THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS: the Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick Paperback – Import, 19 January 2023

Must read. It’s different from other mystery book read so far. Whoever designed cover for this book done a great job.

It’s been a while since I have read a book this engrossing. The format makes you feel voyeuristic, as if you are reading over something that you shouldn’t know, all the while making you desperate to obtain the next piece of the mystery.

I have seen this book around so much since its release and I decided to jump on the bandwagon to see if it was as good as it looked. It most definitely was and so much more than I realised it would be. I will mention that this is not a straightforward book, the story is made up of emails, messages, transcripts, post-it notes, emails, documents and reports. I have read several books that have been written this way and enjoy this style.For a book that is written via messages, pieces of text and no conversations as such, the flow of this story is amazing. Two authors are pushed together to write a book each about the infamous Alperton Angels, a small cult that ended when the leader was arrested for murder, two of the cult got away, and three if you also include the baby. Oh, and the three other members are also dead and mutilated. And further murders have happened in recent times to add even more confusion and mystery for the two authors to dig through.This is a cleverly laid out and written book, it had me going in circles along with the fictional authors as I was gradually drawn into a story that already sounded bad but then turned into something more evil and extreme. The mystery is amazing when it is finally realised, and I did not see that from the beginning of the book. There are things that are red herrings, but then they are not, people who are what you think they are and then they are not, places and dates are confusing and even though this who thing sounds very confusing, while you are reading the book it isn't. This is why I think this has been very cleverly done, if it hadn't been, well... it wouldn't have worked.The story involves several people as they give their information, some can be trusted, others not so much. There are many twists and I am finding it really difficult to write a review that makes sense. So what I am going to say is, if you like a murder mystery that is dark and just throws twists left, right and centre, then you really do need to read it.Brilliant book and I have a feeling this might be worth listening to as an audiobook. It definitely kept me occupied and I would definitely recommend it.

At first I found the constant jumping back and forth between fragments and characters offputting and hard to keep track of.I hadn't read a novel of this type previously but over time the journey and clues become clearer and it carries you away.It helps immeaurably that some of the key character relationships are followed through from beginning to ground the storyI would highly recommend attempting to read this on a large screen tablet vs a smaller screen KindleThe fragments are just easier to recognise and followCan't wait to read more of the authors work

It was a decent read although I was a bit disappointed in the ending. It seemed like the story was building to so much more a punch than it delivered. It lacked that page-turning suspense that I crave in my books. It sort of ambled along.

This book deserves more than 4 stars because I was totally absorbed right from the start, but not quite 5 as I found the big reveal a bit of an anticlimax and the plot a little too convoluted by the end. I was slightly apprehensive about the social media/email format but it didn't detract from the plot at all, just the opposite in fact. I have mixed feelings about the excerpts from other 'fictionalised' versions of events - sometimes I found them distracting and sometimes intriguing. The characters are so well drawn via minimal social exchange, while the audio recordings transcripts are a really effective tool for moving the story forward and giving certain characters a voice, especially with Ellie Cooper's comments as she's transcribing them. The humour reminded me a lot of Kate Atkinson's writing in the way it's almost casually thrown in, and if you get it you get it. The other negative thing is there are so many minor characters that it's sometimes difficult to remember who they are, even though the author does give reminders along the way. It's definitely a book to devour in a day or two so that you don't forget who everyone is, but it's more of a challenge to put it down.