My Two Cents: GOING TO THE SIX by A.C. Hessenauer

Earlier in the year, I read and absolutely loved A.C. Hessenauer's noirish supernatural story, "Manimal," so I was excited for the chance to check out her new release, "Going to the Six," which released on June 16. And while "Going to the Six" has very different narrative style, setting, and theme compared to "Manimal," at its heart, it showcases what I've discovered is Hessenauer's strongest suit as a writer: complex characters embroiled in complicated relationships.

"Going to the Six" is presented in the same "found footage" style as "Episode Thirteen" by Craig DiLouie., with a series of film transcripts, news clippings, personal interviews, medical records, and journal entries. Through these, the crew of a documentary film series called "Secrets of the Deep" joins an ecological research team traversing Lake Superior. While researching invasive algae growth in the Great Lake, the scientists have inadvertently stumbled across the shipwrecked remains of the Keuka, a Prohibition-era pleasure barge. "Secrets of the Deep" plans to dive and explore the site to try and find out why the Keuka mysteriously sank in 1932, killing more than 100 people aboard.

The film team consists of host/showrunner Owen Wheeler; actress turned cohost Arielle "Ari" Stone; cameraman Duncan Holcomb; and sound technician Kirk Lannigan. They're a well-oiled machine, and as they set off with the research vessel The Channel Cat and its crew, it seems pretty much like business as usual. Except that Ari has a bad feeling she just can't seem to shake, a persistent dread that lingers like the storm clouds gathering along the horizon. Owen can't seem to stop thinking about his grandfather, and a traumatic incident in Owen's youth in which the old man accused him of "letting the lake in." Duncan doesn't like the way an unusual flock of seabirds seems to be following them on the voyage. And Kirk's not a big fan of the way Owen and Ari keep making moon eyes at each other. There's a storm brewing in more ways than one for our intrepid filmmakers, and an unexpected detour to a tourist island leads to a disturbing encounter with peculiar locals, and the disclosure of even more disturbing local lore known as "Going to the Six."

The closer Owen and his friends get to discovering the truth about what "the Six" is and what really befell the Keuka, the greater the danger and depravity they face. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say that heads will roll, hearts will be broken, and eyes will be gouged out.

"Going to the Six" is a fun, fast-paced, frightening read, filled with jump scares, escalating dread, unreliable narrators, and horrors of both the ecological and supernatural varieties. As I mentioned earlier, however, the real centerpieces of the story are the characters. With their secrets, flaws, unrequited affections, unspoken rivalries, and hidden resentments, each of the protagonists--Owen, Ari, Duncan, and Kirk--are realistic, sympathetic, and relatable. Hessenauer knows how to sink her writing hooks into readers by crafting characters you identify and empathize with, and whose fates you feel emotionally invested in. No matter how bloody, terrifying, or just plain weird the scene, her characters keep you grounded, while also feverishly turning the page to find out what happens next. She's a gifted author, one who has earned a spot on my list of horror authors to watch, and I'm excited to see where her imagination takes us next.

"Going to the Six" is available here.