Demon by Matt Wesolowski

Many thanks to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. My review forms my honest opinion.

Blurb

In 1995, the picture-perfect village of Ussalthwaite was the site of one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, in a case that shocked the world.
Twelve-year-old Sidney Parsons was savagely murdered by two boys his own age. No reason was ever given for this terrible crime, and the ‘Demonic Duo’ who killed him were imprisoned until their release in 2002, when they were given new identities and lifetime anonymity.
Elusive online journalist Scott King investigates the lead-up and aftermath of the killing, uncovering dark and fanciful stories of demonic possession, and encountering a village torn apart by this unspeakable act. And, as episodes of his Six Stories podcast begin to air, King himself becomes a target, with dreadful secrets from his own past dredged up and threats escalating to a terrifying level. It becomes clear that whatever drove those two boys to kill is still there, lurking, and the campaign of horror has just begun…

Review

The only regret I have about reading this series is the haphazard out of order way I’m reading them – one day I will re-read them in order!

Demon is the latest offering from the Six Stories series, which tells the story from six differing points of view in podcast format. One of the huge strengths of this series is the way in which each story has such a different voice and the dialogue – something which can feel clunky, feels so realistic that I often don’t even feel as if I’m reading at all.

In Demon, Scott King is this time investigating the murder of Sidney Parsons, a twelve year old boy who was killed in 1995 by two boys of the same age. As the media is whipped up with the potential reveal of one or both of the boys, who on release were granted new identities, Scott explores the case. But with strange goings-on, things aren’t necessarily as straight forward as they at first may seem. And the ending of this one left me wondering where the series might go next….if at all.

I recall when I read Changeling I was blown away. It felt so original and fresh – and I have to say despite Demon being the sixth book in the series, that freshness and originality remains intact. Although I have come to feel comfortable with the format, I’m still constantly surprised. And I’m also still too scared to read it with the lights off!

Chilling, thrilling and a little bit different – if you haven’t already give the Six Stories series a go – why not start with Demon and be a devil like me and read them all ad hoc!?

If you’re interested in buying the Demon, or any of the Six Stories titles, why not support an independent bookshop? If you don’t have one local to you, The Rabbit Hole in North Lincolnshire would hugely appreciate the support via Bookshop.org….

Buy Demon via Bookshop.org

About the Author

Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for young people in care. Matt started his writing career in horror, and his short horror fiction has been published in numerous UK- and US-based anthologies such as Midnight Movie Creature, Selfies from the End of the World, Cold Iron and many more. His novella, The Black Land, a
horror story set on the Northumberland coast, was published in 2013. Matt was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in 2015. His debut thriller, Six Stories, was a bestseller in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, and a WH Smith Fresh Talent pick, and TV rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. A prequel, Hydra, was published in 2018 and became an international bestseller, Changeling (2019), Beast (2020) And Deity (2021) soon followed suit.