Scan barcode
A review by outsmartyourshelf
The Six by Luca Veste
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Six friends, who have been friends since their schooldays, decide to have one last weekend of unencumbered celebration before marriages & children take over. Stuart, Michelle, Matt, Alexandra, Chris, & Nichola go to a 90s music festival but shortly after retiring on the Saturday evening, they are awakened by the shouts of one of their number. Rushing to the rescue, they find Stuart in the nearby woods being attacked by a man wielding a dangerous weapon, so without thinking the other five pile in, & the man ends up dead. Reactions are split but as a group, they decide to bury him & leave, but on the way back to their campsite, they come across another body. A young man has been killed & next to the body is a red candle - they realise that they must have killed a notorious serial killer 'Candle Man' thought to be responsible for a lot of disappearances over the years, leaving behind a red candle. For reasons they decide to move this second body, but along the way, it disappears & the group head home hoping that they have got away cleanly.
Two of the three relationships of the group break up soon after with only Chris & Nichola staying together. A year later, it seems as if against all odds they have gotten away with things, when Matt is contacted by Stuart's sister to let him know that Stuart is dead. The remaining five friends get together at the funeral for the first time following that fateful weekend, & they wonder what happened. It soon becomes clear that Stuart had become obsessed about the events of the previous year & ended up taking his own life, & the friends are again split between those who want to go to the police & those who don't. It isn't until after the funeral when Matt visits Stuart's place with Stuart's sister that he notices that there is a red candle on the table. Did Stuart take his own life or is the Candle Killer still alive? Are they all in danger?
The book started off a bit slow tbh & I almost DNF'd it, but decided to carry on. I'm glad I did as this was a fairly good read. It's more a psychological thriller than a gory read, although some parts of it drag a little for a thriller. The reader sees it all mainly through the eyes of Matt, who has drifted into ennui following what happened, but all six of the friends have been affected in one way or another. Matt's relationship with Alexandra, which had been on the verge of engagement, crumbled & it looks like there's little hope of reconciliation. The narrative is mainly from the present but with some chapters from an unnamed character which are set in the past of the friend group, & the ending was quite good with an extra twist in the epilogue. The problem is it's only 'fairly good', for me it's missing that something that would have pushed the rating up higher. Reading it, I didn't feel the sense of urgency I expected in a group possibly being targeted by a killer - I think Matt's sense of inertia was catching whilst reading this.
Two of the three relationships of the group break up soon after with only Chris & Nichola staying together. A year later, it seems as if against all odds they have gotten away with things, when Matt is contacted by Stuart's sister to let him know that Stuart is dead. The remaining five friends get together at the funeral for the first time following that fateful weekend, & they wonder what happened. It soon becomes clear that Stuart had become obsessed about the events of the previous year & ended up taking his own life, & the friends are again split between those who want to go to the police & those who don't. It isn't until after the funeral when Matt visits Stuart's place with Stuart's sister that he notices that there is a red candle on the table. Did Stuart take his own life or is the Candle Killer still alive? Are they all in danger?
The book started off a bit slow tbh & I almost DNF'd it, but decided to carry on. I'm glad I did as this was a fairly good read. It's more a psychological thriller than a gory read, although some parts of it drag a little for a thriller. The reader sees it all mainly through the eyes of Matt, who has drifted into ennui following what happened, but all six of the friends have been affected in one way or another. Matt's relationship with Alexandra, which had been on the verge of engagement, crumbled & it looks like there's little hope of reconciliation. The narrative is mainly from the present but with some chapters from an unnamed character which are set in the past of the friend group, & the ending was quite good with an extra twist in the epilogue. The problem is it's only 'fairly good', for me it's missing that something that would have pushed the rating up higher. Reading it, I didn't feel the sense of urgency I expected in a group possibly being targeted by a killer - I think Matt's sense of inertia was catching whilst reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Murder and Violence