Ohhh that was good.

Six Stories is exactly what I wanted and more. It's marketed to exactly the right crowd. I am in the height of my mystery/thriller podcast listening and this totally hit the spot. If you are a fan of any true crime/fictional crime shows (Criminal Minds/Law and Order/Bones, etc)/podcasts such as Serial, Up and Vanished, My Favorite Murder...this book will totally appeal to you.

The book is centered around a group of friends who are part of a scouts-type of organization. It's co-ed and looked after by two parents. It brings together a wide variety of kids from different schools, and have different personalities (some of these kids would not be friends at school kinda group). After one of their camping excursions, the kids wake up and one of them is gone. There is no trace of where Tom Jeffries has gone. It's like he just vanished. Is someone lying? A year later, Tom's body is found by a separate group of boys unrelated to the campers. So what exactly happened to Tom Jeffries? His case was ruled accidental, but now a well-known podcaster has brought the case back to life.

Six Stories was presented in the best format and had such engaging dialog. All the elements of the book- the characters, the potential mythical monster (Nanna Wrack), and the dynamics of the characters made it one of my favorite reads in 2017 thus far. There are examples of bullying, rebellion, class hierarchy, autism and probably more that I'm forgetting.

Just seriously, read this book! I don't want to give too much away so I'm going to leave it at that!

This is a book that simply lends itself to being listened to because it is based on podcasts. These episodic radio programmes look into the death of 15-year-old Tom Jeffries who disappeared one night in 1997 while on an outward bound type outing with a group of four friends supervised by two adults. Twenty years later, six people who knew Tom and were at Scarclaw Fell in Northumberland at the time of his disappearance are being interviewed about their memories of that time. These podcasts are interspersed with chapters from the perspective of Henry Saint Clement-Ramsey, who, together with some friends, found Tom's body a year after his disappearance near the Woodlands Centre, which is owned by Henry's father.
What happened to Tom? The verdict was misadventure. But was there more to it?
I read and listen to a lot. I think this was book 88 this year. Six Stories was unique and really stands out from other mysteries, thrillers and/or horror stories. Each episode introduces the listener/reader to a character's take on the events leading up to the disappearance of Tom. Each character voices their opinion on the group dynamics at the time. Gradually, a picture of this group of teenagers who spent time together in the Northumbrian countryside is revealed, and it isn't a nice one. Add to that the mythological undertone that provided an ever present, eerie background, and I was hooked. I even went out for a walk in the rain to guarantee uninterrupted listening time.
This was relatively short at roughly 300 pages and the audio lasts 8 hours (if you keep it at normal speed) but Matt Wesolowski managed to create fully fleshed out characters and listening to 8 different narrators portraying those involved, you could have fooled me into thinking I was listening to "real people". The audio production was excellent. I have not one ounce of criticism for any of the narrators. Each character was brought to life perfectly, including believable accents and all.
The mystery had me puzzled throughout and I was thoroughly surprised by some of the revelations. Original, atmospheric and totally enthralling, this was a very unsettling listen in parts, but I loved every minute of it. Highly recommended reading but for that extra special something, listen to the audio version and hear the chillingly real characters relay their stories during the six podcast episodes. So well done!
My thanks to the publisher who provided me with an ARC via NetGalley, but I just had to listen to the audio (purchased by myself).

This book was different from anything I have read. It tells the "same" story from six different perspectives of a murder that happened over 20 year ago. It is amazing how everyone has a different perspective on one set of events but at the same time can be completely different. It is told in a transcript type style, and once I got used to that I flew through this book. I think this is on book that might have actually been doable for one such as myself who get "squirrel brain" when listening to audio books, but this one seems like it would be a good audio book, if all the characters got their own voice. Anyways....


I would definitely recommend this to my friends who enjoy a good mystery.

Six Stories packs a lot of punch in a short novel. Told in the form of podcasts, Six Stores sets out to unravel the mysterious death of Tom Jeffries 20 years after the body is found. Tom goes missing on an outdoors weekend in the murky woodlands of Scarclaw Falls, and a year later, his body is found in the swamp. Shrouded by legends and teen angst, his death is ruled an accident until the truth is uncovered, podcast style.

