Breakaway Books

Authored by Janice Hallett; Published 2023; Mystery

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels was one of my favorite reads of last summer. I loved watching the mystery slowly come apart, but be warned: if the occult gives you the creeps, I do not recommend this book. It’s not quite enough to tip it into the horror genre, but it’s certainly a little spooky.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels follows true crime author Amanda as she tries to do what no one else has done before: unravels the famed mystery of the cult of the Alperton Angels and find the mother and daughter at the center of it all. Amanda hopes this story will help her make it big, but she quickly discovers that her rival Oliver is hot on the same trail, and as much as it pains her, it makes sense for them to collaborate. Amanda and Oliver soon discover just how dark the true mystery of the angels is.

If you’re a lover of traditional narrative formatting, you might not love the form of this novel. It’s largely composed text conversation, transcripts, and letters that expertly guide you through the plot. Personally, I loved it—I really felt like I got inside of the characters’ minds, and if they weren’t totally likeable, they were pleasant enough to spend time with. As the author masterfully lay down layer after layer of conspiracy theory and shiny red herrings, I found myself making guess after guess about how all of it could be connected. I didn’t even come close, and I still found the ending incredibly satisfying.

Perhaps the eeriest part of the novel is the slow tipping of one of the characters into, if not madness, surely intense delusion. It felt real enough to send chills down my spine, and the formatting of the narrative only added to the spookiness for me. There is something especially discomfiting in today’s era about a seemingly sane and intelligent person changing into a conspiracy theorist overnight. This twist on the intensely charismatic sociopath is an absorbing one, even as it is disturbing.

The Mystery of the Alperton Angels makes you wonder: How easy is it to see the truth? Or rather, how easy is it to be deluded into thinking something is true? I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a page-turning mystery.