PART OF THE NORTHERN WEIRD PROJECT
HE ALWAYS COMES FOR YOU...
Leo is just trying to catch his train back home to the village of Malacstone in North East England. But there's disorder at the station, and when a loud young man heading for London boards the train accidentally, a usually easy journey descends into darkness and chaos. The train soon breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and as night falls, something...or someone steps out of the distance. Is it a man or something far more sinister?
When one of the passengers goes missing, Leo fears that a folkloric tale whispered to him in childhood might be the culprit.
(Don't) Call Mum blends Matt Wesolowski's trademark voice of mystery, folklore and humour in this heart-racing tale.
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(Don't) Call Mum by Matt Wesolowski is published by Wild Hunt Books on 8 May 2025 and is part of the Northern Weird Project. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
Matt Wesolowski is best known for his very successful Six Stories series published by Orenda Books and currently being adapted for television. The Six Stories novels are a mix of crime, horror and folklore and (Don't) Tell Mum can most certainly be considered the same genre
Matt Wesolowski is best known for his very successful Six Stories series published by Orenda Books and currently being adapted for television. The Six Stories novels are a mix of crime, horror and folklore and (Don't) Tell Mum can most certainly be considered the same genre
With just 111 pages, this novella can easily be read in one sitting. In fact, it's probably best read that way as the reader is instantly pulled into this spine chilling, gripping story, with a small cast of characters who are cleverly created, if fairly flawed.
Those of us who live in the North and are familiar with the terrible rail service up here will find much in Wesolowski's tale that is familiar to them. Whilst I do not live quite as far North as the setting of the novel, I am familiar with the old, old trains. The dubious smells, and stains. The empty, desolate station platforms. The tendency for the trains to just stop, with no indication of why. It's certainly an adventure.
The author has taken this setting and created a masterful, tense and uneasy story with atmosphere and mystery that really is perfectly done.
Those of us who live in the North and are familiar with the terrible rail service up here will find much in Wesolowski's tale that is familiar to them. Whilst I do not live quite as far North as the setting of the novel, I am familiar with the old, old trains. The dubious smells, and stains. The empty, desolate station platforms. The tendency for the trains to just stop, with no indication of why. It's certainly an adventure.
The author has taken this setting and created a masterful, tense and uneasy story with atmosphere and mystery that really is perfectly done.
This is basically the story of Leo's journey home from University. He's looking forward to seeing his Mum and sharing a Chinese takeaway. He and fellow passenger Jodie have only just met, but feel as though they have much in common. Neither of them can abide the loud, obnoxious students that gathered at the station, bragging and telling stories.
Angus is another passenger and is is surely the most horrific travelling companion. Southern, loud, abrasive; Angus loves the sound of his own voice, although that voice really does grate on Leo and Jodie. When it becomes clear that Angus is on the wrong train, Leo is happy to let him know. Angry and more than a little embarrassed, Angus gets off at the next station. That station is Underwood, not a place that Leo would choose to spend any time in.
This is such an atmospheric story. As Leo and Jodie discuss folk lore tales that they've heard and grown up with, the darkness outside of the train window creeps in and all of the passengers begin to see things that they cannot explain. You can almost feel the creaks and groans of the train carriage, the slap of the branches on the side of the train, the dread that takes over the passengers.
I finished this novella and thought 'what on earth??'. There's so much to unpick in this one but there is no doubt that it is written beautifully.
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This is such an atmospheric story. As Leo and Jodie discuss folk lore tales that they've heard and grown up with, the darkness outside of the train window creeps in and all of the passengers begin to see things that they cannot explain. You can almost feel the creaks and groans of the train carriage, the slap of the branches on the side of the train, the dread that takes over the passengers.
I finished this novella and thought 'what on earth??'. There's so much to unpick in this one but there is no doubt that it is written beautifully.
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He is a former English teacher for young people in the PRU and care systems.
Matt was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at the 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.
Hydra, was published in 2018 and became an international bestseller.
Changeling, the third book in the series, was published in 2019 and was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.
His fourth book, Beast, won the Amazon Publishing Readers' Independent Voice Book of the Year award in 2020 and was followed by Deity and then Demon in 2022.
The Six Stories series is currently being adapted for television.
Matt currently works as a tutor for Faber Academy.
He lives in Newcastle with his partner and son, several tanks of rescued goldfish, a snake and a cat and an axolotl.
Instagram @mattjwesolowski
Facebook @MattWesolowski
Throughout 2025, Wild Hunt Books will publish six fantastic pocket-sized novellas from authors based in the North of England and who are also engaging with the North as setting, subject and character.
The novellas incorporate eerie and uncanny incidents including a strange occurrence on a train, a young boy’s disappearance in a village, a grieving couple renovating a haunted house, a group of mysterious strangers by the beach, a sinister wellness retreat and the unearthed danger beneath an ancient peat bog.
Editor Ariell Cacciola said of the project, ‘Im so excited about this project. The novellas will transport readers into the strange and dangerous corners of the North, and it will be impossible not to read each book in one sitting.’
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