Review: Changeling

Changeling by Matt Wesolowski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

‘Changeling’ by Matt Wesolowski follows the same format as the previous two novels in the series, six episodes of a podcast tell the story of a unsolved crime. Each episode of the podcast largely takes the form of an interview with someone connected with the crime, telling the tale “from six different perspectives, seeing the events that unfolded through six pairs of eyes.” As before, the episodes are interspersed with ancillary recordings which add to the background though not forming part of the podcast as it would be released. And, as before, the book really works better in audio form, especially given the talents of the voice actors.

The current case concerns the disappearance of a 7-year old boy in 1988 from his father’s car as the father attempted to restart the broken down vehicle. Was the boy snatched in the brief moment in which the man says he was out of his sight; did wander off into the remote forest beside which they were parked? What is the explanation for the knocking sounds that appear in many of the participants’ stories? And is Scott King, the presenter of the Six Stories podcast, really in a fit state to tell the story dispassionately given the events of, and the backlash to, ‘Hydra’, the previous Six Stories series?

This time around it is Scott King’s own audio notes that form the bridging material between the podcast episodes and it is clear that he is not a well man. The difference in tone between these different elements, the anxious disturbed individual of the private recordings and the more assured, professional delivery of the podcast, is a credit to both the author and the voice actor. The story is harrowing and unsettling with elements almost touching on horror and, as with the preceding novels, it is absorbing and entertaining. The ending is shocking and, while I would love to see what Matt Wesolowski can do in a different form, I hope we find out what happens next in the Six Stories reality.

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