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 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, and King himself becomes a target of media scrutiny and the public’s ire, it becomes clear that whatever drove those two boys to kill is still there, lurking, and the campaign of horror has just begun…
Author: Matt Wesolowski
Publisher: Orenda Books
Genre: Thriller
Series: Six Stories #6
Pages: 277
Release Date: 26th November 2021
My Rating of ‘Demon’: 3 out of 5
Review:
As a series, despite the fact I’ve had my ups and downs as far as enjoyment goes, I always get weirdly excited when a new book in the Six Stories world is released. Maybe it’s the podcast nut in me, as I certainly get hyped when a new episode of my favourite shows are released as well.
In Matt Wesolowski’s Six Stories series, we are once again led through a dark and twisted crime via six instalments of Scott King’s ‘Six Stories’ true crime podcast. This one, unusually, is prefaced by the author warning you of the book’s disturbing content. And there certainly is that. Cruelty to children, murder of children (as mentioned in the blurb), so if those dark themes aren’t what you want to read, it’s best to avoid.
One thing I really enjoy about the Six Stories books is the fairly even blend between paranormal and realism. Sadly, in Demon, the paranormal seemed to take over. There was very little room to interpret the occurrences as anything other than something very out of the ordinary and, for me at least, that was somewhat of a turn off. It took me a long time to get through this book and I think that was a big contributing factor to the long read time.
I also feel that there was a bit too much repetition. For a book that falls just shy of three-hundred pages, I felt far too much of the case’s points were gone over and over a couple times too many. It felt like padding in places and really hindered the flow. I don’t know if this was just me in a reading funk or if others felt the same, but it felt like more a marathon than a two-hundred and seventy-seven page book should.
One thing I did like was how, as with several of the books now, the character of Scott King gets explored and built upon. Although, I am beginning to wonder just how much further his character can be built, but I’m happy to keep reading and reading to find out.
This was an enjoyable and dark read, but it just didn’t quite hit the sweet spots for me as previous offerings had.
Swords & Spectres 
Next book, a rival podcaster tries to kill him AND his ex-wife shows up, with triplets. That’s how writers seem to think “characters” get built nowadays 😦
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It’s a sad thing that I read that comment and thought ‘you know what, Booky is probably right’.
I can genuinely picture it happening
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It is sad 😦
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