Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2025! I’m so excited to be doing this again! I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!
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I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!
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The Beast Of Barcroft
by Bill Schweigart
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Genre: Horror
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.
4 STARS
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Synopsis
Ben McKelvie believes he’s moving up in the world when he and his fiancee 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 fiancee 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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