👼 Book Review (Spoilers!): The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
⭐️ 3.5 out of 5 stars | Genre: Mystery / Epistolary Thriller
🚨 Major spoilers ahead! If you don’t want to know who lives, who dies, and who’s actually the Antichrist (or not), look away now.
📍 The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels — A Wild Ride of Cults, Conspiracies, and Confusion
I’ll just say it: this was a tough book to follow.
Not because the story isn’t interesting — because it is. But the format? Oof.
➡ Emails.
➡ Text messages.
➡ Transcripts.
➡ Drafts of articles.
➡ More emails.
It’s like trying to solve a mystery by reading someone’s messy inbox. And on top of that, you have to figure out:
✔️ What’s important?
✔️ What’s total nonsense?
✔️ Who’s lying? (Spoiler: everyone lies at some point.)
That said — once you piece it all together, the payoff is pretty satisfying.
🧵 The Full Plot — All the Spoilery Details
👼 The Cult
So here’s the setup: back in 2003, a cult calling themselves the Alperton Angels made headlines.
➡ 4 adults (Gabriel, Michael, Elemiah, Raphael)
➡ 2 teens (Holly and Jonah)
Gabriel is the charismatic cult leader. The group believed a baby was the Antichrist and things got… messy.
What everyone thinks happened:
-
The adults (except Gabriel) slit their own throats in a mass suicide.
-
Gabriel survived (barely) and went to prison.
-
Holly ran off with the baby, called the cops, and the baby was rescued.
Fast forward 18 years — the baby is about to turn 18, and the public needs to know what became of the “devil child.”
✍️ Enter Amanda and Oliver
Two journalists, Amanda and Oliver, are racing to write the definitive book about the Alperton Angels’ baby.
Their history?
➡ Once upon a time, Oliver sabotaged Amanda’s career (gave her the wrong address, she got assaulted, he never said sorry).
➡ Amanda hasn’t forgotten. In fact, she’s ready for payback.
And boy does she get creative.
🕵️ The Investigation Gets Bonkers
Amanda lets Oliver fall down the rabbit hole:
✔️ She drugs him near Gabriel’s prison so he gets disoriented.
✔️ She emails him fake tips from fake people.
✔️ She lets him spiral into cult conspiracy land.
And oh boy, spiral he does.
Oliver becomes convinced that the baby isn’t just any baby — it’s Lady Louise Windsor (yes, royal family material). And if Gabriel said the baby is the Antichrist, then... Louise = Antichrist = Must Kill Her.
Meanwhile, we slowly piece together what really happened in 2003:
➡ The “cult” wasn’t a cult. Gabriel and his pals had kidnapped a baby (Don’s baby — Don being an ex-special forces guy).
➡ The ransom plan went south when Don and his team showed up and took them out.
➡ Michael and Elemiah were killed.
➡ Holly grabbed the baby and ran, trying to protect it.
Oh, and that mass suicide? Never happened.
➡ The cops killed the kidnappers to cover up their own messes.
➡ They even renamed a random dead guy (Christopher Shenk) to Raphael so it looked neat and tidy.
🔥 The Tragic Finale
Oliver, deep in his delusions, tries to kill Lady Louise at her school.
➡ She’s not there.
➡ Amanda shows up to stop him.
➡ Oliver shoots Amanda dead.
➡ Louise’s security team kills Oliver.
Or… did they?
The more likely truth:
➡ Don’s shadowy crew eliminated Amanda and Oliver to protect their secrets.
Amanda had stashed all the real dirt in a safety deposit box. Her assistant, Ellie, recovers it but chooses to stay quiet. I mean — wouldn’t you? People are dying left and right.
The end leaves us, the readers, holding the bag.
👉 What do we do with the truth?
🧠 My Take
✅ The concept is super cool. Cults! Conspiracies! Royals!
✅ Piecing the mystery together felt rewarding — eventually.
✅ The epistolary format is creative.
❌ It’s confusing. You’re sifting through so many bits and pieces, you need a corkboard and string like you’re solving a crime yourself.
❌ It’s slow. The format keeps the pace dragging at times.
❌ Oliver’s descent is just sad. He goes from annoying to dangerous real quick.
And honestly? This is one of those books where you’ll either love the puzzle or want to throw it across the room.
✨ Final Thoughts
I’m giving The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels 3.5 out of 5 stars.
It’s:
✔️ Complex
✔️ Ambitious
✔️ Full of twists
But also:
❌ Hard to follow
❌ A bit exhausting
📚 If You Liked This, Try:
📁 The Appeal by Janice Hallett — same author, same clever format
🎙 The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett — more puzzle fun
📰 The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton — layered, complex mystery
🛒 Buy The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
💬 What Did You Think?
Did this book hook you, or were you as confused as I was at times? Let me know your theories — I’d love to hear them!
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