It’s been too long since I’ve shared some horror and I have a good one for ya. I listened to The Beast Of Barcroft and it was a Cryptid treat.
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The Beast Of Barcroft
Written by Bill Schweigart
The Fatal Folklore Trilogy #1
My Review
Right from the beginning I felt almost like I was watching a movie. Cue the music as an ominous scene unfolds and the mystery of the The Beast Of Barcroft began. I was hooked.
Ben is a sympathetic character. He thinks he’s finally moving up in the world. That his hard work has paid off. That’s until he discovers that his posh new digs are planted right alongside a rundown house riddled with rats and stray cats. His life begins to fall apart. And it changes forever when he sees the creature that killed his beloved dog.
Yep, I thought I should warn you, a dog dies in this story. But the author doesn’t describe it’s death. Just what happens afterwards. When Ben faces the beast, it’s so otherworldly yet so beautiful.
The story moves swiftly then. The mystery deepens, some vital characters are introduced and the horror of the beast takes over.
Wowser. I thought I knew what the beast was. But I was way off. It was something new to me and that’s a huge bonus. I love cryptids and this one prowled right out of folklore in all its shiny newness. Some scenes were more subtle. And some were so intense I couldn’t see how anyone would survive. Some didn’t. Some did, and they want after the beast. The final confrontation seemed hopeless. I braced myself and took what the author dished out. But, wait. It wasn’t over. There was one more violent confrontation. Then it was over.
Now, about the final battle. I thought about it for awhile. Then I decided it worked. Might not be what I wanted, but it worked.
Did I enjoy The Beast Of Barcroft? Yes I did. The audible is over seven hours long and I listened to it straight through. Would I recommend it? In a heartbeat.
Narrated by Will Damron
This is the first time I listened to a narration by Will Damron and I’ll be watching for him now. He nailed the characters, male and female, his inflection was on point and his reading was smooth.
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Synopsis
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.
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