The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

Book Blurb

Open the safe deposit box.
Inside you will find research material for a true crime book.
You must read the documents, then make a decision.
Will you destroy them? Or will you take them to the police?

Everyone knows the sad story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl and convinced her that her newborn baby was the anti-Christ. Believing they had a divine mission to kill the infant, they were only stopped when the girl came to her senses and called the police. The Angels committed suicide rather than stand trial, while mother and baby disappeared into the care system.

Nearly two decades later, true-crime author Amanda Bailey is writing a book on the Angels. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed; if Amanda can find them, it will be the true-crime scoop of the year, and will save her flagging career. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and is also on the baby’s trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realise that what everyone thinks they know about the Angels is wrong. The truth is something much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined. And the story of the Alperton Angels is far from over.

My Review
Having read Janice Hallett’s previous books and loved them, I purchased The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels as soon as it was published. Like the previous books, Janice Alperton uses her quirky writing style, of emails, WhatsApp and texts messages to tell the story of the Alperton Angels, a cult who eighteen years previously believed a baby was the anti-Christ whom they had to sacrifice to save mankind. Through crime writer, Amanda Bailey and her research into the Angels for a new book, we are privy to the dark and sinister story of the Angels, their belief’s and the suicides.

Janice Alliott has again written a unique and remarkable mystery that grabbed me and pulled me on an incredible journey. I really love her writing style, telling the story through the use of email, text, WhatsApp, newspaper articles and transcripts of meetings that Amanda uses in her research; she has written the modern day epistolary novel. It’s like reading a book about a book, being witness to the research and writing process of a writer, and seeing the organic progression of the writing process, and the putting it all together to make a fully formed novel. It is also like a puzzle for the reader, remembering parts of the story and being able to keep them in mind to form the full story.

As a character Amanda is a thorough researcher, not leaving any stone unturned and always looking for a new angle to the mystery; in this case finding the baby at the centre of the Angel cult. Her nemesis is Oliver Menzies, a fellow writer also working on a book about the Alperton Angels. Where Amanda is diligent, Oliver is more emotional about the case. He has less people skills, is abrubt and direct whereas Amanda is able to put people at ease and draw informatin from them. They are meant to work together, different angles, but sharing research, however Oliver is more of a hinderance than a help and their conversations added a frisson to the book, as they enter a kind of combat. I did like the idea of these two characters, their different characteristics, but the same goal, and waiting to see who would find that vital piece of information to make their book stand out.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is another fabulous crime thriller from Janice Hallett. The plot is completely gripping, both in the revelations in the story of the Alperton Angels, and also the research and writing processs of Amanda and Oliver. The unique writing style is genius, making it different to other crime thrillers on the market, adding to the enjoyment of the reading experience, with collating all the different threads to find the truth of what happened eighteen years ago. A deliciously dark, intelligent and compelling read and one I highly recommend.