BLOG TOUR: Deity (Six Stories) - Matt Wesolowski

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 rakes over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge. Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Why was he never officially charged? Are reports of a haunting really true?

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

What did I think?

I am completely addicted to Matt Wesolowski's Six Stories books as I absolutely love the podcast format they are written in.  The conversational writing style really feels like the book is speaking to you and it's amazing how clear each individual voice comes across.

With accusations of sexual abuse against a dead popstar, the subject matter is quite dark although it's never too difficult to read as podcaster Scott King doesn't interview anyone who has first-hand details of the abuse.  As Scott interviews six people linked to Zach Crystal it's quite eye-opening to see how one person can be seen in so many different lights.  I guess all famous people have a public and private persona so it must be almost like having a split personality; no wonder their brains get fried sometimes, although I'm not excusing anyone's unsavoury actions.

Following Operation Yewtree, we saw allegations about and convictions of many famous figures from our childhood.  You can't help but think about this when reading Deity as fame really does place rose tinted glasses on fans.  As the news came out I remember being both surprised and unsurprised by some of the accused, purely because of how I perceived them from the face they chose to show the public.  Matt Wesolowski also touches on the guilt we feel for still liking a particular song when the singer is not who we thought they were.  I found this really interesting to consider and could totally relate to it simply because of a particular classic Christmas song that I find myself singing along to then stop midway wondering whether I'm still allowed to like it now that the singer is a convicted sex offender.

I love Scott King's interviews and I sometimes forget that he's fictional; I would definitely subscribe to his Six Stories podcast if it was real.  As facts and opinions are laid out before us, I felt like I was part of the race to uncover the truth and I found myself making various judgements about Zach's guilt along the way.  I flipped so often between guilty and not guilty so I was definitely right at one point or another.

So very relatable and current, Deity is a dark, addictive and shocking thriller that really makes you think about the person behind the idol.  Highly recommended.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

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- and 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 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, and film rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. A prequel, 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.

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BLOG TOUR: The Thunder Girls - Melanie Blake

Jackie Collins for a new generation. The Thunder Girls is a blockbuster novel, filled with obsession, addiction, betrayal and revenge, that charts the rise and fall of an 80s girl band from Melanie Blake, a true insider of the music business.

Perfect for fans of Tasmina Perry and Daisy Jones and The Six. Soon to be a nationwide play with an all star cast.

THE

Chrissie, Roxanne, Carly and Anita, an eighties pop sensation outselling and out-classing their competition. Until it all comes to an abrupt end and three of their careers are over, and so is their friendship.

THUNDER

Thirty years later, their old record label wants the band back together for a huge money-making concert. But the wounds are deep and some need this gig more than others.

In those decades apart life was far from the dream they were living as members of The Thunder Girls. Breakdowns, bankruptcy, addiction and divorce have been a constant part of their lives. They’ve been to hell and back, and some are still there.

GIRLS

Can the past be laid to rest for a price, or is there more to this reunion than any of them could possibly know? Whilst they all hunger for a taste of success a second time around, someone is plotting their downfall in the deadliest way possible . . .

What did I think?

Finding it difficult to concentrate on reading lately, I was looking for a book to grab my attention and help me escape real life for a little while.  Well The Thunder Girls did just that and I absolutely loved it.  There's so much drama in The Thunder Girls, it's like a glitzy soap opera on steroids.

Set in the music industry, The Thunder Girls is the story of the world's biggest girl band getting back together after a 30 year gap.  With a group of girls there'll always be bitchy backstabbing and catfights, even 30 years later when the 'girls' are in their fifties!  Even more so when one of the girls left to pursue a solo career and the record label kicked the band into the gutter.  They all dreamed of playing at Wembley one day and with the offer of a lifetime to do just that on the table, how can they possibly resist?

I absolutely loved the drama of The Thunder Girls, it reminded me of the the bitchy feuding between Krystle Carrington and Alexis Colby in Dynasty but even worse!  These four girls had the world in their hands back in the 80's until one of them wanted the whole world to herself, or at least that's the way the other three saw it.  So who can blame them for giving Chrissie the cold shoulder?  They start to thaw with the Wembley carrot dangling in front of them and the promise of a cool half a million each for one show.  The Spice Girls said 'friendship never ends' but will the girls ever be able to forgive and forget?

Filled with secrets, lies, tension and drama The Thunder Girls is THE book to read this summer; it's pure escapism and hugely entertaining.  It's a glitzy and thrilling rollercoaster ride so you'd better buckle up for the ride of your life!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon




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BLOG TOUR: Dear Mr Pop Star - Derek & Dave Philpott

A collection of hilarious letters to iconic pop and rock stars with fantastic in-on-the-joke replies from the artists themselves: Eurythmics, Heaven 17, Deep Purple, Devo, Dr. Hook and many, many more…

For more than a decade, Derek Philpott and his son, Dave, have been writing deliberately deranged letters to pop stars from the 1960s to the 90s to take issue with the lyrics of some of their best-known songs. They miss the point as often as they hit it.

But then, to their great surprise, the pop stars started writing back...

Dear Mr Pop Star contains 100 of Derek and Dave's greatest hits, including correspondence with Katrina and the Waves, Tears for Fears, Squeeze, The Housemartins, Suzi Quatro, Devo, Deep Purple, Nik Kershaw, T’Pau, Human League, Eurythmics, Wang Chung, EMF, Mott the Hoople, Heaven 17, Jesus Jones, Johnny Hates Jazz, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Chesney Hawkes and many, many more.

Derek and Dave Philpott are the noms de plume of two ordinary members of the public, working with help from a worldwide social networking community.

What did I think?

Derek and Dave Philpott don't just listen to popular songs, they dissect and analyse them to hilarious effect.  There is something for every pop music fan in their latest book: Dear Mr Pop Star; you're sure to find your favourite artist in this book, even if they didn't respond to Derek & Dave's letters.

I love the layout of letters to and from artists, along with postcards to those artists who didn't respond.  Admittedly, some of them go over my head if I don't know the song that is being discussed but a quick trip to google puts that right.  It's all done in such good fun and this is reciprocated in the responses from the artists.  Take the letter sent to Justin Currie of Del Amitri by Derek Philpott whereby Derek is worried about ruining his corduroys whilst rolling to Mr Amitri after car trouble in the rain!  Lyrics of 'Roll to Me' below if you're wondering what on earth I'm going on about:

When the engine's stalled and it won't stop raining

It's the right time to roll to me

So if you enjoy listening to music, you will never listen to your favourite songs in the same way again after reading Dear Mr Pop Star.  I've found myself listening a lot closer to songs on the radio and if one of the songs that Derek & Dave have written about comes on, it does make me laugh.  It's surprising how much gobbledegook is in lyrics so Derek and Dave speak for all of us listeners when they ask the artists to explain themselves!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



Links

Goodreads

Unbound

Twitter: @DerekPhilpott   

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