NetGalley Buddy Readers discussion

Open the safe deposit box. Inside you will find research material for a true crime book. You must read the documents, then make a decision. Will you destroy them? Or will you take them to the police?

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult-like group who were convinced one of their member's babies was the anti-Christ, and they had a divine mission to kill it - until the baby's mother, Holly, came to her senses and called the police. The Angels committed suicide rather than go to prison, and Holly - and the baby - disappeared into the care system.

Nearly two decades later, true-crime author Amanda Bailey is writing a book on the Angels. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed - if Amanda can find them, it will be the true-crime scoop of the year, and will save her flagging career. 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, and the truth is something much darker and stranger than they'd ever imagined.

This story is far from over - and it won't have a happy ending

Trisha and I are starting today 8/25

Ooh I'll join you two on Monday!

Elyse wrote: "Ooh I'll join you two on Monday!"

yayyyy!

25%

I'm completely hooked.

(view spoiler)[
I really love how unique Janice Hallett's books are. Using a variety of forms of communication with zero narrative to help fill in the gaps.

I'm so confused about this case.

Was the dead waiter relevant?
Was the police officer who took the baby from the hospital supposed to take the baby?
Did the social worker really get confused or did Holly go off with Gabriel not Jonah?
And for that matter, who was the father of the baby and was Holly its mother?
And if the cop who supposedly found the body actually didn't... then who is covering for whom and why?

Side notes: I love the asides in the transcriptions and I wonder what Oliver did to Amanda...

(hide spoiler)]

It’s making me so sad that we can’t see the emojis on the chats! I’m sure this is an ARC issue. it isn’t going to make or break the book but I’m finding it so annoying

50%

(view spoiler)[

I don’t think we know much more than we did 25% of the book ago…

So the Harry Singh backstory is hogwash

Also the timing or date of the muddles might be wrong

I’m unconvinced that the baby was adopted out somewhere impossible to find

Who the heck was mr blue ?! Holly?

Also… Oliver is losing it.

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

I haven't been able to start yet. I probably won't start until Sept 1 at this point. I have too many books to finish in August! Including a group discussion tomorrow of a book I haven't started yet! lol. Glad you're enjoying it! I own a physical copy.

I missed this one. I added it to the calendar.

25% and I agree! I absolutely LOVE this author! She has the most unique way of giving us a HUGE puzzle to solve and gives us interesting puzzle pieces to try to fit together! her books are an adventure and I love every minute!

(view spoiler)[ I agree!

so did they not check Holly over to see if she'd actually given birth to a baby a few weeks earlier?
and how do you miss the blood all over her?

and why is everyone dying before she can talk to them?
and where is this baby?
and what do the symbols mean?

and YES, I don't like this other book guy - I have to wonder what he did too! sounds like he made it so awful she had to leave the job. It sounds like whatever he did, it was awful

I'm still haunted by a line "Funny, the closer you get, the further away you are."

I love it and I have no idea what's going on yet! (hide spoiler)]

oooh I love your 50% update!

so many good ideas!

(view spoiler)[ I have a very very bad feeling that Gabriel is prepping Oliver to kill the baby (now adult). Eeek! He's getting really deep with the map and the idea they were right and that other murders made the area okay for the antichrist to survive. Yikes!

I love EC's little comments on the transcripts! so good!

Now, who could the baby be? Hmmm. . .I don't know if we've met him yet. Interesting that so many people in the midst of this investigation die as soon as she goes looking for them!

Also, Mr. Blue. Wow, that's an interesting idea! That could be Holly. . .but what new angle would Amanda be working on that Holly would have revealed (because Amanda doesn't sound like she's jumping on the antichrist bandwagon). But who else could it be?

and how are there so many conflicting stories? 2 dead, 3, then 4. The other body, the boy - wrong age, wrong background. Why would the police lie? I know they fubbed knowing the baby was in the bag but why else?

and who is this Marie-Claire?

Definitely a case that becomes muddier the deeper/closer you get (hide spoiler)]

I'm so hooked!

82% / Through Chapter 6

and O-M-G!

(view spoiler)[ WOW! I never saw that coming! Is she. . .manipulating him? Is she cracking his belief. I was just thinking, as we went through her Chapters, how hers is really panning out to be a large-scale cover-up!

But wow, that she deliberately got him spinning. So what did she feed him? Did they not really find that guy at the abbey? did she set that up? and the symbols, did she lead him to the building? and the tunnel, knowing they would be there?

but how does this pan out that we have the file afterwards (I think from Amanda) and that she's put it to us - burn the file or turn it in the police. and why are all these other people dying around them as they contact them?

I'm so confused now because now I don't know what was real and what Amanda added to spin it

I was beginning to wonder if Ellie was actually tied in to this more than we'd thought but now I don't think so! (hide spoiler)]

I'm done

wow! this one was so good!

