Friday, November 20, 2015

Review: The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Schweigart



Rating: 4 rat filled stars
Publication Date: November 17 2015

Blurb:

Fans of Stephen King and Bentley Little will devour The Beast of Barcroft, Bill Schweigart’s brilliant new vision of dark suburban horror. Ben thought he had the neighbor from hell. He didn’t know how right he was. . . .
 
Ben McKelvie believes he’s moving up in the world when he and his fiancée buy a house in the cushy Washington, D.C., suburb of Barcroft. Instead, he’s moving down—way down—thanks to Madeleine Roux, the crazy neighbor whose vermin-infested property is a permanent eyesore and looming hazard to public health.
 
First, Ben’s fiancée leaves him; then, his dog dies, apparently killed by a predator drawn into Barcroft by Madeleine’s noxious menagerie. But the worst is yet to come for Ben, for he’s not dealing with any ordinary wild animal. This killer is something much, much worse. Something that couldn’t possibly exist—in this world.
 
Now, as a devilish creature stalks the locals, Ben resolves to take action. With some grudging assistance from a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and the crackpot theories of a self-styled cryptozoologist, he discovers the sinister truth behind the attacks, but knowing the Beast of Barcroft and stopping it are two different animals.

Review:

Rats, rats, rats and rats. That's all I can think about in when I try to come up with something to say in this review. I can remember a lady eaten alive by rats. In the end, I was surprised the beast wasn't a rat. I get that this book belongs in the horror genre, but the rats are gross and a little weird. I swear that if the book wasn't mostly from Ben's point of view I those tiny creatures would have been the thing that has appeared the most in this book.

The book has many elements from varius lores and creatures that exists in our imagination only which was a little confusing first (I didn't have my google at the time I was reading it), but it was appreciated later when I saw the book was a whole. I didn't even know that this is a paranormal and fantasy book and I was taken by surprise when Ben started to discover things about this beast.

Ben is a complex character and he was nicely built. His background story is nicely built. I don't think I saw a character in this book that was one dimensional. Each had something that made him unique and I will read more of the author's works in the future. A sequel is coming next year and it has already been added to my to read list.

I must admit that I missed my genre while reading the book. I missed my dose of romance, but it wasn't very bad. I would like to see the direction Ben's like taking after the events in Barcroft. I guess I will have to wait for book number 2.

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