The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is another twisty page-turner from Janice Hallett, the author of The Twyford Code. This time the story is told in emails, WhatsApp messages, and interview transcriptions as we follow Amanda, a true crime author who is researching her next book, on the so-called 'Alperton Angels' case from eighteen years before. Now 'the baby' at the centre of the case is about to become an adult and can tell their own story for the first time, there is a rush to track them down and secure exclusive access. But there is another writer on the trail, an old colleague of Amanda's, and there is a dark history between them...

I do enjoy Hallett's style. The trick of telling the story via emails and dialogue transcriptions might seem gimmicky at first, but it does push the story along at a tremendous pace and keeps it feeling fresh. There are lovely bits of humour, too, as when Amanda assures each of two documentary makers that their film was definitely the superior version. I did manage to pick some elements of the mystery in advance but the ending was a genuine shock. And there are some pertinent reflections here about belief, conspiracy theories, blind faith and superstition that feel very relevant in a world teeming with mis- and disinformation.

I suppose now I will have to seek out Hallett's first novel, The Appeal, and report back on that one, too.