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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
29 reviews
fire_wolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse and Death
jazhandz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
seventhswan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
Graphic: Child abuse and Murder
aileron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, and Gun violence
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, Car accident, and Classism
thisbookisbananas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child abuse
mels_reading_log's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
I really, really enjoyed this. For a while I wasn't sure about it because I didn't really like the main character and couldn't tell if we were supposed to, but that ended up bothering me less and less because a) she does become a bit more bearable but more importantly b) the story is just SO ridiculously clever and tightly-plotted and honestly pretty genius. It's so layered and fascinating and had me so, so gripped, and I shouldn't have doubted the mixed-media format as it was SUCH an interesting way to tell the story (and in itself raises such interesting questions about what was inevitably omitted). I also loved the subtle commentary around true crime and the ethics of writing about it.
I will say that there were a couple of elements I was still slightly confused about by the end, hence it not quite being a 5*, but I don't know how much of that was the book versus how much was just me (and me reading it very late whilst extremely tired because I couldn't put it down). It also ended up being a lot darker than I expected, but mostly in a good way and definitely in a really interesting and unique way, and yeah I just really loved it!
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Kidnapping
dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual violence
bessadams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Sexual assault
nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The first book of hers that I read was the Appeal, which I found to be quite cozy and irreverent. While the style of Alperton Angels is the same, the characters were a more vicious and the themes considerably darker.
Alperton Angels consists of the collected research materials of fictional true crime writer Amanda Bailey as she digs into the events surrounding the apparent collective suicide of a small cult 18 years prior and the murder of their neighbor. The tragedy left four survivors: the leader, a man who claims to be the archangel Gabriel come to Earth, a teenage boy and girl, and a baby who would now be on the cusp of adulthood. Her publisher wants her to track down the baby and revisit the crime from their perspective.
Her investigation reveals a twisty knot of characters with varied motivations and levels of fanatical belief and so, so many secrets. The closer she gets to answers, the more dangerous the investigation seems to become.
This mystery was an utterly wild ride, and you truly don't know who to trust for the bulk of the text.
With cynical call-outs to the salacious world of true crime publishing and podcasting, Hallett shows how well she understands the genre. I wasn't surprised to see her list the impeccably researched brainchild of Michelle McNamara's obsession, I'll Be Gone in the Dark among her inspirations.
I would enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who likes learning about cults, reading true crime, and mysteries delivered with a side of cheeky British humor.
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Gore, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury