Deity by Matt Wesolowski

Posted on the 20 February 2021 by Booksocial

Can you believe we are on book number 5 already in the Six Stories series??? Deity is its title and we are on the blog tour for it today.

Deity – the blurb

A shamed pop star
A devastating fire
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?

When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls.

Online journalist, Scott King, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rake over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge: Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Are reports of a haunting really true? Why was he never officially charged?

Dark, chillingly topical and deeply thought-provoking, Deity is both an explosive thriller and a startling look at how heroes can fall from grace and why we turn a blind eye to even the most heinous of crimes…

I read books and I know things

Yep we are now five books in to Scott King and his Six Stories podcasts. I’ve read them all and can say I’ve learnt a few things along the way

  1. You have to concentrate to spell Wesolowski
  2. There is always going to be a supernatural twist
  3. Wesolowski knows how to write a stonking ending

Deity does not fail on all 3 counts. Wesolowski’s true skill is taking something modern and mixing it with something supernatural in such a way that it could just possibly be true. In Deity’s case it is the emotive #MeToo movement alongside a Frithghast – a kind of rotting ghostly deer that roams the Highlands. Or does it? You see that is the thing, there is always a question mark. Journalist Scott King pokes and he prods but he never truly answers. And I love the books for this fact.

Zach Crystal sounds familiar?

You can’t read Deity without imagining Michael Jackson. An illusive singer, famous from childhood. Lives in a fantasy treehouse, surrounds himself with children and when he goes out he wears a mask (without Coronavirus having anything to do with it). The parallels are too strong for the comparison not to be made. Scott King doesn’t once mention Michael Jackson and I wonder if this is deliberate?

Like when Jackson died a lot of skeletons emerge from Zach Crystal’s closet upon his death. It’s here that I give a trigger warning to anyone sensitive to the issues surrounding the #MeToo movement. Deity has lots of young girls who are pulled apart when they come forward. “Look how our media reports on his victims. Look at the rhetoric. ‘Accusers’ they’re called. Man, if I punched you in the face right at this moment and you called the cops, you’d be ‘the victim of an assault by X’; you wouldn’t be ‘Scott King, the X accuser.” Wesolowski delves into why the allegations are made post death and why years of silence so often surrounds the allegations. It’s all well done but if it upsets you stay clear.

Nice to see you again

You can read the books separately BUT I’m pleased I haven’t. One in particular has one hell of a twist that would be a shame to spoil by coming in late to the party. It was nice to see old faces pop up in Deity with a different spin given to one of the characters in Hydra. (my favorite book in the series). As with all the back catalog Deity is on point, fresh and has a knock out ending. I can’t be the only one left thinking there has to be six right? It is after all the Six Stories series…..

Thanks

My thanks go to Orenda Books via the Random Things Tours for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Six Stories, Hydra, Changeling, Beast and Deity are all out in paperback now and are well worth a read. Come on Matt give us a sixth!