Six Stories - Matt Wesolowski

 

1997. Scarclaw Fell. The body of teenager Tom Jeffries is found at an Outward Bound center. 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 rivaled 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. 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.

I read and loved a Six Stories book last year and then went on to purchase several of the books because i absolutely adored the concept and it just gripped me so much. I decided it was time to head back to the beginning and start with the original Six Stories. 

1997 and finally the body of missing teenager of Tom Jeffries has been found, the verdict though? Misadventure or accidental. However, not everyone is so sure of that but non the less the group of teenagers who were there that night have now moved on and are getting on with their lives. Fast forward to 2017 and journalist Scott King whos popular podcast explores complicated cases through six different stories leading the listener to make their own conclusion decides to tackle the case.

As expected we follow the book told from six different points of view in an interview style where the chapters are like podcast episodes, interjected with another voice. What i loved about this is you can really imagine listening to this and it is certainly does hook you in. I loved the twists and turns in this one and i did not expect any of what happened. 

I loved how you learn from each voice what they perceived at the time and their perception  of the missing teenager. It is such a unique and great concept in terms of told like a podcast and i loved the intertwining of folklore throughout as we try to discover what actually happened.  I already have the next few books on my kindle ready to read and i cant wait to tune into the next episode to see what the case will be.

Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for young people in care.

'Six Stories' was published by Orenda Books in the spring of 2016 with follow-up ‘Hydra’ published in the winter of 2017, 'Changeling' in 2018, 'Beast' in 2019 and 'Deity in 2020

‘Six Stories’ has been optioned by a major Hollywood studio; ‘Changeling’ was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, 2019 Amazon Publishing Readers’ Award for Best Thriller and Best Independent Voice.
'Beast' won the Amazon Publishing Readers' Award for Best Independent Voice in 2020

Matt is represented by Sandra Sawicka at Marjacq
Film/TV Rights - Luke Speed at Curtis Brown