The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Schweigart

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Birdlady1950
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The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Schweigart

Post by Birdlady1950 »

The neighborhood near the seat of power for the U.S. should have been a fantasy come true; old stately homes, quite neighbors, the perfect place to live. Do not be deceived, something is very wrong in Barcroft, Virginia. It started with the neighbor from hell, Madeleine Roux, raccoon rehab, feral cats, rats, and an ecosystem altered inviting something evil to come, commune, and feast on the community. Ben McKelvie's life has been on a downward spiral for sometime, however the horror to come will forge him into the man he was meant to be. Along with a small group of fellow believers, Ben will fight for his life and community. Hero's will emerge before the end of the story.

Mr. Schweigart grabbed me from the first paragraph. The tension, evil, and horror leaps off each page. The story never slows as horror after horror is revealed from the imagination of Mr Schweigart. He keeps you guessing, what is behind the savage killings, is it a big cat, a wolf, a man; you will have to read this story to find out. You will be hooked and unable to put this book down as you journey down the road of mystical native creatures, evil, and people who rise to the occasion to fight against the unknown.

The plotting was excellent in this story and the character development was spot on. I loved watching Ben become a strong man in a world gone wrong and the twists and turns kept me guessing.

I highly recommend this book for those that love an adventure filled with evil and things unknown, a great story line, and well-developed characters. I look forward to the sequel due for publication in early 2016. Great job Mr. Schweigart!

I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review.
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Samyann
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Post by Samyann »

These comments address two audiobooks by Bill Schweigart released by Tantor Audio in late 2016. The Beast of Barcroft is about seven hours in length, Northwoods just over ten. Both are narrated by Will Damron.

Didn’t like: Narration is laboriously slow, ergo set Audible application to 1.5 - normal speed, in addition to Damron’s soft voice, will put you to sleep regardless of scary moments. Although there’s little trouble discerning who-is-speaking-to-who, there isn’t a uniqueness to voices. They all sound similar, male/female. Plots are not very creative. In Beasts, an unknown, but scary, creature is terrifying a small town and good guys figure it out. In Northwoods, the same batch of good guys save the day again from an equally scary creature.

Liked: The ‘hide-under-the-covers’ moments. If you like the horror story genre, these fit the bill - shape-shifting, ferocious coyotes and wolves and hyenas, bloody zombies, glowing-eyes traverse the pages. Action scenes are exciting.
That said, some imagery is a bit confusing. The literary visions of Schweigart leave the reader to imagine quite a bit. In the horror genre, sometimes this isn’t all bad.

The books are not identified as a series - although they should be; there is no doubt you should read Beasts first. There is also no doubt there will be subsequent novels, as book two - Northwoods - ends abruptly with the line “We’re going to Jersey.” No spoilers - but, guess that’s a hint?

No gratuitous sex, some language issues but very rare and none inappropriate to the circumstance or character.

Recommended only those who enjoy horror stories.
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