Hydra

One cold November night in 2014, in a small town in the north west of England, 26-year-old Arla Macleod bludgeoned her mother, father and younger sister to death with a hammer, in an unprovoked attack known as the 'Macleod Massacre'. Now incarcerated at a medium-security mental-health institution, Arla will speak to no one but Scott King, an investigative journalist, whose 'Six Stories' podcasts have become an internet sensation.



King finds himself immersed in an increasingly complex case, interviewing five witnesses and Arla herself, as he questions whether Arla's responsibility for the massacre was a diminished as her legal team made out. As he unpicks the stories, he finds himself thrust into a world of deadly forbidden 'games', online trolls, and the mysterious Black-eyed Children, whose presence extends far beyond the delusions of a murderess...



Dark, chilling and gripping, HYDRA is both a classic murder mystery and an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, that shines light in places you may never, ever want to see again.

“"complex and original...Hydra is as surprising as it is good, and should appeal to readers who enjoy crime with an eerie, dark vibe."-- Mystery Scene”

A complex and subtle mystery, unfolding like dark origami to reveal the black heart inside' Michael Marshall Smith *Wonderfully horrifying ... the suspense crackles' James Oswald `Original, inventive and brilliantly clever' Fiona Cummins The literary equivalent of dark metal - gritty, dark, often shocking, and always exciting. A masterful debut' Kati Hiekkapelto *Wonderfully atmospheric. Matt Wesolowski is a skilled storyteller with a unique voice. Definitely one to watch' Mari Hannah `A tight, claustrophobic mystery' David F. Ross A remarkable debut from a fine new fictional voice. Written as a series of six podcasts, which attempt to uncover the truth about the death of young Tom Jeffries, this compelling narrative pulls you in from the start and keeps you in its grip to the bitter twisted end. A great book!' Shelley Day *A stunning piece of writing - chock full of atmosphere, human insight and beautiful writing. Take a note of this guy's name. He's going to be huge!' Michael J. Malone

Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle. He is an English tutor and leads Cuckoo Young Writers creative writing workshops for young people in association with New Writing North. Matt started his writing career in horror and his short horror fiction has been published in Ethereal Tales magazine, Midnight Movie Creature Feature anthology, 22 More Quick Shivers anthology and many more. His debut novella The Black Land, a horror set on the Northumberland coast, was published in. Matt was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in 2015. His debut thriller Six Stories was an Amazon bestseller in the USA, Canada, UK and Australia.

One cold November night in 2014, in a small town in the north west of England, 26-year-old Arla Macleod bludgeoned her mother, father and younger sister to death with a hammer, in an unprovoked attack known as the 'Macleod Massacre'. Now incarcerated at a medium-security mental-health institution, Arla will speak to no one but Scott King, an investigative journalist, whose 'Six Stories' podcasts have become an internet sensation.King finds himself immersed in an increasingly complex case, interviewing five witnesses and Arla herself, as he questions whether Arla's responsibility for the massacre was a diminished as her legal team made out. As he unpicks the stories, he finds himself thrust into a world of deadly forbidden 'games', online trolls, and the mysterious Black-eyed Children, whose presence extends far beyond the delusions of a murderess...Dark, chilling and gripping, HYDRA is both a classic murder mystery and an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, that shines light in places you may never, ever want to see again.

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