Book Review: The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

Janice Hallett is back with another epistolary mystery. Told through a series of transcribed conversations, WhatsApp messages, and torn-out pages from diaries - we the reader have to piece together the facts and crack the case!

Much like her previous novels - The Appeal and The Twyford Code - you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief a fair bit. Do people really talk like that when they don't know they're being recorded? Are mysterious notes ever really that clear? Probably not - but it is all rather good fun seeing the plot come together.

It also cheats just a little by having the transcriber give their opinion at key points. It keeps the story going, via a few red herrings, so I can't complain too much. There are lots of clues dotted around to keep track of, and a few proper gasp-out-loud moments.

The book is gorgeously typeset. The handwritten notes all use different fonts. Not only does it look luscious, it also brings a bit of life to the characters.

One thing to note - there were some accessibility issue with the book. Images of crucial evidence didn't have alt text and some of the emoji were poorly rendered. I wrote to the publisher and they fixed all the problems quickly. So it is worth checking if your eBook retailer has updated to the newer version.

The plot is a curious affair. A mixture of satanic-panic and murder mystery. It gets progressively darker and spookier - becoming rather twisted. The conclusion is pretty satisfying while leaving you with a few questions to mull over.

This is a fun mystery novel in a quirky style.