The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels: the Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick
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By Janice Hallett
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1 review
- THE SMASH HIT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER *
- THE GENRE-BUSTING RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK *
- A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF YEAR *
- AN OBSERVER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR *
- A TELEGRAPH BEST SUMMER BOOK OF THE YEAR *
‘The queen of tricksy crime’ – SUNDAY TIMES
‘Her best so far’ – MARIAN KEYES
‘Another resounding success’ – DAILY EXPRESS
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.
From the bestselling author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code comes a stunning new mystery for fans of Richard Osman and S.J. Bennett, that shot straight into the Sunday Times bestseller list in January 2023. The devil is in the detail…
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Eve
I found this book easy to read at first and liked the way that it was written in emails and texts. However, as the book went on I found it difficult. Again, at first I found the story easy, but after a while it seemed to turn rather supernatural and the story not so believable. I read some reports on line, but it seemed to have little sense . Although I read all the book , I did not seem to get much sense from it. Overall I found the book disappointing and would give it a score of 4.
Mabe
I'm afraid I didn't like this book I struggled with the format and I dislike books about cults.
So it a 0 from me.
Helen
I read this book and at the start I enjoyed the different sources that were used to tell the story. I have read one other book by this author which was similar in style. I thought the plot twist at the end was clever, it was unexpected and did like the exchanges with the person doing the interview transcriptions. However, I felt that the book was overlong and the style made it hard to follow at times, and so found myself skimming some sections. Overall I would give it 5/10
Chris/Arleen (via Eve)
5 of us met to discuss this book - 3 sent in separate reviews We were not keen on the format of the book as it became rather wearing after a while. The ending was quite difficult to understand, even with the help of Google. The duchess of Wessex was mentioned during the book and we discussed whether or not it was legal to mention an actual personal a book or do you need permission to use someone's name. Mostly we found the book disappointing and from just our number it scored 2.5
Carolyn
I was a bit unsure about the format of the book but found it easier to read than I initially thought. I was a bit confused by all the different people though and was never quite sure whether they were lying, misremembering or telling the truth. Also did Oliver kill Amanda or was that a cover up by the police as well? It was cleverly worked out. I give it 7.
Sonia
The format of the book was interesting and new but eventually ended up making it difficult to follow for me. So many characters introduced in so many different formats that I am afraid I lost track of who was who in the end. The story was interesting and enjoyable and the twists at the end were unexpected and clever. Not the type of book I would want to read again if it was in the same sort of format though. I give it a 5 out of 10.
Kirsty
Well, this book is most definitely unique!! When I first had a flick through it I was a bit concerned in the way it is formatted being entirely composed using WhatsApp messaging, Emails and other communications as well as scripts from other 'books'. I have never come across anything like it before and considering I have read hundreds of books that is quite a feat!! I became hooked on the storyline immediately and was surprised to find that I was actually enjoying reading the storyline in the different media formats as it gave a larger picture of what peoples thoughts and ideas were from many different perspectives!! It is definitely a gripping storyline and I was completely invested from the beginning to the end. Once I started reading it I just did not want to put it down and was glued to the pages every time I got a moment to read through. I love the fact that because of the way it is formatted that even though there are only 8 actual chapters you can stop the book at many different places without feeling lost as to where you were in the book. The storyline is packed full of mystery, the supernatural, manipulation, suspense, deceit, crime, cover ups, friendship and it really makes you question what is actually going on. Janice also uses the topic of manipulation and how easy it is for someone to manipulate somebody who is vulnerable with nobody to talk to and how it is so easy for crimes such as grooming and child abuse to go so unnoticed in the world we live in now. I love that everything is wrapped up in the end leaving no plot holes as that is a pet hate of mine when it comes to reading mystery books when something is mentioned then seems to be entirely forgotten by the end of the book. Janice weaves several links and storylines together absolutely perfectly keeping the reader drawn in hook, line and sinker!! Janice has a fantastic imagination and I was absolutely gobsmacked when the ending happened as well as some of the truths being revealed. There was no way I would have expected any of it, which is again another fantastic achievement as it does get harder and harder to shock me the more books I read!!! This truly is a fantastic work of art in book form and I will be recommending it to anyone and everyone!! An absolutely incredible, complex, twisted, addictive and explosive work of art written in the form of multiple media that will have you questioning yourself by the end. An absolute must read that I could never score less than a 10/10!! I cannot wait to read more books by this incredible author!!!
Average score : 4 out of 10
