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I've read very few mysteries / thrillers, so it's hard for me to judge whether or not this is an effective example of the genre.

This was certainly an enjoyable and gripping read. The author captured the NPR podcaster voice perfectly. It was mostly well paced and revealed aspects of different characters effectively. The interleaved vignettes felt unnecessary, other than perhaps hinting at SpoilerBrian returning to return the body to near the cabin.

However, the final chapter has unfortunately rather spoiled the experience.

The final chapter began with a major twist, but unfortunately one I'd (half) seen Spoilerthat the interviewer had been Brian, but not that he wasn't the real Scott King and continued with 20 pages confirming various things I'd predicted Spoilerhe'd drugged them, he'd committed the murder, he'd used the bag and it'd been hidden at Haris Novak's house. It did clarify a few other details that I had missed or only vaguely suspected SpoilerBrian being the person everyone had seen on the moors and thought to be Nanna Rack (they really must've paid very little attention to him), and the smell of the animals Novak took back to bury hiding the smell of the body in the coal scuttle (presumably), although I'd somehow thought Brian had got Novak to take the bag from the cave to his house, but I didn't feel the main motivation had been sufficiently hinted at Spoilerat least, I can't remember any hints about the person Tom attacked being Brian's father or really about any difficulties with his home life. I feel it'd have also been more interesting for SpoilerBrian as Scott King to have interviewed Brian.

Was my ability to predict much of the ending due to the author doing a good or heavy handed job at dropping clues? I enjoyed noticing things, so I think perhaps a more ambiguous ending requiring the reader to notice things would've been better. It's rather dull to just read a dump of things you mostly already know.

I'll probably give a couple of the author's other Six Stories books a go when I want something quick and fun to read. Perhaps they won't have the same issues.