The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels

This very twisty tale by Janice Hallett could be called an epistolary novel, or as the book jacket describes it, ""A novel about a journalist in pursuit of a story about a child who survived a cult mass suicide, which may not be all that it appeared to be, told in Janice Hallett's signature original and innovative style of emails, messages, news clips, and screenplay excerpts."

Publishers Weekly summarizes in their review, "...true crime author Amanda Bailey investigates the Alperton Angels, a cult that carried out a mass suicide after one of its members—a teenager whom the cult was convinced had given birth to the anti-Christ—alerted the police to its criminal activities. Eighteen years have passed since the Angels’ death ritual, and no one has been able to track down the mother or her child since. Planning to write a book about the incident, Bailey searches for the missing Alperton baby, now presumably a young adult. There’s only one problem: rival author Oliver Menzies, with whom Bailey shares a checkered history, is on the same trail... Hallett isn’t afraid to make demands of her readers: she pieces most of the novel together via a series of WhatsApp messages and discarded drafts of Bailey and Menzies’ work. The twists never let up as Hallett barrels toward the finish, frequently undermining reader expectations along the way while staying firmly in the realm of fair play. Hallett’s fans and newcomers alike will relish this brilliantly constructed and eminently satisfying mystery."

The New York Times says of its characters. "The book works as a juicy mystery — what really happened all those years ago? — but is equally satisfying as a story about the combative relationship between Amanda and Oliver, observed and commented on by Ellie Cooper, Amanda’s wry, kibitzing transcriber. It’s also an unlikely ode to the joys and frustrations of shoe-leather research, especially when the case is as crazy and convoluted as this one. Amanda is a nimble, occasionally ruthless investigator who flatters and sometimes lies to potential interview subjects. Some of her sources flake out, a few mislead her and others are too frightened to reveal much. Worryingly, fatal accidents befall a number of people right before they disclose any information."  They also sum up my feelings about the book's challenges and rewards. "...At times it can feel as if Hallett is juggling too many balls — interpersonal dynamics, characters’ back stories, a dizzying cat’s cradle of conspiracies and interlocking crimes, not to mention a very complex denouement. It might help to jot down a few notes as you go along, just to keep things straight.But it’s worth the trouble to pay close attention to this highly entertaining tale as you parse the evidence, invited to be an armchair sleuth alongside the characters."