Janice Hallett uses complex structure in her novels to great effect and the Alperton Angels is no exception. Hallett’s mysteries are like matryoshka dolls, every layer reveals something, but it isn’t until the last one that the full picture emerges.
In the Alperton Angels, she takes a fictional cold case and has the reader follow along on the trail with a journalist who is investigating with the idea of writing a book. Trouble is, our writer has some competition who is also interested in the story. It is a bumpy ride as the reader sifts through the messages, emails and documents to parse the story, but ultimately a satisfying novel which lets the reader exercise the “little grey cells.”
Amanda is relentless in her pursuit of the story, and the addition of Oliver, another writer who is also trying to get to the truth and get a book out adds urgency and tension to the exploration of a cold case. The novel serves as a comment on true crime voyeurism, the cutthroat publishing world. and the lack of integrity among some writers trying to “make a buck”—at one point another author and (maybe?) friend of Amanda’s is canceled for not checking her facts and getting outed by the “researcher” who basically handed her a load of twaddle that she didn’t bother to verify before plagiarizing it in her book.
If you are a writer who wants to explore form, please read Hallett. She is a master at weaving various kinds of formats for text and creating a story that works. In an interview I heard with her, she mentions that on the first draft, she doesn’t always know where she will end up, but when she goes back to revise, she creates the story. Many writers say that the magic is in the revision. Don’t be afraid to write an exploratory draft and then find the story.