The Blurb:
One body. Six stories. Which one is true?
1997. Scarclaw Fell. The body of teenager Tom Jeffries is found at an outward bound centre. Verdict? Misadventure. But not everyone is convinced. And the truth of what happened in the beautiful but eerie fell is locked in the memories of the tight-knit group of friends who embarked on that fateful trip, and the flimsy testimony of those living nearby.
2017. Enter elusive investigative journalist Scott King, whose podcast examinations of complicated cases have rivalled the success of Serial, with his concealed identity making him a cult internet figure. In a series of six interviews, King attempts to work out how the dynamics of a group of idle teenagers conspired with the sinister legends surrounding the fell to result in Jeffries’ mysterious death. And who’s to blame…
As every interview unveils a new revelation, you’ll be forced to work out for yourself how Tom Jeffries died, and who is telling the truth.
As every interview unveils a new revelation, you’ll be forced to work out for yourself how Tom Jeffries died, and who is telling the truth.
A chilling, unpredictable and startling thriller, Six Stories is also a classic murder mystery with a modern twist, and a devastating ending.
Six Stories was published by Orenda Books on 20th December 2016 and you can buy it from Waterstones or Amazon.
My Review:
Wow! Right, where to begin? I have never before read a book quite like this one. It is written as a podcast, entitled 'Six Stories', presented by Scott King, who works hard at hiding his identity. It is a true crime podcast, where over six episodes, Scott looks back at an old crime, wherever had an element of mystery to it. Each episode includes the testimony of someone connected in some way to the incident or individual involved.
In this case teenager Tom Jeffries went missing from an activity weekend with other teenagers and a coup couple of adults, but his body was not found until some time later. In each episode, we learn something new and can draw our own conclusions as we go along. And some of what we learn is very creepy and scary indeed.
The podcast presentation is genius. I totally felt that I was listening to it rather than reading the words on the page. I could hear the voices of the speakers. It was totally absorbing. And Scarclaw Fell is a character in itself. Man, that place is terrifying and threatening! Made me shiver big time! It feels very real - I googled it to see if it existed - I'll leave you to check yourself.
Likewise, all the people featured seem so real - the dialogue reads just as you would hear people taking part in a conversation. And as we learn more about Tom Jeffries and that fateful night, we learn more about these individuals, with the exception of Scott King himself.
The story shows a familiarity with folklore and takes of witchcraft. The tales featured again seem very real but, this time, I was too spooked to check! I know I'll be hiding under the covers the next time the wind gets up though!
It wasn't a surprise to discover that Wesolowski has a background in horror - it shines through - but as a genre debut, this is phenomenal. It's well paced, intelligent, absorbing, beautifully written, atmospheric, dark and creepy as anything. And I did not see that ending coming - blew me away! I can't believe I waited so long to read it, and I can't wait to read the next books in the Six Stories series.
You can read my review of Hydra (Six Stories 2) tomorrow.
Wow! Right, where to begin? I have never before read a book quite like this one. It is written as a podcast, entitled 'Six Stories', presented by Scott King, who works hard at hiding his identity. It is a true crime podcast, where over six episodes, Scott looks back at an old crime, wherever had an element of mystery to it. Each episode includes the testimony of someone connected in some way to the incident or individual involved.
In this case teenager Tom Jeffries went missing from an activity weekend with other teenagers and a coup couple of adults, but his body was not found until some time later. In each episode, we learn something new and can draw our own conclusions as we go along. And some of what we learn is very creepy and scary indeed.
The podcast presentation is genius. I totally felt that I was listening to it rather than reading the words on the page. I could hear the voices of the speakers. It was totally absorbing. And Scarclaw Fell is a character in itself. Man, that place is terrifying and threatening! Made me shiver big time! It feels very real - I googled it to see if it existed - I'll leave you to check yourself.
Likewise, all the people featured seem so real - the dialogue reads just as you would hear people taking part in a conversation. And as we learn more about Tom Jeffries and that fateful night, we learn more about these individuals, with the exception of Scott King himself.
The story shows a familiarity with folklore and takes of witchcraft. The tales featured again seem very real but, this time, I was too spooked to check! I know I'll be hiding under the covers the next time the wind gets up though!
It wasn't a surprise to discover that Wesolowski has a background in horror - it shines through - but as a genre debut, this is phenomenal. It's well paced, intelligent, absorbing, beautifully written, atmospheric, dark and creepy as anything. And I did not see that ending coming - blew me away! I can't believe I waited so long to read it, and I can't wait to read the next books in the Six Stories series.
You can read my review of Hydra (Six Stories 2) tomorrow.
The Author:
Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for children in care and leads creative writing workshops for young people in association with New Writing North.
Wesolowski started his writing career in horror and was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at 'Bloody Scotland'; Crime Writing Festival 2015. His subsequent debut crime novel 'Six Stories' was published by Orenda Books in the spring of 2016 with follow-up ‘Hydra’ published in the winter of 2017.
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