The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels: the Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick

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But do we care enough about this baby? Readers presumably shouldn’t find themselves wistfully thinking, as I did once or twice: “But didn’t this all happen ages ago? Is it time to let it lie?” I think the problem is Amanda. In Hallett’s previous books, the detection of the crime – and the crimes themselves – had origins in characters we learned to care about. Here, the narrative engine is a woman whose psychotic single-mindedness is admittedly interesting, but who has no personal involvement. What’s her motivation? If she’s writing purely for gain, how much will she lose if she fails? What I most enjoyed were the passages of pastiche – especially the snatches of an airport novel called White Wings. And as ever, the author’s control of the material is masterly, the eventual solution quelling any misgivings or objections the reader may have had along the way. This is my second Janice Hallett book. While I've read plenty of epistolary works before, this author's trademark is to notch things a bit higher, entangling the reader as deep in the mystery as possible, encouraging them to really root through the clues for the truth. I definitely understand what she's doing - I'm just not sure still if I prefer it! I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a couple of times when I thought there might be one too many different types of material but they're all totally relevant. Of course you won't know that till the end, which I didn't see coming at all. Great twist. In fact there's several great twists.

Hallett has done it again! Brilliant, clever, and will have you hooked and guessing throughout -- Charlotte Levin, author of IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU I loved the format and the whole story felt so authentic. I almost believed there was a real life case of the Alperton Angels. I think the format of the book really added to the authenticity.Now, author Amanda Bailey is writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the true-crime scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail. Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail. I absolutely loved it. It is the funniest, cleverest and most innovative novel I've read for years -- Sarah Stovell, author of THE HOME Maybe mixed media novels just aren’t really for me - I find the concept fun, but I do need to really connect with characters to love a book and this narrative style sometimes feels too distanced for me. I know that’s the point of them, especially when you’re trying to solve the puzzle, but it’s not my favourite. Nevertheless, I think this one will be well received and it was enjoyable enough to keep me reading to the end. I absolutely loved the format, which draws the reader in immediately and even makes them complicit in the quest to get to the truth. But of course, people aren't always who they seem, people lie and are guided by their own history and motives, which aren't always clear. This is a book with multiple layers and complex characters, and the story will turn into another direction every now and then. And very much to my surprise, I absolutely didn't see that end coming.

For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is a dark, twisty mystery and I loved how the puzzle pieces slowly slotted into place. The author provided a steady drip of information and just as I thought I’d figured out what was going on, another twist was thrown at me. Agatha Christie has found her heir. A genius premise. A perfect puzzle. Crime fiction fans will not want to miss this one! -- Victoria Selman, author of TRULY, DARKLY, DEEPLY After ensnaring the teenagers and convincing them that the baby was destined to doom humanity, they planned to kill the infant at the appointed time – 10 December 2003 – when five planets were due to align in a rare astral occurrence. However, despite the cult’s best laid plans, the ritual sacrifice did not go ahead as arranged, as Holly had second thoughts about the whole thing, took the baby to safety and called the police. I appreciate books that do this dossier format, here though I felt like the reader needed to want to play detective in a way that I never do in mysteries. I never go into a book trying to put on my detective hat with an old school pipe to suss out what really happened and which characters might be lying to me, and here I felt as though Hallett wanted the reader to construct their own murder board with doodles of characters connected by red string to really get the most enjoyment out of the book.But anyone who has experienced something life altering, such as a bereavement, can be vulnerable. In simple terms, as soon as someone knows what you want, they can control you with the promise of getting it for you. As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realise that what everyone thinks they know about the Angels is wrong, and the truth is something much darker and stranger than they'd ever imagined. If you're still here, I'm not gonna say you made the wrong decision, but . . . just kidding. Maybe you need more info. The premise here is that an investigative journalist is writing a book about an infamous cult murder/suicide that took place about eighteen years before. The Alperton Angels, as the cult members were called, believed that a specific baby was the Antichrist and were getting ready to sacrifice said baby when a police raid interrupted them. All of the cult members killed themselves, and the baby was taken into custody. But now in present day, the baby is eighteen years old and available to interview, if it can be found. Our journalist MC, Amanda, is determined to find the baby and break open the Alperton Angels case in a new way, making a name for herself. Janice Hallett, the author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code, is on a roll. In this quirky, clever tale, two rival true-crime authors are delving into the case of the Alperton Angels.” True crime-auteur Amanda Bailey krijgt de opdracht om een boek te schrijven over het mysterie rond de Alperton Angels-sekte. Achttien jaar geleden vielen er in één nacht vier doden, werd de sekteleider opgepakt en verdwenen twee tieners met een baby, maar niemand weet wat precies heeft geleid tot de fatale gebeurtenissen en van de verdwenen personen ontbreekt nog altijd ieder spoor. Amanda is slim, doortastend, brutaal en vastberaden om eindelijk antwoorden te vinden op onbeantwoorde vragen, en om dat doel te bereiken hoopt ze de baby te vinden, of in ieder geval de tieners, en zo haar verhaal vanuit een uniek perspectief op te bouwen. Het is een ambitieus plan, en wanneer ze wordt gedwongen om samen te werken met een collega-journalist, iemand die haar in het verleden pijn heeft gedaan, wordt de zoektocht naar de waarheid steeds gecompliceerder.