass for sass’ sake, and it gets irritating quickly.

All of this could become back burner criticism if either the story or the characters were notably well done, but as with Hallett’s other work they are, at best, just okay.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I've read JaniceHallett books and was looking forward to this one.

But I was disappointed and might be the only one. This book had supernatural and religious genres and cults. That just isnt my type of genre and for that reason I did not finish.

Please don't allow my review to pursuade you in not giving this one a try.
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I was thrilled when I heard that Janice Hallett had a new book coming out. I think her writing is so very, very clever. Her latest - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels - is perhaps the best book yet.
The Alperton Angels were a cult 18 years ago. The members truly believed that they were indeed, angels, sent forth to Earth to save the world from the Anti-Christ. They believed that one young woman's baby was the the Anti-Christ. And the young mum? She decides to take the babe and run. Where could they be now?? Okay, that's just the tip of the story. There's so much more to explore!

Hallett reprises the epistolary style of writing that I adore. The book is told through emails, screenplays, podcasts, amateur sleuths groups, book excerpts, phone calls, texts, testimonies, police files and so much more! There's also a transcriber who adds her thoughts about things.

Amanda Bailey is a true crime writer. She's a large personality, dogged in her search, determined to find the now eighteen year old baby. She's got some serious skills. But there's another author, named Oliver Menzies, on the hunt as well. His direction, point of view and skills are quite different than Amanda's. The two clash over who can write what, and hiding what they do find out. And the third detective? It's you, dear listener. There's a myriad of supporting characters in the book. Some are seen once and others play a larger part. But they're all integral to the plot.

The plotting is absolutely brilliant in my opinion. The clues are sometimes right there to see, while other times they're longshots. Hallett throws in more than one twist and turn on the way to the final 'aha'! Hallett's writing is addictive and you'll find yourself up late, reading just one more chapter.

A brilliant book and an easy five stars!

Janice Hallett's mysteries have a unique and entertaining conceit, where the story is told through assembled evidence—documents, letters, texts, emails, etc. This book tells the story of two rival crime writers hunting down the story of the Alperton Angels, a cult mass suicide, to find out what happened to the baby who disappeared. The central character, Amanda, is clever but not particularly ethical in her pursuit of the truth.

The book is very gripping, and the reader never knows quite what or who to believe until the end. Hallett also plays with supernatural and religious themes through the doomsday cult at the center of the book. The satisfaction at the end comes more from finding answers than seeing justice done, but it's a fascinating read, and a challenge to see if you can figure out what's going on before the characters do.