(view spoiler)[ the actual reveal of what he did to Amanda was just awful. and what an jerk, he still didn't feel bad about it. Ugh.

I hate that Amanda was also killed. I think she may have held off on actually reporting what happened, because she wouldn't have wanted Gabriel to get out but maybe I'm just being naïve and she was ready to tell it all. How awful that they killed her for it.
She was so good at what she did

I did find her little pushes to Oliver amusing. I'm sad he went so far off the deep end but I can see why she wanted to push him

and the ultimate reveal. WOW a bit convoluted - because there were so many layers - I never anticipated the baby was the officer's although I didn't think it was actually Holly's. (hide spoiler)]

75%

(view spoiler)[
Oooh ok so was Gabriel dead or were there two people that looked similar?

The two different Holly thing makes sense. I was starting to suspect that so I'm glad to get a confirmation. Goodness knows most of this is still a big question mark in my head.

So... Holly #2 was an aristocrat? Surely it can't be that hard to track her down then? But how did the playwright know about Ashleigh?

Oliver seems to be losing the plot. And I can't roll my eyes hard enough at the spiritual advisor guy.

The link to the tunnel by the hotel was fun.

Wonder if we're going to find out what happened to Amanda as a kid? Doesn't sound good at all. Plus she keeps popping up with things she hasn't previously mentioned so she's kinda an unreliable narrator. For all we know, she knew someone in the angels. She lived right by that tunnel...

Still SO MANY questions.

(hide spoiler)]

Done!

(view spoiler)[

I think this was my favorite of this author’s books so far! So good.

I did think the resolution was kind of convoluted but it was hinted at previously about Gabriel being a con man and possibly selling babies (or maybe it was one of Emily’s asides). I didn’t at all guess it would be the police officer’s kid that Amanda met with earlier in the book though. I don’t think it was Holly’s baby biologically.

Wow I definitely didn’t fully call the depths of what Amanda put Oliver through but he was really repentant and I kind of think the jerk had it coming.

It was a little disappointing that both she and Oliver were killed… so no comeuppance to be found really.



(hide spoiler)]

YAY! so glad you liked it too! I loved this one, I agree, my favorite from this author so far! SO good, I was hooked as soon as I started!

That's so great! I put it on my holiday wishlist after these comments! :)

I'm really hoping to start this today!

I didn't realize that this book hasn't been released in the US yet? I bought a UK signed edition from Waterstones so I've owned it for months. And then I recently won an ARC from Goodreads and I was so confused!! lol. I thought it was for the paperback release.

Elyse wrote: "I didn't realize that this book hasn't been released in the US yet? I bought a UK signed edition from Waterstones so I've owned it for months. And then I recently won an ARC from Goodreads and I wa..."

Meanwhile, I didn't realize the UK release was so much earlier on this one!

Yeah, UK usually releases a couple months earlier but sometimes up to a year. Australia as well.

This is my first Hallett novel but I own The Appeal, have the Twyford Code from NG and *just* got approved for The Christmas Appeal!

I'm 33% through. I don't know if I like this mixed media only format. Probably makes for a good audiobook though! It's why I don't like reading plays, I like having background text and not just conversations. But I am getting used to it. No chapters either, I hate that. lol. I like stopping at the end of a chapter! Plus I did get approved for the NG so I'm going between the UK hardcover edition and the e-book and it's hard to find stopping places! (view spoiler)[I am still super creeped out by a lot of people mysteriously dying as soon as Amanda makes contact!! But I don't believe there's really a supernatural element here. (hide spoiler)]

I LOVE the mixed-media type format! I think it's so fun.
I love how the characters add their personality in little ways between the lines (like in the correspondence and when she is transcribing).

I just ordered another book because it was mixed media murder mystery!

I’m with Trish on this one. I love it. It’s so unique to rely entirely on mixed media.

I really enjoy it as well but I don't think it would work on audio for me at all. I would lose track of dates and conversations.

It’s definitely more confusion audio. I tried to read the Appeal on audio and had to switch to ebook. I think it would’ve been ok if I gave it 100% attention maybe but I usually do audiobooks while walking the dog or driving or something

83% and kinda bored. I just want to read your ending spoilers! lol. Something good needs to happen or this is a 3-star for me.

I finished it. I gave it 3 stars. It took far too long to get to the point and I got kind of bored. (view spoiler)[I didn't like that Amanda and Oliver both got killed. By whom? Was it set up by Don and Georgina? Was Jonah the mad squaddie? Did Ellie have anything to do with it, did she tell Don that that's where they were going and she took the money Georgina offered to Amanda for keeping the real facts out of the book? Where did the white feathers come from? Did Marie-Claire and her special forces unit kill the other people that got too close to the truth? They must have and that's also why Amanda and Oliver got killed. (hide spoiler)] IDK I just feel duped.

i'm so behind on my reviews. FINALLY got around to this one.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review