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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
First half was kind of boring. At the end there were some key questions left unanswered.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another excellent experience. Lots of thrills, twists and feeling the creepiness take over when reading and even has an important message as well.
Just brilliant. I found the author was finding his feet with the previous novels which I enjoyed but this is on a different level. Atmospheric, creepy and wonderfully written. It's rare a novel makes the hairs on the back if my neck stand up but this does it in spades. So glad I found this series.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Abortion
3.5 stars - spoilers ahead
I'm conflicted about this one. Technically speaking, it's a good thriller. The format already established in the prior entrants of this series continues to work well. As a novelty, it doesn't wear off, and the author knows how to use it to its best effect. As a book about a podcast, when you read it, it's as if your ears read along with you. There is always a sound going on - the tapping, static, the well-observed speaking patterns of the guests, background chatter, even silence, all work to a convincing imitation of a podcast but in written form. The benefit of this being a book over simply a faked podcast being, I suppose, the ability of the prose to influence reader behaviour. It makes it more of a mystery, or a mystery that is more effective anyway. I thought it was clever how Wesolowski uses the supernatural as a ploy to build up the real story, and throughout most of the book you do believe it, because of the very fact this is a book and anything can happen in a book. It is self-aware, and smartly done.
That said, I have heard high praise of this book and it has a brilliant score here so I was expecting to have my socks blown off. It was a solid thriller but nothing groundbreaking. Well, the first one impressed me a lot - that was brilliant, and did shock me. So perhaps this one was always going to struggle once the 'gimmick' had come to fruition in the first book. I wish I'd read this one first, almost, as I would say the first Six Stories is better but objectively, they are probably quite like-for-like. If I could sum it up I would just say the mystery progressed in a tried and tested way and the 'sign posts' of the what we were supposed to think/draw conclusions from were very obvious, so in that way (even though the supernatural element does throw you off), it just felt a bit one dimensional. This is not a major detraction from the book, as most thrillers are like this - to me anyway.
I enjoyed how the supernatural distraction gave way to the cold fact that Sorrel is a psychopath, and how he used the gullibility of people to believe the impossible over the idea a father could've simply been negligent. But the reveal that Scott was Alfie was a bit much for me. Imagine if that happened to a podcaster in real life, they're a well-established investigator of dozens of true crime stories, then they find out they are in fact the missing child of an incredibly famous cold case. It's so dramatically unlikely as to be ridiculous. Fair enough, you suspend a lot of disbelief in fiction, but still. I actually don't think the book would be any worse if it had not included this plot twist.
In summary, this book series continues to be good and the plot in Changeling is engaging and well told. I will move onto the next one, out of interest for how Scott's character moves forward anyhow - perhaps in the next series we could cover off if he is, himself, the answer to any other unresolved cases?
I'm conflicted about this one. Technically speaking, it's a good thriller. The format already established in the prior entrants of this series continues to work well. As a novelty, it doesn't wear off, and the author knows how to use it to its best effect. As a book about a podcast, when you read it, it's as if your ears read along with you. There is always a sound going on - the tapping, static, the well-observed speaking patterns of the guests, background chatter, even silence, all work to a convincing imitation of a podcast but in written form. The benefit of this being a book over simply a faked podcast being, I suppose, the ability of the prose to influence reader behaviour. It makes it more of a mystery, or a mystery that is more effective anyway. I thought it was clever how Wesolowski uses the supernatural as a ploy to build up the real story, and throughout most of the book you do believe it, because of the very fact this is a book and anything can happen in a book. It is self-aware, and smartly done.
That said, I have heard high praise of this book and it has a brilliant score here so I was expecting to have my socks blown off. It was a solid thriller but nothing groundbreaking. Well, the first one impressed me a lot - that was brilliant, and did shock me. So perhaps this one was always going to struggle once the 'gimmick' had come to fruition in the first book. I wish I'd read this one first, almost, as I would say the first Six Stories is better but objectively, they are probably quite like-for-like. If I could sum it up I would just say the mystery progressed in a tried and tested way and the 'sign posts' of the what we were supposed to think/draw conclusions from were very obvious, so in that way (even though the supernatural element does throw you off), it just felt a bit one dimensional. This is not a major detraction from the book, as most thrillers are like this - to me anyway.
I enjoyed how the supernatural distraction gave way to the cold fact that Sorrel is a psychopath, and how he used the gullibility of people to believe the impossible over the idea a father could've simply been negligent. But the reveal that Scott was Alfie was a bit much for me. Imagine if that happened to a podcaster in real life, they're a well-established investigator of dozens of true crime stories, then they find out they are in fact the missing child of an incredibly famous cold case. It's so dramatically unlikely as to be ridiculous. Fair enough, you suspend a lot of disbelief in fiction, but still. I actually don't think the book would be any worse if it had not included this plot twist.
In summary, this book series continues to be good and the plot in Changeling is engaging and well told. I will move onto the next one, out of interest for how Scott's character moves forward anyhow - perhaps in the next series we could cover off if he is, himself, the answer to any other unresolved cases?
This is the third book in the Six Stories series by Matt Wesolowski, and I think it might actually be the best. Having said that, I loved the first two so much, after ordering them in ebook, I went on to purchase them in paperback and fully intend on reading them again. They were that good! Changeling continues with the same structure; Scott King is our narrator, the elusive character behind the Six Stories podcasts, investigating cold cases. He interviews six people who were connected to the case, so that six different views are portrayed, then leaves it up to the listener to make their own mind up about what happened. In Changeling, Scott takes on the case of Alfie Marsden, a 7-year-old boy who vanished in the notoriously creepy Wentshire Forest in 1988. Scott takes on the case after receiving a mysterious letter suggesting that it would interest him. The usual format applies, six people connected to the case are interviewed one by one, each revealing their own viewpoint on Alfie Marsdens life and disappearance, and on the chilling stories that have arisen from the forest over the years. Was Alfie Marsden taken and if so, by who or what? Is the forest haunted, or cursed? Each person has a story to tell about the forest and about Alfie. And as each story is told, layers are peeled back, revealing a far creepier reality than you could have imagined. This had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Just like the other two books, it's impossible to put down. You just have to keep reading. Genuinely unsettling and thought-provoking, these books would make amazing films! I just really really hope another Six Stories episode is on its way.