I absolutely love Janice Hallett books, and this newest one has not disappointed! I love the quirky style she uses to write these incredible books

Whilst alot of people enjoy this author I think their writing style is just not for me. The blurb drew me in however I found the format to draw out the storyline and create an unnecessary confusion. I think the mix of formats could be used alongside traditional chapters. Many enjoy this author but unfortunately it is just not for me.

I have read Janice Hallett's previous books The Appeal and The Twyford Code and I really enjoyed the format. Hallett's unique way of telling stories through mixed media is really engaging. However, I was starting to wonder if it was getting a bit….samey.

I was wrong.

Her latest book, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, is by far her best in my opinion. It looks at the unsolved case of the Alperton Angels, a cult that set about trying to convince a vulnerable young girl to sacrifice a child.

It is a story about coercion, about police corruption, about the ethical nature of journalism and it was brilliant. Janice Hallett is a master a drip feeling you enough clues to keep you guessing.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is a bloody good page turner.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett is available now.

For more information regarding Janice Hallett (@JaniceHallett) please visit her Twitter page.

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The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is an epistolary novel which centers around two journalists/authors Amanda and Oliver who are both looking into a cult and multiple murders which happened 18 years ago. The book explores themes of power, control as well as religious and supernatural beliefs.

I absolutely loved the format of this book especially as it involved so many different types of media including transcripts, text messages and hand written notes. This meant the book was very quick to read and I felt like we got a better understanding of the characters through seeing their different forms of correspondence. The cult theme was so interesting and there were so many twists in this story that I was entertained the whole time and couldn't put this book down.

Overall this was such an exciting and quick read and I devoured the book in one afternoon. It feels as if Janice Hallett has mastered her craft as this was such an improvement on both The Appeal and The Twyford Code.

I always love the mixed media approach of Janice Hallett and feel so lucky I got to read this early. This was another incredible mystery where you’re taken through a variety of plot lines, twists and different forms of media until it all tied together at the end. Really loved this one!

This book was so strange. At first I really didn't think I would be able to follow the transcripts of emails, messages, scripts and notes, within an hour I was absorbed by it. The case of the alperton angels was so strange. It REALLY was mysterious. There were moments when I was wondering if there was something actually divine about the story. I enjoyed this novel and cannot wait to get to Janice's other books

My second Hallett book did not disappoint! It's set near where I live so that really brought it to life for me.

Hallett has a unique style of story telling in how she presents information to the reader. This time it was through a series of emails, WhatsApps and telephone call transcripts. A journalist is using these to write a book about the cult suicide known as the Alperton Angels, specifically she's trying to track down the baby which they had wanted to sacrifice as the anti-Christ.

The mystery is bizarre but realistic and has enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing. A highly original and exceedingly fun read!

I really, really enjoyed this novel. Written with a mixed media format, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels follows a true crime writer investigating an unsolved mystery from nearly twenty years ago. Several young people were drawn into a cult led by the charismatic 'Gabriel' where they believed they were angels. A night ended in disaster with a mass murder scene, the bodies malformed in what looks like some sort of ritual and a mysterious crying baby in the midst, never to be seen again.

This was a really suspenseful and addictive mystery thriller. A true page turner, I was up to the early hours reading to find out more. There were so many twists and turns and it was just so cleverly done. I've read a fair amount in this genre and it's not often I come across a novel that feels so original. Highly recommended.

After loving The Appeal and being disappointed by The Twyford Code I was apprehensive about the third instalment from Janice Hallett. I’m pleased to say that my apprehension was misplaced as I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Hallett was back on form with her clever twists and turns that keeps you guessing to the end and the mixed media format grips you and keeps you reading to the end and you try and unpick this latest mystery.

3.5*/5. I haven't (yet) read The Appeal, but I *absolutely loved* the Twyford Code, so requested this eARC on the strength of that. Although set out in a similar format - WhatsApp messages, texts and emails - I found it more of a struggle to get through, and I'm not clear why. There was a lot going on and I got a bit lost amongst all the 'noise' of it, losing some focus and finding it hard to engage with (hence the great length of time it took me to read it).

I think the author is brilliant in how she sets up these mysteries - I can only imagine a huge, wall-sized 'murder board' of some kind with various coloured strings attaching the points and people together -it's just that I felt overwhelmed with the 'busy-ness' of the story and was slightly confused by the ending.

I did appreciate the author notes at the back of the journalists who inspired part of the story and followed up on the names there. Some people will go to enormous lengths to prevent their secrets from being spilled to the world.

Ultimately, the story and plot were great and I did feel quite invested in the characters, but I didn't *love* it in the same way I did the previous novel.

I loved this book. A different approach in the way it was told through emails and newspapers etc.

Such an ingenious style if writing. Tells the story very well. A literal page turner.If you have read Janice Halletts 2 previous books, then you will read this one. IF you haven't read any of her work, read this one and then work backwards.

I genuinely don’t know how she does it. Writing any novel must be incredibly difficult and require an extraordinary talent and level of research however Hallett in The Appeal, The Twyford Code and now The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels takes it to a whole new level.

