Elusive online journalist Scott King examines the chilling case of a young vlogger found frozen to death in the legendary local ‘vampire tower’, in another explosive episode of Six Stories…
In the wake of the 'Beast from the East' cold snap that ravaged the UK in 2018, a grisly discovery was made in a ruin on the Northumbrian coast. Twenty-four-year-old Vlogger, Elizabeth Barton, had been barricaded inside what locals refer to as 'The Vampire Tower', where she was later found frozen to death.
Three young men, part of an alleged 'cult', were convicted of this terrible crime, which they described as a 'prank gone wrong'
However, in the small town of Ergarth, questions have been raised about the nature of Elizabeth Barton's death and whether the three convicted youths were even responsible.
Elusive online journalist Scott King speaks to six witnesses – people who knew both the victim and the three killers – to peer beneath the surface of the case. He uncovers whispers of a shocking online craze that held the young of Ergarth in its thrall and drove them to escalate a series of pranks in the name of internet fame. He hears of an abattoir on the edge of town, which held more than simple slaughter behind its walls, the tragic and chilling legend of the ‘Ergarth Vampire…
Both a compulsive, taut and terrifying thriller, and a bleak and distressing look at modern society's desperation for attention, Beast will unveil a darkness from which you may never return…
Beast by Matt Wesolowski was published in paperback on 6 February 2020. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
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| #TheBloke - Martin - @esksorsist |
Also, a huge thanks to my guest reviewer on Random Things today.
Welcoming back #TheBloke, otherwise known as Martin, my husband - he's a huge fan of Matt's writing and the Six Stories series.
I'm delighted to share his review here today.
So, here we are, just over a year on from my first - where has that time gone..??
Once again I will attempt to review the latest episode of ‘six stories’ by Matt Wesolowski - BEAST.
This is the fourth novel in the excellent and unique six stories series. Scott King, the elusive online journalist, once again peers beneath the surface of another bizarre case, where things are not necessarily all they appear. By interviewing six witnesses connected with the victim and killers, through six podcasts, we learn answers to questions raised regarding the grisly death of Elizabeth Barton, a successful vlogger on the rise to internet notoriety.
I’m sure most people can recount a story from their locale, of some old derelict building, or an eerie forest, that has some myth and folklore surrounding it - be it a haunting, sightings, strange noises etc. Look for it, and almost all towns & cities will have a ghost walk for visitors.
In Beast we have the Tankerville Tower, a crumbling scar on the landscape of the Northumbrian coast, close to the small town of Ergarth. Referred to locally as the ‘vampire tower’, it is synonymous with the legend of the ‘Ergarth vampire - Vladlena’ the beast from the East, dating back to the 1800’s. It was difficult for me not to visualise Whitby abbey, particularly with the whole vampire angle.
During our very own ‘beast from the east’ cold spell that crippled much of England during early 2018, the body of Lizzie B, aka Elizabeth Barton is found seemingly barricaded in the tower, frozen to death......
Three local youths are subsequently convicted of her gruesome murder, siting ‘a prank gone wrong’ as their only defence.
A year on, graffiti scrawled over the Barton family house peaks the interest of Scott King to dig a little deeper into the case, interviewing people associated with the victim & alleged killers. Over the course of these six interviews, he uncovers new and disturbing insights into the case, ultimately leading to an equally disturbing conclusion. In a society where popularity, validation and attention through numerous forms of social media, now seems the be all & end all for many, Beast gives a powerful insight to the possible consequences.
Matt has created another stunning addition to this very engaging series, again tackling some very thought provoking subjects on human behaviours and the long term impact they can have. Interweave some mystery and a touch of the occult / horror and it leads to another captivating read.
Want to know ‘who locked Lizzie in the tower?’...... buy, read and enjoy!
I have been Martin Cater, and this has been our second
Until next time....
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- an 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 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 an Amazon bestseller in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, and a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, and film rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. A prequel, Hydra, was published in 2018 and became an international bestseller. Changeling, book three in the series, was published in 2019 and was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for Capital Crime’s Amazon Publishing Reader Awards in two categories: Best Thriller and Best Independent Voice.
Follow Matt on Twitter @ConcreteKraken
Orenda Books is a British-based publishing house that publishes literary and crime fiction. The London-based publisher was established in 2014 and publishes debut and existing authors
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