#scottlangrel

(Finn McCoy, Book Eight)

A BookBud Review

By Scott Langrel

Finished 02-06-2020

Genre: Paranormal Thriller

Basic Plot: Shortly after their encounter with ancient gods and demons alike, Finn and his crew find themselves faced once again with something sinister crawling through their woods. Together, they must figure out what is luring men into these woods and destroying them completely. 

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Readability: 4/5

Plot Interest: 4/5

Creativity: 3/5

I liked this installment, it was decently paced again and for one of the first times, Langrel takes it slow. He eases you into what is happening behind the scenes instead of giving the reader all information right away. I enjoyed that much more this time since there’s so much more going on, which is also a plus. This one felt like it really did need a follow up. However, that’s also to it’s own detriment because Langrel hasn’t written another McCoy book in over two years now, with no news of wrapping this series up. Last heard from, he intended to continue on with McCoy but nothing else has resurfaced. 

(Finn McCoy Book 6) Book Review

By Scott Langrel

Finished 04-30-2019

Genre: Paranormal Thriller

Basic Plot: Finn McCoy has found himself facing what may be his most difficult foe yet. A druid from ancient times, long forgotten is in Shallow Springs with a specific goal in mind. Can McCoy handle this one?

This was my favorite one thus far. This had the most reference to a building larger story arc and by far surpasses the others in that capacity. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the hunt and destroy method of these novels alone, but the fact that this one is riddled with clues to Finn’s past, connections of characters and forebodes what is to come later, made this stand out far more than the others. The epilogue’s ending was really what pushed it farther, leaving me on the edge of my seat. This is the most anticipation building Langrel has done thus far and I’m actually feeling real connections to his characters and their well being. It was also an entertaining story alone and actually made me question the fate of McCoy and his misfit band of brothers for once. 

(Finn McCoy Book 5) Book Review

By Scott Langrel

Finished 03-17-2019

Genre: Paranormal Thriller

Basic Plot: McCoy finds himself in North Carolina helping out a distant family member of Sheriff John Talbot. A mobster’s son Seth, has gone missing at conveniently the same time a carnival is in town. Of course they think something fishy is to blame. Finn team’s up with Seth’s best friend who is also searching for the missing man. People are missing, someone’s been crushed to death and McCoy knows there’s more to the story. 

Overall, I feel like maybe Langrel back slid on this one a bit. Where, again, this gives you a quick read that’s overall enjoyable, it doesn’t have much of an underlying premise to the overall series plot line. We’re back to McCoy just hunting evil entities. I enjoyed the creativity and I think this one had a little more of a nail biting effect but overall just not a lot of substance. 

(Finn McCoy Book 4) Book Review

By Scott Langrel

Finished 03-12-2019

Genre: Paranormal Thriller

Basic Plot: Finn McCoy is back and up against something strong. Stronger than he’s ever faced before. But with Pru back by his side, can The Handler get them out of this one?

This series is really shaping up now. It’s turning into a top favorite slowly but surely. A slow burn of sorts but since each book being less than 200 pages makes it still relatively easy to fly through. Now, I may be personally biased in my much higher approval of this one considering *SPOILER* an entity I’m highly infatuated with is the main focus this time, demons. Intriguing and hard hitting as never before really, Pru comes back, which I think is a very nice additive to the story line since Pru is probably the most developing character. Langrel’s other recurring faces like Sheriff Talbot and Amanda are loveable sidekicks for McCoy at this point but Pru really has a way of shining which comes out much more in this installment. His female characters overall actually are quite realistic and interesting. There’s really no lack of diversity with their personalities, they display realistic characteristics and their dialogue feels so natural. Overall, Langrel’s dialogue has a natural quality to it but the interactions of the females, especially with McCoy himself makes for good entertainment and realism to this otherwise unbleievable and nerve wracking plot line. There’s also no lack of build to an overall arc in this one now, a lot more allusion is happening and the series feels like it’s gaining its legs getting ready to run.

(Finn McCoy Book 3) Book Review

By Scott Langrel

Finished 03-08-2019

Genre: Paranormal Series

Basic Plot: McCoy, aka the Handler, finds himself plopped back into the thick of things in his hometown again. With the Sheriff’s help and maybe a few more unlikely sources as well, can he clean up the paranormal tempest within the worst snowstorm the town’s seen in decades? 

This series has been growing on me, I honestly just read the first one because it was cheap on the Kindle when I first obtained my e-reader. But, slowly, I have found I like Finn McCoy and his band of followers more and more. I will still say, if you’re looking for a whole lot of depth, these may not be the best pick out there for you but that doesn’t mean it’s without any either. This one actually dug a little deeper into the characters involved and probably had the most depth out of the three I have ventured through thus far. The plot line itself was average I would say. There seems to not be a lot of actual fear in these as well as a lack of mystery since it’s more Langrel’s tact to use dramatic irony, letting his readers know what is happening the entire time. On the one hand, it’s a positive tactic because we get the villain's perspective too which is always intriguing. But on the other hand, it makes it impossible to foreshadow and leave us guessing since we pretty much have all the information right away. I suppose it works for some well and others, not so much but I’m somewhat indifferent towards it. I will say though, for an average of 120 something pages per book, he does do a good job of pacing and the creativity of the supernatural entities makes these pretty fun to read.

(Finn McCoy Series Book 2)

Book Review

By Scott Langrel 

Finished 2-24-2019

Genre: Supernatural thriller

Basic Plot: Finn McCoy is not a normal detective. He has paranormal sensitivity and uses that to help others. This time, he’s headed to an old friends down in South Carolina to investigate some strange drownings. What happens down there, is new and terribly frightening. 

Overall, this is pretty well written and intriguing. It’s a fun short read that will keep you entertained with the quickness of the story line and strange happenings. It has a Supernatural season one type vibe of hunting and killing crazy creatures that gives it a fun experience when facing new cryptid creatures. Although creative, nothing was particularly amazing about it but there was nothing notably negative either. Some of the relationships feel a little rushed since it is such a short read but due to the circumstances the characters find themselves in, it is more understandable. There’s a few notable twists which were intriguing but nothing exclusively nail biting, edge of your seat, exciting.