True crime writer Amanda Bailey is looking for a new project, and the seventeen year old case of the Alperton Angels looks promising. A charismatic man known as “Gabriel”, capable of convincing others that he and they are angels, two vulnerable teenagers in his thrall, a murdered waiter, more dead bodies found in an abandoned warehouse, and a baby in peril. But the more Amanda finds out, the more inconsistencies and just plain inexplicabilities (is that a word?) come to light. Is there really something supernatural about this story? At least one character certainly comes to think so.

The way the story is written made me compelled to keep reading. It was addictive. More and more clues are slowly revealed and it’s thrilling, dark and twisty. The first ‘WOW’ moment knocked me off my chair, followed by another and then another . All of the complex subplots come together in the end for a shocking conclusion. This book is a little darker than my favorite by Hallett, The Appeal, but is just as engaging. It is suspenseful with a sense of foreboding that makes it hard to put down.

I’d never heard of Janice Hallett until her debut 2021 novel The Appeal, and I’m immensely grateful she’s proving so prolific because her books are each incredibly inventive, engrossing, and well written. This was no exception. Hallett expertly structures a plot about Amanda, a writer working on a book about a decades old case about a cult that believed it was necessary to kill the baby of one of its members. Amanda investigates the night most of the cult members died under strange circumstances with contradictory witness statements and attempts to find out what happened to the baby who survived that night. Hallett once again incorporates elements such as phone calls, emails, texts, and recordings which reveals information in interesting and more subtle ways than traditional narration and dialogue alone, and it brings the components of the investigation- interviews, documents, meetings, etc.- to life fir the reader. The plot was complex and fascinating, and I only hope Hallett’s fourth book is published as quickly as the rest, because I can’t read her novels quickly enough and always want more.

I was reminded strongly of Matt Wesolowski’s Six Stories series in terms of the structure of this book, as the story is told via an archive of text messages, emails, transcribed interviews and phone calls, letters and press cuttings.

The frame of the story sees two journalists reluctantly teaming up (or competing) to investigate a cold case in which four grown men died in mysterious circumstances and two teens survived with a baby that no-one can now trace.

And nothing is as it seems.

The twisty plot hints at supernatural possibilities among the many possibilities explored for what might have happened. It is all super complex and very, very cleverly constructed. I couldn’t stop reading and trying desperately to put together the information to work out what the real solution was, and I am not ashamed to admit that I did not get there before the reveal – in fact, I would never have worked it out!

This was an unusual mystery novel and felt like a really fresh approach to the mystery genre, so I will definitely be reading more from Janice Hallett in future.

A bit of a slow burner this one. Takes a bit of time to get going and there are a lot of names and relationships to keep tabs on, especially as the pace revs up and the plot starts to twist and turn.

The ending is rather foreshadowed but no less impactful. The multiple narrative sources can become annoying but are essential to the plot.

Not quite as ingenious or riveting as her debut novel but an entertaining and satisfying read nonetheless.

This book emphasizes the issues with the form in which Hallett chooses to write. Due to the fact that most of the events of the novel are relayed through WhatsApp messages from the protagonist to her friends, everything is reported meaning that big, climactic scenes are missed. There is also little characterization. However, something the novel does well is misdirection which can create a compelling mystery.

Um hey, hello Janice. What on EARTH gave you permission to write a book this good?!

If you’ve read a Janice Hallett book before (if not, why not?!) then you’re probably familiar with the classic style in which she writes. It’s like a collection of evidence in a multi-media format, and you’re left to play detective. It’s just utter brilliance.

I loved that this book was fast paced, and instantly had me hooked. The twists in it left me freaking out, they where so unexpected and dramatic in a way that ensures you’d let out an audible gasp.

So clever, and a must read!

The Alperton Angels is another cracking case from Janice Hallett, the author of The Appeal, which turned out to be quite the phenomenon in the attraction it garnered. I first saw Janice Hallett talk about The Twyford Code and The Alperton Angels at Bloody Scotland in Stirling in 2022 with Joanne Harris. It captured my attention, little did I know I’d have the opportunity to review it.

Cults are always intriguing when it comes to books and tv. I’ve long been intrigued and horrified by them ever since a certain episode in Byker Grove, a tv series in the 1990’s for teens. So, this book piqued my interest. The book did not disappoint!

The mystery is thought-provoking in the questions it poses in what would you do in certain situations. It in turn also creates a sinister atmosphere.
There are 2 true crime writers trying to uncover and solve a few murders, a missing baby and what of the cult that is darker than anyone can imagine?

There’s a real depth and intensity with the story being told through articles, emails, transcripts and texts. The book is sufficiently dark and twisty that it keeps you gripped and guessing the truth until the end.

Thanks to Viper for the opportunity to review and for the book in exchange of an honest review.

Loved this. This reminded me so much of the first book with all the different ways the book is written out in; emails, texts, etc. It really makes for a fun read. And the mystery, gosh, I don't even think I guessed what was happening until the author revealed the truth.

Janice Hallett has done it again. I loved this almost as much as I loved The Appeal and I really loved The Appeal. The only complaint I have is that it got a little confusing at roughly the 70% mark but that might have been me being a bit tired. The writing is superb and conversations seem natural and realistic. The mystery itself is well done and the way it unfolds is brilliant but extremely complicated and intricate. It is all very well explained in the end but it did have me worried for a while that I had missed something. Janice Hallett has a way of unfolding a story that really works well and you just have to have faith in her genius.