Customer Reviews

The Battle for Barnstable

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Courtesy of Love Romances

The Battle for Barnstable by Alan M Brooker is an engrossing tale of the occult and dark magic.

Alex Anderson, a journalist writing feature articles on old manor houses, returns to the home of his childhood for his latest piece. He has mixed feelings about returning to the town where his parents were killed years ago and the murderers never found. Never did he expect what would happen when he arrived at Barnstable.

Upon arrival, Alex meets the beautiful Lisa and finds himself unable to stop thinking about her. When strange things start happening at Barnstable Manor, Alex begins to discover not all is as it seems. He meets up with the vampire Lord of the Manor, Andrew Barnstable, who alerts him to the real dangers in town. Barnstable Manor is the command center for a coven of Satanists who have been grooming Lisa for years to become the Bride of Satan. However complications arising from her relationship with Andrew's daughter, Sara, have interfered and now both women are in danger.

Now these unlikely allies, with the help of a few other trusted parties must defeat the Satanists before they can complete the final ritual to bring Satan back from Hell.

The Battle for Barnstable is full of non-stop action and suspense. However, some of the more graphic scenes may offend more sensitive readers. This reviewer was a little put off by the excessive sexual acts and descriptions, and could have done without the orgies. If one can look past the gratuitous sex in parts to the deeper story, this book will captivate. The experiences Alex and company have while trying to battle the satanic cult are frighteningly vivid yet full of fascinating information.

The characters are very well drawn and deep, drawing readers into their lives, experiences, and feelings. Andrew the vampire is by his very nature a killing animal, but this reviewer found herself very sympathetic to his plight. When he discovers the danger to his daughter, and discovers some other secrets revealed, he is driven to protect the women at any cost, even if it means his own destruction.

One thing disappointing about this story was that there didn't seem to be enough emphasis put on Alex's back story. He is so determined in the beginning to find out more about his parents' deaths, but then that drive takes a back seat to everything else. It was more of a secondary plot device, but some readers may feel like that storyline line is not satisfactorily wrapped up.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, January 2006. All rights reserved.