Book Review: Six Stories

Six Stories

by: Matt Wesolowski

Publication Date: March 30, 2017
Finished on: October 15, 2017
Publisher: Orenda Books

I received a free finished copy of Six Stories from the publisher (Orenda) in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed below are my own.

Synopsis:
Six Stories is told in podcast format.  Basically, the premise is that the podcast host goes back to unsolved murders or missing person cases and tells the story from six different people's perspectives (thus the six stories from the title).  For the episode covered in the book, a teenager went missing while staying with some friends at a camping lodge in the English woods.  Approximately one year later, his remains are found a mile or so from the lodge by another set of young adults.  While a few people are suspected, no one is ever charged with his murder.  Its now about 20 years later and the radio host is looking into what could have happened.

My review:
First, I want to talk about that cover!  For a little background about me - I am an audiologist - we deal with how people hear, what causes hearing loss, and how to correct/treat hearing loss.  I am immediately drawn to sound waves, as that is what I work with all day!  So when I first saw the cover of Six Stories, I assumed it was a sound wave and thought it was totally cool.  Upon closer inspection, it is really trees along some water reflected back...but still shaped to look like a sound wave. The cover design is simple but yet tells the reader so much about the book.  I love it even more after reading the novel.

If you are a podcast junkie or even just a dabbler and were totally obsessed with season 1 of Serial like I was, you will appreciate the podcast element of this book.  I previously read Are You Sleeping which also incorporated a podcast and was compared to Serial, but I think Six Stories does this much better.  The book is written to sound exactly like a podcast host would talk.  It felt like I was listening to a podcast in book format.

There is a bit of a supernatural feel to this story.  I'm not sure about other people, but there were parts that simply creeped me out.  It is reminiscent of sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories.  I'm so glad I read it while on vacation in a big city and not while camping or hanging out at home alone.  I brought this book to England with me and didn't realize that is where the book took place.  So that was a pleasant surprise and made me feel a bit closer to the novel.

Overall, I rate this 4.5/5 stars.  This is a well-written creepy read, which may make you feel a bit uncomfortable at times.  It is extremely well written.  I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to dabble in suspense and horror.