Like Hallett's other books, this one took the form of emails, transcripts and WhatsApp messages etc. Journalist Amanda and her colleague/enemy Oliver investigate the historic case of the Alperton Angels - a (very small) cult, whose leader was imprisoned after the murder of a waiter, the rescue of a baby and two teenagers, and the suicide of the other adults.

I enjoyed this to start with, but it was far too long, there were too many characters, the whole thing was over-the-top and the inclusion of the Wessexes was unnecessary and distasteful. It felt as if the author couldn't quite decide how to end things. As a plus I thought the portrayal of Amanda's determination to use anyone and anything to get her story was well done. ( )

True crime writer Amanda Bailey has the golden opportunity to write one of the first books in a new true crime series, and she's all set to focus on the Alperton Angels, a cult killing from twenty years ago that may not be all that it seems. Unfortunately, a long-time rival, Oliver Menzies, is set to write a book on the same topic for a different publisher. Their editors encourage them to work together and take different angles, saying there's plenty to be found in the case for two different books. Amanda isn't convinced, but she's determined to get all the information she can, even if some of it has to come through Oliver. As she delves into the case, she finds some loose ends that might even prove that the wrong man is behind bars. But the deeper she digs, the more it seems like someone powerful doesn't want the truth to come to light...

This epistolary mystery is presented as a set of case files: interview transcripts, text message logs, emails, all pertaining to the Alperton Angels case. It's up to the reader to sort through and determine what really happened, and there are definitely some twists and turns before the end. If you're up for this kind of narrative, I'd recommend this one. ( )

The Mysterious Case Of The Alperton Angels (2023) by Janice Hallett. When you start this book you find yourself faced with the challenge of reading the large collection of various forms of documents and then going into the mystery, or handing it all off to the police. There really is no choice here as you are either going to read the story, which is a clever collection of letters, other hand written documents, transcriptions from interviews, a mass of e-mails and their responses, and printouts from other web sites. Collected they tell the tale of a small cult, perhaps six members, or a few more, from the past located in Alperton. They were the Angels, most famous for a collective suicide of most of the few members.
The cult was led by the charismatic Gabriel, a con man of long standing who managed to talk, or brainwash, several other petty criminals into doing his bidding. The biggest thing they did was convince a teenaged couple that their baby was the anti-Christ and that only the Angels could save the world by destroying the child at the proper time. Somehow the girl sees the insanity in this plan, escapes with baby and boyfriend in hand, and get the police involved.
The members of the cult commit suicide while their leader is captured and ultimately goes to prison.
That is just the set up of this time-bending, mildly mind-blowing trek into the secrets that surround the Alperton Angels. Now, almost 18 years later, true crime author Amanda Bailey is commissioned to write a revelatory book about the Angels. She determines that the greatest spur to boost sales of her book would be to find the now young adult child. The identity of the girl has been hidden, as well as her location and living arrangements. Her parents, the teens of back then, have also managed to hid from the public for most of two decades.
The documents talked of at the beginning of the review constitute the gist or this matter. This is not a typical narrative tale. Rather it is constructed through a long series of talks, chats, reading of papers, electronic communications and so forth. All of that is what you would find in the safety deposit box that you have just opened. The story has all taken place sometime in the past and you are left to sort through everything and try to make sense of it all. It is much like a puzzle room that you have been dropped into. Now it is up to you to make sense of it all. But don’t despair. Even with the time traveling papers, even the temporal transportation of key peoples and events, and the very mixed-up revelations from some of the characters, all will be revealed.
This is not a book to be entered into lightly, but it is worth the trip. ( )

I enjoyed this mystery/thriller so much more than I thought I would having heard the words, "entirely epistolary mystery/thriller". It's really masterfully done! I'm thinking of checking out more of Janice Hallett's novels, as this one was very skillful. I did find the ending/ultimate resolution wildly unsatisfying, but in that aspect your mileage may definitely vary. ( )

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. ( )