#finnmccoy

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Hungry Gods

(Finn McCoy, Book Seven)

A BookBud Review

By Scott Langrel

Finished 02-03-2020

Genre: Paranormal Thriller

Basic Plot: Finn and Friends back at it again! This time facing beings far more powerful than even Finn can imagine. Strap in for ancient gods, ancestral sorceresses, new Fae powers and a whole lot more. 

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Readability: 4/5

Plot Interest: 3/5

Creativity: 4/5

Finn McCoy, our trusty neighborhood paranormal investigator, is back in Shallow Springs, recently getting his mom back from an ancient Druid who kept her prisoner, faces a new challenge, TWO women to boss him around. In hopes to get some peace, he follows a lead he receives into the woods only to be met with a gruesome scene that can only mean one thing, something very very strong has come to Shallow Springs, something no one can beat. We follow his reunion with Pru and their fight to stop the world from ending, again. It was written decently, I think Langrel really does improve in that way with each novel in this series. I struggle witht hese novels in the sense that there’s not a whole lot of depth. McCoy and his band of misfits are great, don’t get me wrong, but there really isn’t much for me to relate to in them. 

I gave it a 4 out of 5 because I think these book are just fun. I don’t necessarily crave and need the next one right away but I do like the ideas in them and the fact that they are a dependably decent read. I may not walk away with my favorite story of all time, but I know I also won’t usually be very disappointed and Langrel seems to have gotten better with the actual suspense build by this installment. It’s a fun read and this one was definitely an interesting plot. 

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Bloodlines 

(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. 

I gave this a 4 out of 5 taking off because Langrel’s writing style, while not at all confusing, sometimes comes off a little too blunt. I’m very pleased with this one however and I would say so far, it’s my favorite in this particular series. 

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Blood Carnival

(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. 

I gave this a 3 out of 5. It’s still pretty well written and the dialogue feels natural, even with the new characters. There were some interesting twists this time which was a nice change of pace but overall, not much to chew on. A fun read, again. 

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Dark Hollows

(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.

I have the a 4 out of 5 actually. The topic chosen was enticing (even if I am biased, this still is a strong topic and his research on the entity chosen, although not necessarily vast, was well done), the character building is going very well and feels much more realistic now, and his new characters are much more lively and interesting than some others. This one really had a lot of good aspects and I feel like the series is really taking a turn and developing well.

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Cold Chills 

(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.

I gave this a 3.5 out of 5. This one particularly, was probably my favorite installment so far. I like that he already went back to characters we saw in the first book as well as pulling elements from it to start to really make it feel like a series instead of creepy cases. He delivers an interesting plot, decent characters (no ones running around being total idiots, doing things specifically told not to or anything, which in horror, is always a plus), and is starting to really form it into an actual series so, it’s in no way a bad read. It’s depth is lack luster and, although nothing feels missing exactly, it doesn’t really produce a lot of emotional attachment. All that said though, these are just basically fun, quick reads and if you enjoy a good paranormal story you can read about in a day, these are a good choice. 

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Shadows in the Sand

(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. 

I gave this a 3 out of 5. It’s fun and fast paced but overall nothing really swaying it to being a great book but nothing dragging it down either. I would say this is a good series to read if, like me, you need a different focus from a story with a lot of depth, or just want something to read in an afternoon.