This novel is a slow burn – the first podcast absolutely freaked me out (and I don’t scare easily). The next few interviews held a bothering ambiguity – would we find out the truth behind Tom’s death? Do monsters really exist? There are a few twists towards the end but nothing shocking or new in the thriller-esque genre.

Overall, a solid read – I think it could have been edgier and perhaps a touch more complex, but it certainly offered a unique and modern perspective and delivery.

This book has a very interesting format which really made it a compelling read. It is written as a podcast interview series with 6 people about the mysterious death of a boy. I absolutely love this format the format. It made it feel like the story was being told me like in an audio book.

The writing was a bit awkward at times, especially in the very beginning. It could be very wordy in a way that made it hard to get into the story and made it drag a bit. However, once I got into it, I couldn’t get out. I was reading this during a very busy week of work but somehow I found ways to sneak in a few pages here and there. The format of it being written in 6 different short sections made it fly by.

The setting and the characters were so good and so realistic, it felt like this could have happened in real life. The author perfectly captured how friends groups during adolescence can form and the wondeful things and heartbreaking moments that go along with being young and trying to find your place in the world.

I hadn’t read a thriller in a while and I think that this was an amazing one to get me back into the genre. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author in the future.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

Up from the depths of the murky muck of the marshland in Scarclaw Woods, a shambling figure emerges. All claws and teeth and long grasping fingers, and she is hungry. Is Nanna Wrack real or just the product of a stoner's wild imagination?

A group of bored teenagers encounter a childlike man, Haris Novak. He likes to watch the animals in the woods. He misinterprets the interaction between he and the teens, thinking he has found some friends. His naivete is played upon, a couple of the boys start picking at him, bullying him. When one of the group goes missing, Haris is suspected. Scapegoat or prime suspect?

This is a fine murder mystery that merely plucks at the strings of horror. It will take only six stories to get to the truth.

This book was so different than anything else I have read! It is told in a series of podcasts, by a journalist who investigates cold cases. This being the story of the disappearance & murder of a 15 year old boy, whose body was found 20 years prior in a creepy wooded area called Scarclaw fell! There are 6 episodes to the podcast, each interviewing the other teens (now adults) who were there that night!
Very cleverly written & original...also VERY spooky at times.

Holy heck, this book was incredible.
Six Stories is told in podcast form. Scott King, who runs the podcast "Serial" in the book, is doing an investigation of the events leading up to Tom Jeffries' death in 1996. As each person is interviewed, we learn more and more about the details surrounding Tom's death and the group of teenagers who were there.
I really really REALLY enjoyed this story. I honestly don't know if I can find any flaws with it. It's dark, it's real, it's brilliantly told, and such a fascinating book to read.
The best part of this story was the way it was told. As the entire story is told from the podcast (plus some notes from another involved individual), the readers are kept mostly in the dark about a lot of things. We begin with only the bare bones of a story - we know the basics and the conclusion. But we don't know how it happened. As more and more people are interviewed, the story gradually changes. The reader suddenly understands more and we lose some of the sympathy for some of the characters and gain sympathy for others. With the story being told this way, it's a slow build that leads to a rewarding conclusion that I definitely didn't see coming.
My one complaint is that the ending was what I expected in a lot of ways. I suspected Brian for a long time (I also suspected Anyu until her interview), though the author started leading me to believe there may have been paranormal forces involved. When Brian confessed, I wasn't surprised, though his motivations were unexpected. In spite of this, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the ending did through me for a loop (though not in the way I expected).
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys true crime (though this isn't true crime at all, the processes used by the podcast host could be interesting to true crime fans), horror stories, or books that are told in creative ways.

This was mostly an inoffensive read for me - I was intrigued, but only mildly so - but my god, did it go out with a bang. Though it starts out slow, it gradually gathers steam, and then that final, satisfying denouement brings it all together in a way I hadn't been expecting. Fantastic. But let's back up.

Six Stories is a novel constructed as a series of podcasts, in which an investigative journalist looks into the mysterious death of 15-year-old Tom Jeffries, which occurred twenty years ago. By interviewing people who knew Tom, podcast host Scott King attempts to paint as clear a picture as possible of the circumstances surrounding his death.

I actually picked up this book right after finishing Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber, and I had to put it down almost immediately because the premises were just too similar. Are podcast murder mysteries the hot new trend? Anyway, so I put down Six Stories, read a different book, and returned, ready to give this style murder mystery another try. And I'm glad I did, because Six Stories blows Are You Sleeping out of the water, in my opinion. Of course, they're completely different narratives and the novels are formatted rather differently, but while I felt that Are You Sleeping suffered and lost some of its intrigue for each new information reveal, I thought Six Stories only became stronger with each successive chapter.

Part true crime investigation, part character study, and part ghost story, Six Stories balances each of these elements satisfactorily, creating an uneasy atmosphere, and you can't help but to wonder what's lurking beneath the surface of each of the six stories that are told. Matt Wesolowski does a fantastic job at playing with themes of perception and subjectivity, as each character's perspective alters the story in some fundamental way. The dynamics amongst Tom's friend group are also fascinating. There's Charlie, the 'leader,' wild and reckless; Eva, the second in command; Anyu, the sensible one; and Brian, the outsider. Where does Tom fit in? It's a compelling and intricate dynamic that Scott King does his best to untangle in his podcast.

Because of its format - interviewing six people about the same series of events - this book does undeniably suffer from an excess of repetition. The interviews really do read like podcast transcripts, so kudos to Wesolowski for nailing that format, but unfortunately, this isn't always a good thing. While interrupting interviews partway through to fill the reader in on background information and constantly reminding 'listeners' of information that was revealed in the last 'episode' seems like a realistic approach, it makes for rather tedious reading at times. Fortunately it's a short novel, coming in at 225 pages, so you won't get too bored. But I still feel that it could have been edited down to be a bit more concise.

Overall, an unexpectedly satisfying read. Though it's not the most original story ever told, the modern twist (or gimmick, you could argue) of the podcast breathes new life into this genre. I do wonder if we're going to start getting an excess of these Serial-inspired podcast murder mystery books, which I worry could become quite tedious - but for one of the pioneering novels in this unique subgenre, Six Stories is original, well-crafted, and after a certain amount of initial exposition, compelling. It takes a while to get going, but if you pick it up, you owe it to yourself to stick with it until the very end.

Raking through the earth of old graves..........

You know the thrill of it. The creep that slithers in from drawing out ancient tales of the undead. The inability to turn away when the whispers begin to ooze out of mouths recanting stories of those dark, gnarly figures that walk soundlessly through the night. Searching, clawing their way out to encompass the unsuspecting.........

Matt Wesolowski presents a story that will have you checking under your bed for more than just those ol' dust bunnies who have long taken residence there. He creates this telling within the brillance of six podcasts focusing on the murder of a teenage boy in the countryside of Northumberland twenty years ago. The body had not been found until now. Scott King, the investigative journalist, manages the episodic series quite deftly while drawing the reader into the macabre events.

Scott King interviews the now adult teenagers, the chaperones, and a village man with special needs involved in the unfolding of events that took place in Scarclaw Fell that fateful night. Their stories almost form a literary escarpment in which the reader forms the uncertainty of those actions on the edge of reality. What actually happened so long ago? Will one ever really know?

Matt Wesolowski crafts his story with descriptors imbued with a deep physical sense. You seem to hear the crunch underfoot and experience the rawness of the swampy woodland that holds a death knell for the abandoned mine shafts hidden in the choke of winding growth.

This is a dark study in characterization like no other. Wesolowski almost forces you to walk around inside the heads of these people who hold onto their secrets like the sap adhering to those well-worn trees. But it is in the telling that Wesolowski reveals just enough with each podcast to have you perplexed......perplexed with the inability to fit the puzzle pieces together.......and the fear that they just might.

