Six Stories
A Thriller
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4.3 • 9 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Elusive online journalist Scott King investigates the murder of a teenager at an outward bound centre, in the first episode of the critically acclaimed, international bestselling Six Stories series…
For fans of Serial
'Bold, clever and genuinely chilling' Sunday Mirror
'Haunting, horrifying, and heartrending. Fans of Arthur Machen, whose unsettling tale The White People provides an epigraph, will want to check this one out' Publishers Weekly
'Wonderfully horrifying … the suspense crackles' James Oswald
'A complex and subtle mystery, unfolding like dark origami to reveal the black heart inside' Michael Marshall Smith
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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.
A chilling, unpredictable and startling thriller, Six Stories is also a classic murder mystery with a modern twist, and a devastating ending.
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Praise for the Six Stories series
'A genuine genre-bending debut' Carla McKay, Daily Mail
'Impeccably crafted and gripping from start to finish' Doug Johnstone, The Big Issue
Matt Wesolowski brilliantly depicts a desperate and disturbed corner of north-east England in which paranoia reigns and goodness is thwarted … an exceptional storyteller' Andrew Michael Hurley
'Beautifully written, smart, compassionate – and scary as hell. Matt Wesolowski is one of the most exciting and original voices in crime fiction' Alex North
'Original, inventive and dazzlingly clever' Fiona Cummins
'It's a relentless & original work of modern rural noir which beguiles & unnerves in equal measure. Matt Wesolowski is a major talent' Eva Dolan
'Endlessly inventive and with literary thrills a-plenty, Matt Wesolowski is boldly carving his own uniquely dark niche in fiction' Benjamin Myers
'Disturbing, compelling and atmospheric, it will terrify and enthral you in equal measure' M W Craven
'Readers of Kathleen Barber's Are You Sleeping and fans of Ruth Ware will enjoy this slim but compelling novel' Booklist
'A relentless and original work of modern rural noir which beguiles and unnerves in equal measure. Matt Wesolowski is a major talent' Eva Dolan
'With a unique structure, an ingenious plot and so much suspense you can't put it down, this is the very epitome of a must-read' Heat
'Wonderfully atmospheric. Matt Wesolowski is a skilled storyteller with a unique voice. Definitely one to watch' Mari Hannah
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Podcast moderator Scott King, the protagonist of Wesolowski's ragged debut, hosts a program called Six Stories, in which he interviews six people involved in a 20-year-old tragedy. In 1996, 15-year-old Tom Jeffries, one of a group of 15 teens on a weekend visit to Northumberland's rugged Scarclaw Fell, disappeared. The son of the lord who owned the land around Scarclaw Fell, along with some friends, discovered Jeffries's body in 1997. The first interviewee is 62-year-old Derek Bickers, one of the two adults who were on the trip; the second is Haris Novak, a childlike man from the nearby village of Belkeld. Through the stories of these men and four who were teens back then, King offers his listeners a picture of the group dynamics and clues to Jeffries's puzzling disappearance and death. These different viewpoints on the same events don't generate much suspense, nor do frequent references to two mythological monsters, the Beast of Belkeld and Nanna Wrack. The surprise ending comes as more of a disappointment than a revelation.
