Six Stories by Matt Weslowski

In 1997, the body of teenager is found near an outbound centre, the boy had been missing for a year. Forward twenty years later an investigating journalist and somewhat mysterious podcast presenter, Scott King revisits this unsolved crime and in a series of six interviews with the then teenagers who knew the boy, explores the evidence surrounding his death.

I really enjoyed this twist on the ‘who do it’ premise. The character of Scott King and his podcast is an excellent and clever platform to bring the six stories together. The characters are relatable and their voices have the authenticity of typical teenagers. Scott King is an intriguing character, mysterious and I enjoyed his observations on the evidence he is presented with.

Throughout the novel I was questioning myself, is King is just an observer, a collector of tales? Slowly I realised that perhaps there is something more to his interest in this particular dead case. Wesolowski ramps up the intrigue with the addition of another character, Harry whose father owns the land and the outward bound centre itself, his story throws another dimension to the tale, initially I wondered if this was a deviation or did this boy have something to do with the missing teenager?

That is what is so excellent about this novel, I found myself wondering if anybody was lying, the character of the dead boy himself, even the motives of King made me question and second guess any initial assumptions I had made. Wesolowski throws the reader so many of these curve balls. Only when I got to the final story did all the little loose threads tie up and there is a dark and sinister twist (how I love a story with twist).

Six Stories is probably the best thriller I’ve read in a while, a plot that keeps you on your toes, a story which address the angst of being a teenager and a murky undercurrent which makes it an unsettling read.