The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is the third novel by Janice Hallett. I really enjoyed her previous novel, The Twyford Code, and I absolutely loved her first novel, The Appeal. So I was really looking forward to reading Alperton Angels. It was published on 19th January, but it feels like the whole world has already read it over the last six months. That’s the problem with following a lot of book bloggers and authors on social media. Everyone else seems to have read it and been talking about it for ages, giving me serious FOMO!

In The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, author Amanda Bailey is asked to research and write a book about the notorious Alperton Angels, as part of a new true crime series. To make the true crime series more authentic, other authors are working on books about actual true crime cases, including one writing about the links between Rose West and Myra Hindley.

In the case of the Alperton Angels, a number of men were found dead in a warehouse, as part of a cult – followers of an ‘angel’. Just three people escaped – a teenage couple and their baby. Now the baby is about to turn 18, so should be easier to track down and Amanda can start to piece together the story.

But another author, Oliver Menzies, has also been asked to write about the case. Amanda and Oliver knew each other from the very start of their careers and weren’t always friends. However, they reluctantly agree to work together.

But can the baby and the teenagers be found?

As with all of Janice Hallett’s novels, the book is pieced together entirely from bits of evidence. In this case, it’s emails, WhatsApp messages, transcriptions of conversations and a few snippets of books, newspapers and even a film script.

Amanda speaks to police officers, social workers, true crime enthusiasts and even authors who wrote fictional books based on the case. And she finds a lot of conflicting information – about how many bodies were found, whether or not there were painted symbols at the crime scene and even about who found the bodies.

Will she ever get her facts straight and will she ever get to write her book?

This is another brilliant read by Janice Hallett. Her books are unique in that they all read like a puzzle. If you are looking for a read which is both entertaining and mysterious, I would definitely recommend The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels!