I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Beast today. My review is written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the tour.

Blurb:

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…

Review:

I was unsure where Wesolowski would be able to go with this series after Changeling but he has once again delivered an amazing book! Once again, it is structured in the form of podcast episodes and I was immediately sucked in as if the podcast was being streamed in my living room. It is incredibly atmospheric with the weather, the mysterious characters and theme of vampires and it was very difficult to tear myself away from this engaging world.

Wesolowski has a great understanding of social media and how it can be all consuming and used to manipulate people. This means that although the challenges in which Elizabeth participates are not yet in circulation, it certainly feels real and it shines a light on how dangerous social media can be.

Throughout this series, Wesolowski has been brilliant at showing all the sides to a particular story and Beast is no different. The reader is given insight into Elizabeth’s personality and my view of what had happened changed with every episode. This makes the book wonderfully thrilling and I was captivated by it.

I did not predict the ending, but I loved it and it gave me lots to consider about what is a fascinating story.

Beast is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: