The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, graphic violence, death by suicide, and emotional abuse.

Oliver and Amanda visit where the Assembly occurred. Luxury apartments have replaced the warehouse, but they find recently painted symbols like those at the Assembly. When Oliver has a dizzy spell, Amanda suggests that he is sensitive to the location’s “negative energy.” Oliver dismisses the idea, saying that he responds badly to caffeine and that the barista must have mistakenly given him caffeinated coffee. Afterward, Oliver recounts his traumatic experience working with the “mad squaddie.” The soldier disliked the first draft of the book and became aggressive. Oliver believes that the “mad squaddie” is responsible for the silent calls he receives at 4:44 each morning. Amanda confronts Oliver about his behavior when they were trainee journalists. She claims that Oliver was jealous because she was more talented despite being younger and uneducated. Oliver tells Amanda to “get over” it. 

Amanda replies to David Polneath, declining his help as an assistant. However, she offers to acknowledge him in her book if he has any useful contacts. She sends a similar message to Cathy-June Lloyd from the Cold & Unsolved Murder Club. David says that he has information, but they must meet in person.

Don Makepeace messages Amanda. He does not recall a police officer named Marie Claire. He also reveals that Jonathan Childs (police number 444) recently died of cancer. Amanda emails Jonathan’s widow, Grace. Grace claims that her husband was falsely reported as the officer who found Harpinder Singh’s body. Before his death, he was unfairly suspended for allegedly passing information to an organized crime gang. Amanda’s former colleague confirms that Gray Graham, a local news reporter, was asked to print Jonathan’s name in his article. She also reveals that the restaurant where Harpinder worked was raided shortly after his murder due to his connections with a drug gang. Amanda texts Gray, who is retired, asking why he was told to say that Jonathan found the body. A response states that Gray died from a heart attack. Since Gray has no known next of kin, Amanda claims that she was a close friend and offers to clear his home of documents.

In a page torn from My Angel Diary, teenage protagonist Tilly explains that she is an angel and describes being attracted to boys and girls. A page taken from White Wings describes how the protagonist, Celine, is an angel who uses her invisibility power as an undercover agent and assassin. Amanda also acquires the first few pages of Clive Badham’s screenplay Divine from a TV producer. In the script, Holly and Jonah are staying in an apartment with Gabriel. They believe Gabriel’s claim that they are angels and that the baby is the antichrist. Gabriel tells them that their purpose is to protect the baby until the right time to kill it.

Amanda acquires Jonah’s old cell phone number from Debbie Condon, a TV producer who made a documentary about the Alperton Angels case. Amanda messages Oliver, saying that he can accompany her to see Jonah if he takes her on his prison visit.

Oliver forwards an email to Amanda from Paul Cole, a spiritual counselor. Knowing that Amanda was responsible for contacting Paul, Oliver asserts that he is not in the right frame of mind for practical jokes. He was called to his mother’s nursing home at midnight, but it was a false alarm. Amanda and Oliver agree to stop “passing each other’s details to unhinged conspiracy theorists” (136). Oliver replies to Paul, saying that he focuses “only on the facts” (136).

Amanda and Oliver visit Quarr Abbey Religious Community. They locate Brother Jonah. He says that while Gabriel is in prison, nowhere is safe from the antichrist.

On the way to Tynefield, Amanda and Oliver discuss Gabriel Angelis. He was born on Christmas Day in 1959 and changed his name from Peter Duffy in 1991. Gabriel served brief sentences in the 1980s for checkbook fraud and in 2002 for stealing credit cards. In 2003, he received a life sentence for murdering Harpinder and mutilating the bodies of his fellow “angels” after their deaths by suicide. Amanda is denied entry. A woman reveals that Gabriel has several regular female visitors. She points out a woman entering the prison who wears an angel wing necklace. When Oliver returns to the car after visiting Gabriel, he is too shaken to drive and refuses to play his audio file. Amanda tells Oliver to send the recording to Ellie for transcription. However, Ellie can only hear white noise on audio file 444.

Oliver claims that the white noise is the same sound he hears when the “mad squaddie” calls him. When Amanda questions him about the interview, Oliver states that Gabriel has “piercing eyes” and “the face of an angel” and that he warned Oliver that someone wants to destroy him (176).

Oliver emails Paul, asking if he ever met Gabriel. Paul says he has not but that those who have reported experiencing physical symptoms, including a fast heartbeat, sweating, and an energy surge. Oliver confirms that he had these symptoms. He asks if there could be a science-based reason for what he experienced.

Amanda talks to criminal psychologist Caroline Brooks. Caroline says that Gabriel’s switch from petty criminal to murderer and cult leader is unusual. She also notes that in most cases of mass death by suicide, the cult leader dies with their followers, whereas Gabriel fled the scene. Caroline explains that cults can appeal to individuals who lack stable families or have experienced trauma. However, those most vulnerable to exploitation are people who believe they could never be manipulated.

Sonia Brown gives Amanda the phone number of “Mr. Blue.” Amanda arranges to meet the unknown person at night in an isolated location. She tells Ellie to call the police if she does not return. When Amanda says that Mr. Blue has not shown up, Ellie says that he could be waiting in Amanda’s apartment. After several missed calls from Ellie, Amanda responds, confirming that someone was waiting in her apartment but that she is safe. Amanda messages Pippa, claiming that the baby was the subject of “a closed, dark adoption” (182). There are no official records, and the child was likely sent overseas.

Amanda visits Gray’s apartment and finds his notebooks written in shorthand. She writes to her aunt Pat, whom she last saw 26 years earlier. Pat replies, claiming that the family never recovered from Amanda’s lies and that the trauma killed Amanda’s mother. Nevertheless, she agrees to meet. Amanda asks Pat if she could translate the shorthand.

Ellie begins her transcript of Pat’s meeting by stating that she cut out their conversation but is sorry for what Amanda went through. Pat reads out the entries from Gray’s notebooks, which look like potential news headlines. An entry for December 10, 2003, describes a panicked-sounding girl, a baby born in an old baby food warehouse, and satanic symbols. It ends with “Blood. Three dead. Stabbings. Nasty, nasty” (191).

Amanda’s second attempt at her first chapter is from the perspective of Gray as he arrives at the warehouse and finds the mutilated bodies.