The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is a very well written and cleverly constructed standalone mystery by Janice Hallett. Released 23rd Jan 2023 by Simon & Schuster on their Atria imprint, it's 432 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out in 3rd quarter 2024 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
The author is well known for her multimedia style of writing. Readers are given the key to a fictive safe deposit box full of letters and other materials and tasked with solving a decades old true crime case of a religious cult suicide alongside the investigative journalist protagonist. A rival journalist is on the same trail, trying to locate a baby who is now 18 years old and interviewed, if successfully found.
The format of the mystery is very challenging, and readers might struggle for immersion. This one is also -very- character heavy with a large cast, and there are some difficulties with keeping them all straight. That being said, once the book achieves liftoff, it's an engaging and surprisingly cleverly constructed puzzle.
Three and a half stars. This would be a good candidate for a mystery book club read/discussion, public library acquisition, and home use. It's a very oddly formatted book, but readable and engaging after a while (the first third is something of a slog).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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