Matt Wesolowski weaves a world of mystery and intrigue.

Constructed very cleverly and so modern in its telling.
The characters (past and present) sizzle throughout this wonderful tale.
The writing, the words, the atmosphere held me along the whole journey.
Yes, it left me wanting more - the author got that write too.

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Predictable story, very well presented

Listened tio this book because the earlier reviews gave me high expectations. On the plus side, it is perfectly suited tio the audio format... But on the negative, I'd worked out more than just the gist of the mystery when I was about a third of the way in, so the ending was so surprise at all.

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okay but probably should have read the book

this was okay. story was alright but it is supposed to be a "podcast". so hearing it read as an audiobook (ie word for word... no umms ahhs or other natural speach patterns) just highlights how far away from natural speach the dialogue is.

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Suits the format well.

This is more of a radio play than a book turned in to an audiobook.. but it works well. I did enjoy the format and would listen to similar from the author. the only thing I would say about it is it didn't take Columbo to have the ending squared away by at least half way through the book, indeed, I had a hint where it was going before the end of the first chapter.

The story is well written, and the breaking of the fourth wall every so often gave the vibe of a real podcast, leaving the concept somewhere between a true crime show and War of the world's.

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Follow the clues to what happened on scarclaw fell

I will admit that Six Stories has been on my TBR pile for a very long time but everyone I have spoken to has had nothing but good things to say about it. So from this coupled with quite a few “you really must read it” from my sister I decided the best thing to do was to download the audio book so that I could listen to it whilst out walking.
Set as a series of podcasts this book automatically stands out as being different. Each chapter is an individual podcast looking at the events surrounding the death of Tom Jeffries at Scarclaw Fell from a different person’s perspective. You get to try to play detective to find out who did it and why.
By the end of the book I found that I had little sympathy for the victim. What comes across is the definite feeling that he was not a nice person. Not that excuses his murder or the burying of his body. Over the course of the podcasts you get to learn about the things the group got up to in the run up to that fateful night and one thing becomes evident - Tom Jeffries was a bit of a bully. I also felt that the group were not being entirely honest about what happened… but I was not sure if that was due to the time that had passed between the murder and when the podcasts were being recorded of if they were ashamed of that time and didn’t want the listener to know everything that happened. The only person you are sure is telling the whole truth is Henry Saint Clement-Ramsey who along with his friends found the body. To add to the mystery of the book you learn of old folk tales of beasts and apparitions that haunt the fell, preying on the unsuspecting people who wander at night.
I have to say that listening to the audio book really brought this story alive for me as unlike most audio books where you have just one narrator, this one had multiple narrators so you really got the feeling you were listening to the pod casts. In fact I had listened to the first five without realising how far I had got in the book. My only struggle with this was that for the final chapter I switched to the book itself. After being spoilt of having so many different people bringing the characters alive I then struggled to find a voice for the final podcast, but that’s just me. I absolutely loved this book and would heartily recommend it to anyone

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This book was made to be an audio book.

I got this on a whim as it was a 2 for 1 deal and I'd heard a good review. I'm so glad I did, its written in podcast form so its perfect to listen to, it feels like your actually listening to a podcast thanks to the full cast of narrators. The plot was really gripping and realistic and though I guessed the guilty party correctly, I didn't manage to completely guess the plot twist. I'm really looking forward to the next in the series.

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Six Stories

Thoroughly enjoyed this audio. Great story. Characters very believable. Ending was unexpected and very good.

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Childhood Memories

I found this a little difficult to get into at first and the pseudo podcast premise was a little odd but it soon worked out to be a very clever mechanism for the overarching story and ensuing revelations.
(spoiler alert, sort off)
The final story hit home in a very big way. I was bullied severely at school, so much so that it was taken to court in 1982, not an easy experience to endure as an unhappy and essentially unbelieved kid, so part six was of particular resonance. This book became all too familiar with tales of kids doing what kids do to other kids with, and to be fair, no idea of the psychological damage, and the downstream effects that shape that individual in adult years. A very clever story, cleverly engineered and presented. Somewhat let down by stiff narration from one or two voice actors but all is overlooked when the final 'ending' is revealed. Weaving the supernatural with the very natural was a clever idea and upon retrospect there were many sly clues throughout as to what was what, but for me, the element of bullying factored in and the very familiar effect it has on young kids was by far the best part of the narrative and rang true, as both sad and frustrating as it was to listen to. Don't let my precise put you off listening as there is so much in this story that needs to be heard and I have not given the ending away which, when it comes, is very clever, very well conveyed and will make you think 'ah, man, so THAT's what happened....brilliant'

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Fantastic read

Really enjoyed the first in the series, what a great format. Credit day can’t come soon enough to start the next one.

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best not to try to resolve the mystery ...

Would you try another book written by Matt Wesolowski or narrated by the narrators?

Yes. The strengths outweighed the weaknesses for me.

Would you be willing to try another book from Matt Wesolowski? Why or why not?

Looks like the same question repeated here.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Added some additional support to characterisation. The stories might well be weaker without these voices.

Was Six Stories worth the listening time?

The sixth story was a disappointment. I suspect that this was almost bound to be the case so long as the writer attempted to resolve the narrative with a solution. Interestingly this is exactly what the fictional blog caster promises not to do.

Any additional comments?

I suggest the author has a second stab at the final chapter but this time avoids the temptation to resolve the mystery. I'd pay to hear an alternative final chapter.

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22 people found this helpful