The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
the Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick
-
-
4.0 • 62 Ratings
-
-
- £4.99
-
- £4.99
Publisher Description
*** 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***
'Her best so far' - MARIAN KEYES
'The queen of tricksy crime' - SUNDAY TIMES
'Another resounding success' - DAILY EXPRESS
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL...
True-crime author Amanda Bailey knows all about the notorious Alperton Angels cult. There have been dozens of books and films about the Angels, ever since the night nearly two decades ago, when they attempted to sacrifice a baby they believed to be the Antichrist.
With all the cultists now dead - apart from their charismatic leader - it seems like there's nothing new to say about the Angels... until now. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed, and if Amanda can track them down, it will be the scoop of the year. 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. And the devilish 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...
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Anyone who has ever found themselves spiralling into a true crime hole on TikTok or Reddit will be gripped by Janice Hallett’s latest whodunnit, told once again in her own unique way. Using a mixture of media including text messages, emails and book extracts, the reader is completely immersed in the mystery unfolding on the pages – and this time it surrounds a cult leader who, 18 years ago, tried to convince a young couple that their baby was the antichrist. Now, nearly two decades on, true crime writer Amanda Bailey wants to find and interview that very baby. Hallett expertly distils a really quite complex case into an easy-to-follow plot that maintains levity thanks to the witty commentary of Bailey’s assistant and transcriber Ellie. Be prepared for plenty of twists and turns as Bailey hunts down both the baby and the truth. A dream read for a wannabe true crime sleuther.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this inventive offering from Hallett (The Appeal), true crime author Amanda Bailey investigates the Alperton Angels, a cult that carried out a mass suicide after one of its members—a teenager whom the cult was convinced had given birth to the anti-Christ—alerted the police to its criminal activities. Eighteen years have passed since the Angels' death ritual, and no one has been able to track down the mother or her child since. Planning to write a book about the incident, Bailey searches for the missing Alperton baby, now presumably a young adult. There's only one problem: rival author Oliver Menzies, with whom Bailey shares a checkered history, is on the same trail. As in The Twyford Code and The Appeal, Hallett isn't afraid to make demands of her readers: she pieces most of the novel together via a series of WhatsApp messages and discarded drafts of Bailey and Menzies' work. The twists never let up as Hallett barrels toward the finish, frequently undermining reader expectations along the way while staying firmly in the realm of fair play. Hallett's fans and newcomers alike will relish this brilliantly constructed and eminently satisfying mystery.