I received Six Stories through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Matt Wesolowski and to Orenda Books for the opportunity.

Simply stunned! Just go buy this book. When you read as much as I do, uniqueness becomes extremely important. Six Stories is told in an extremely innovative manner and it works so well. 15 year old Tom Jeffries is found dead in Scarclaw Fell in 1997 after going missing a year earlier. His death is ruled as "misadventure". 20 years later, journalist Scott King hosts 6 podcasts interviewing those around Tom at the time of his death. The story is told through these podcasts.

This novel has everything; creepy atmosphere, haunting legends, and great character studies. We get great insight into the teens who were in Tom's group at Scarclaw Fell. As each person is interviewed, I gained a different perception of the group dynamics. Sometimes one person would contradict another, leaving it up to the audience to decide who was being more truthful. "Six Stories" is compulsively readable and building an intricate web to a surprise ending. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to see what Matt Wesolowski has in store for us next.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to review in exchange for an honest opinion.

Dark… Twisted… Creepy… Crazy… Fantastic!!!

Matt Wesolowski is a natural born writer! It is very hard to believe that this is his debut novel.

This mind blowing novel is told in present day, 2017, through podcasts about the murder of a teenage boy, Tom Jeffries, that took place 20 years ago in 1997. With six podcast interviews and six transcripts of those interviews, Wesolowski’s story-telling is original, pure genius and works on so many different levels. He draws you in from the very first sentence on the very first page. Be prepared for a wild ride!

I could go on and give you more details about this story, but I’m not, you will know way too much. I urge you to go and buy this book… you won’t regret it!!!

An absolute winner that I highly recommend!

*I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a copy of the book*

This book is so well done, smart, creative and I can't stop thinking about it. As I've said before I love books that are mixed media and this book definitely delivered on that front. It's told mostly as a podcast in six different stories.

This book is essentially a murder mystery book, five teenagers go away on a expedition to a cabin with their group The Rangers and only four make it out alive. One morning, one of the teenagers, Tom is missing. His body was not found a year later, ruled an accident. Or was it? Many yrs later the story is hashed out in these podcasts interviewing the people that were there at the time.

This book cleverly weaves in mystery, some paranormal and horror so well you aren't even expecting it. I just wanted to keep reading to get to the end to find out what happened to Tom, was it a horrible accident or was he murdered? The end gives you all the answers and I wasn't disappointed with how it wrapped up.

Although we don't get huge insight into the characters, I was bothered by that because this story didn't need that to succeed. It was haunting, disturbing and engrossing and I can't wait to read more by this author. 4.5 out of 5 stars

Unique structure and plot that I am not used to seeing from a book in this genre. Will keep readers engaged and engrossed to the very last page.

I love the cover, the inside not so much. It was okay.

3.5/5

Good, but not great.

When I read some great chatter about a new book written as a podcast I was all over that! I'm a big fan of podcasts, including Serial, which is mentioned a few times in the book and, I'm guessing, the author's inspiration for the podcast format. Unique premises don't always pan out, but I had read some glowing reviews so I was really excited to get my hands on this one.

To be honest I was a little let down, but I guess that happens to me frequently when I get really excited to read a book after reading intriguing chatter about it. I did enjoy the podcast format, I really think it worked and was a unique element that I appreciated. The writing was good and the story is definitely a worthwhile read, but nothing especially wowed me.

Twenty years ago, a fifteen year old boy named Tom disappeared from a nature outing. His decomposing body was found a year later and deemed an accident by authorities. But was it really an accident? In 2017, a podcast started by Scott King aims to uncover the truth by interviewing each of the members of Tom’s camping party – all six of them. Readers are there for the whole story, from the beginning of the camping trip to the discovery of Tom’s body, and as all six tell their stories, readers will uncover one very big secret. The ending of this one took me by surprise – I never saw it coming