February 16

Deity – Matt Wesolowski

A shamed pop star
A devastating fire
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?

When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls.

Online journalist, Scott King, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rake over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge: Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Are reports of a haunting really true? Why was he never officially charged?

Dark, chillingly topical and deeply thought-provoking, Deity is both an explosive thriller and a startling look at how heroes can fall from grace and why we turn a blind eye to even the most heinous of crimes…

 

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy of Deity.  Thanks also to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the Deity Blog tour.

 

Six Stories. A phenomonal concept and Matt Wesolowski just seems to deliver chills and tension every single time.  With Deity we are concentrating on Zach Crystal, a musician who reached the very top at a young age and lived a mysterious and controversial lifestyle before tragedy struck and he died in a fire at on his remote country estate in the Scottish Highlands.

Scott King is a podcast host who in each of the four previous Wesolowski novels has conducted interviews with six guests in a bid to cast light on mysteries, murders or strange phenomonon. The story telling is always wonderfully layered and the salient points to each story will not be immediately obvious to the reader until Scott King himself draws your attention back to they key revelations which can turn your understanding of a narrative on its head.

Deity is no different. Six interviews with six people to understand better the complex and controversial superstar Zach Crystal.  The first story makes it quite clear where the headline controvosy will be found.  King interviews a man who alleges Crystal was active in an internet chatroom trying to arrange a meet with a 12 year old girl (Crystal at this time was in his mid 40s).  Throughout his career Crystal has spent time with young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds at his remote Highland home.  “Entirely innocent” he always maintained and there was never any real traction behind the few stories which cast doubt on his assurances of innocence.

The reason the stories never amounted to anything, King’s first guest asserts, is that King employed a team of hostile investigators who would shut down any rumour or story before it could manifest itself into anything more substantiated.  No proof, no story.  But Crystal cannot hide from all bad press and when two young girls are found dead (it is alleged in mysterious circumstances) on the grounds of his Highland Estate it has to be acknowledged that his extensive security staff could not have done anything to prevent the unfortunate death in the inhospitable environment of the Cairngorms. It is also worth mentioning that Crystal has bought land and settled in a notoriously dangerous part of the mountains and local legend tells of dangers in the Whispering Woods and Crystal tells of seeing a cadaverous wild animal which stands tall and has flesh hanging from the skull under a wild antlered head.

Crystal himself chooses to wear antlers and often masks his face when performing so the link to the mysterious creature is a fascination for the reader. It also makes Crystal seem even more of an odd character.

The accusations against Crystal which were laid out by King’s first guest are firmly shut down by his second guest.  A YouTube star who is a devoted fan of Zach Crystal, has spent time in his company and on his Estate, and who believes all the stories of inappropriate behaviour with minors is just women seeking to cash in on the deceased star now that he cannot defend himself.  This guest turns the story of the the first guest on its head.  Although the reader may not like what they are hearing about Crystal (he does come across as a total bampot) it cannot be taken for granted he is guilty of the allegations which follow him around.

Through four more guests we strip back some of the mystery surrounding Crystal.  Did he deserve to die?  Was he a troubled individual – thrust into fame too young and with no social skills to survive in the entertainment industry? Why did he always have to take groups of vulnerable underage girls to his home?  It does make for uncomfortable reading and I never shook the feeling that Crystal was a dangerous individual, so why are his defenders so determined to protest his innocence?

One unexpected development was the return of a character from an earlier novel.  No spoilers but I found this a nice touch for returning readers but the appearance of this character will not leave new readers baffled as their involvement is very different.  One other surprise was that the story is set, in part, in Inverness and surrounding areas (one interview takes place in Aviemore).  I grew up in the Inverness area. When you live in London you probably don’t bat an eye if you pick up a book and find the story is set in your home town – if you live in Inverness this is much more of a novelty and it certainly brought a smile or two as I was reading.

Deity is the fifth book in the Six Stories series.  I own all the earlier books in audiobook, paperback and in digital format – I am a bit of a fan.  It is a tough call but I think Deity may be my favourite of the five books.  I think the complexity of Crystal and the frustration King encounters in trying to find tangible proof around any of the rumours linked to the star make this the most complex of books in the series. Kings podcasts assert they are not to uncover the truth or reach a conclusion but to present more facts to allow listeners to make their own judgement – the reader is doing this here to a greater degree than other books.

If you are new to the series you can read the Six Stories books in any order – I envy you the hours of enjoyment they will bring you.  If you are a returning reader you can be assured Deity is a triumph.

 

Deity is published by Orenda Books and is currently available in paperback and digital version.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08D6J458T/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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January 27

Changeling – Matt Wesolowski

A missing child
A family in denial
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?

On Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished in the dark Wentshire Forest Pass, when his father, Sorrel, stopped the car to investigate a mysterious knocking sound. No trace of the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden was declared officially dead in 1995.

Elusive online journalist, Scott King, whose ‘Six Stories’ podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the disappearance, interviewing six witnesses, including Sorrel and his ex-partner, to try to find out what really happened that fateful night. Journeying through the trees of the Wentshire Forest – a place synonymous with strange sightings, and tales of hidden folk who dwell there, he talks to a company that tried and failed to build a development in the forest, and a psychic who claims to know what happened to the little boy…

Intensely dark, deeply chilling and searingly thought provoking, Changeling is an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, taking you to places you will never, ever forget.

 

Thank you to Anne Cater and Karen at Orenda Books for the chance to join the blog tour.  I have reviewed the Audible audiobook which I had pre-ordered for purchase before I knew I would be joining the blog tour.

 

Matt Wesolowski writes each of the Six Stories books as a series of podcast episodes. One novel takes the reader/listener through a sequence of six interviews each interview is designed to give a different viewpoint on a single incident.  The incidents in questions are unsolved crimes, mysteries or puzzles to which there has not been a definitive answer or explanation and sometimes the incidents have a supernatural undertone.  The podcast host asserts that he is not trying to solve these crimes or occurrences, simply letting his listeners have the opportunity to challenge the “truth”.

As Changeling is written as a sequence of podcasts I was determined to read the book in audiobook format. What better way to enjoy the podcasts than to have them play out in the format they are intended to be presented? The result – an astonishing and wholly immersive experience.

Changeling documents the disappearance of a young boy in 1988.  Alfie Marsden was in a car with his father on Christmas Eve when, driving near Wentshire Forest, their car broke down after Alfie’s father (Sorrel) heard a strange tapping noise coming from the engine.  Sorrel was looking under the bonnet trying to identify the source of the noise, Alfie was sleeping in the car. Yet when Sorrel gave up on his mechanical investigations and looked back into the car Alfie was gone.

The case generated a lot of publicity over 3o years ago and Wentshire Forest had a reputation for creepy and unexplained activity. Scott King explores the forest’s reputation, looks into the people around Alfie at the time he disappeared and challenges his listeners to consider if something came out Wentshire Forest and took Alfie back into the woods.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

The emotion and the drama surrounding the disappearance of a young child is brilliantly conveyed in the performances of the narrators on the audiobook. As was the terror surrounding the tap, tap, tap phenomenon in the interviews discussing the peculiarities of  Wentshire Forest.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

A constant chilling undertone plays over a distressing family drama. Broken people tell their story and it can make for harrowing listening.  Matt Wesolowski has delivered another majestic read.

I am blown away by the storytelling in the Six Stories books and I urge everyone to seek them out.  If you listen to podcasts but don’t like to listen to talking books then I believe Changeling could be the book which may change your listening habits.  There is nothing to rival the sheer reading pleasure of losing yourself in the brilliance of a well constructed audiobook.  The Six Stories series is an essential addition to any audiobook library.

 

Changeling is available in digital, paperback and audiobook format.  It can be ordered here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Changeling-Six-Stories-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07F9JH5ZV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1548587467&sr=8-1&keywords=changeling+matt+wesolowski

Follow the tour

 

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November 2

Hydra (Six Stories) – Matt Wesolowski – Audiobook

A family massacre. A deluded murderess. Five witnesses. Six stories. Which one is true?

One cold November night in 2014, in a small town in the north west of England, 21-year-old Arla Macleod bludgeoned her mother, father and younger sister to death with a hammer, in an unprovoked attack known as the Macleod Massacre. Now incarcerated at a medium-security mental-health institution, Arla will speak to no one but Scott King, an investigative journalist, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation.

King finds himself immersed in an increasingly complex case, interviewing five witnesses and Arla herself, as he questions whether Arla’s responsibility for the massacre was a diminished as her legal team made out.
As he unpicks the stories, he finds himself thrust into a world of deadly forbidden ‘games’, online trolls, and the mysterious black-eyed kids, whose presence seems to extend far beyond the delusions of a murderess…

Dark, chilling and gripping, Hydra is both a classic murder mystery and an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, that shines light in places you may never, ever want to see again.

 

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my Audible books review copy.

 

I have seen early copies of Changeling reaching readers this week.  Changeling is a Six Stories thriller from Matt Wesolowski and I am very much looking forward to seeing what it will bring (mainly because of this review by Kate at Bibliophile Book Club).

Why am I so excited about Changeling? Well recently I had the pleasure (a chilling pleasure) of listening to Matt’s second Six Stories book Hydra.  If ever a series should be enjoyed as an audiobook then it must surely be this one.

Six Stories is a podcast produced by Scott King. He revisits a crime or an event and over a six part series of podcasts he interviews guests who will cast new light onto the known/established facts and listeners are challenged to reconsider the “official” findings or outcome of events.

As the books in the Six Stories series are each recreating a podcast show it makes complete sense that Wesolowki’s books are best enjoyed as an audiobook listen. It also helps that the actors/narrators who contributed to Hydra were exceptional and brought this creepy tale to life in a way I don’t normally experience with an audiobook. It is possibly more accurate to consider the Hydra audiobook as a dramatization than a reading.

How to do Hydra justice without spoiling the story?  Hydra focuses on a family murder – Arla Macleod killed her mother, step father and her sister.  There is a suggestion that her fascination with supernatural may have influenced her actions – Arla suggests that on the night of the murders she opened the door to mysterious Black-Eyed Kids.  Could these ghostly children have brought about the death of three innocents?

Arla’s story (and that of her fellow contributors) are chilling, tragic and desperate tales. I got too involved in the stories and became enraged at stories of bullying, frustrated at the ignorance of children and happy when the underdogs tried to stand up for themselves.  The author has done a fantastic job of capturing the best and the worst of human behaviour.

Hydra was wonderfully interlaced by dramatic events away from the podcast too.  No spoilers, however, the Six Stories host will come to realise that not everyone appreciates his work.  The local community does not like three brutal murders being brought back to the attention of a wider audience and a mysterious stranger certainly does not welcome the nature of discussions which are being broadcast.

Hydra is a wickedly chilling read. It takes a very clever narrative style and delivers a dramatic punch.  I urge you to try the audiobook but you really should ensure you read this story. A five star score from this reader.

 

Hydra is available in paperback, digital and (my recommendation) audiobook format.  You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hydra+matt+wesolowski&sprefix=hydra+matt%2Caps%2C151&crid=2LDXHENNPTBB3

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