YVONNE’S SHORTIES #332 – Demon // Remarkably Bright Creatures

Time for another round of Yvonne’s Shorties! This time around a sequel of a favorite crime thriller podcast series and a contemporary read I both LOVED.

Title: Demon
(Six Stories #6)
Author: Matt Wesolowski
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror
First published: November 20th 2021
Publisher: Orenda Books
Finished reading: November 17th 2022
Pages: 320

“We want rhyme and reason, we want cause and effect, we want to be able to have strong opinions about simple things. But none of this is simple.”

I’ve been an instant fan of the Six Stories books ever since I read the first book back in 2019, and this is a series that just keeps delivering one fantastic book after the other. Demon is already book number six of a series focusing on revisiting old crime cases in podcast style. And while not my absolute favorite, there is no doubt that it still delivered! There is just something about Matt Wesolowski‘s writing style that draws you straight in, and it’s always great to see Scott King tackling yet another intriguing case. Things are disturbing from the start with the focus on the murder of a twelve-year-old by two boys the same age… And things only get more intense and creepy as the hints at the supernatural start piling up. Demon gives us six stories from six different people that might help give us more insight in exactly what happened in Ussalthwaite and why. Scott King is the impartial voice as always, and I like what his character adds to the plot. On top of the podcast interviews, the story also includes letters written by one of the killers as well as messages and other news articles. These elements didn’t slow down the pace at all and only added a little something extra to the plot for me. And those final reveals! I definitely didn’t see that coming at all… I do wonder if this is really the end of the Six Stories series with how things were wrapped up; I sure hope not, because I love this series and wouldn’t mind an extra book (or ten!). Either way, I can’t wait to see whatever story Matt Wesolowski comes up with next, because I will be here to read it.

Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
First published: May 3rd 2022
Publisher: Ecco
Finished reading: November 20th 2022
Pages: 362

“Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”

Sometimes you come across a book and your inner radar starts screaming that you simply HAVE to read it. Remarkably Bright Creatures was one of those books for me. I have a weak spot for books with older main characters, and on top of that having one of the main characters being a real live octopus?! Of course I wasn’t going to be able to resist that. And I’m glad I finally read it, because it turned out to be an absolute gem. I definitely understand the glowing reviews now! Remarkably Bright Creatures can be seen as a piece of literary fiction with a dose of magical realism mixed in; we do have the POV of an octopus incorporated into the plot after all. Magical realism can go both ways for me, but I loved how it was used here. The chapters written from the POV of Marcellus are brilliantly done, and I sure learned a thing or two about the species along the way. The story uses a multiple POV structure in general, and while it may take a little to place everyone, you will soon realize how every character fits in. I loved reading about Tova and Cameron, and while I did figure out what was going on very early on (and I was a bit annoyed by how fast things could have been resolved if the characters just talked to each other) I did enjoy seeing the bond between the characters grow over time. I loved the interactions between Tova and Marcellus as well, and the character development in general is well done. I ended up having a fantastic time reading Remarkably Bright Creatures, and I suspect it will end up on my list of 2022 favorites.