Review: Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski

Opening sentence: “I recognise this bit of woodland.”

There are four books in Matt Wesolowski’s Six Stories series so far. I actually got my introduction to the series with the fourth book, Beast, and I was so taken in by it – from the way it reads like a podcast transcript to the clever storytelling – that I went back to the beginning with the aim to read the whole set.

Six Stories is the first, eponymous book of the series and delves into the death of Tom Jeffries at Scarclaw Fell in 1997, while he was on a youth group trip. Scarclaw Fell is an area of woodland, complete with acres of isolation, swamps and a few myths and legends.

The fictional Six Stories podcast is hosted by Scott King. Twenty years after Tom Jeffries’ death, he interviews six people to get six perspectives on what happened. He is not there to crack unsolved crimes, he is doing it out of pure fascination:

For my new listeners, I must make this clear: I am not a policeman, a forensic scientist or an FBI profiler. This isn’t an investigation or a place I’m going to reveal new evidence. My podcast is more like a discussion group at an old crime scene.

The format of a different character speaking per chapter gives a steady, fast feel to the story and the new snippets of info are dropped through at a tantalising pace as we hear from each person. So, was Tom Jeffries’ death an accident or not? That’s the question that Scott King looks into and trust me, the result is not one you would guess! I won’t say too much more on the plot, it’s definitely one you won’t want spoilers for.

Six Stories is a brilliant little thriller and what made it even better was how different this book was to Beast. So although they have the same format, they are not identikit stories. If you’re looking for a snappy, engaging read, put this book on your TBR. Now I’m onto book two in the series, Hydra…