The Red Scowl

By: European P. Douglas

Narrated by: Jack Clancy

The Black Death is approaching...but is there something more fearful in the forest outside the village?

Outside an isolated forest community, by the forbidden cursed "Red Scowl", tracks are discovered that resemble no known animal. Fearful of getting in trouble with the village leader, Mor and Beathan keep this discovery to themselves.

Soon, however, Mor grows more alarmed as news of a great pestilence arrives, and he wonders if these two things are somehow linked. He wants to speak up—just as he wanted to speak up when a woman he loved from afar was burned as a witch—but Mor is a simple man, and the more cunning Beathan keeps him quiet.

Storms, murder, a witch hunt, old secrets, and something monstrous in the mist follow before a stranger comes to the village. Is he is the devil? Does he carry the plague? Is he responsible for all the ills that have befallen them? Most important of all—did he come from within the Red Scowl?

©2021 Rory McNeill (P)2022 Rory McNeill

Baskerville Book Reviews

I may be a bit biased here, as I’ve reviewed every single European P. Douglas audiobook that’s available. But I enjoyed the hell out of this. It has this distinct witch hunt vibe going on, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was paranoia on the part of the uneducated, simple people of the village; or was there something more to it? Despite being such a short story, it does a fine job of establishing the world and characters. The village and its inhabitants all feel like they could really exist and we’ve been given a window into their lives.

Aside from one dialogue loop, the narration was perfect. It was crisp, clean, and easy to follow. The narrator did a fine job of bringing the cast to life and personality to the characters.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

unexpected ending

In my opinion, a great piece of fiction leads to an unexpected and twisting ending. This story serves that up on a silver platter with lots of condiments on the side making this a very interesting and entertaining story.

The Red Scowl

I have read a few of European's books that I would Recommend, but I was not a big fan of this book. I struggled to finish the book. Multiple times I almost quit. The story just didn't keep me engaged, but then again I am not that big a fan of fantasy, The narrating was just okay IMO. I chose this book because I like E.P.D. I received this audiobook from Story Origin, and this is my agreed upon review.

Not all is what you have been led to believe.

My review is based on an earlier review from December 2021 when I read an advance reader copy of The Red Scowl, and then recently when I listened to a review copy of the audiobook, I received from the author through StoryOrigin.

I have come to expect two things when I read any stories by Mr. Douglas. First, I am going to be entertained from beginning to end, and second, I’m going to be transported to places where there is an element of horror and a ton of suspense. The Red Scowl not only fulfilled both of my expectations it exceeded them in ways I hadn’t expected – and no, I also won’t share why because I’m not into providing spoilers. I’ll just say this story wasn’t what I had expected before I started it and as I read, I morphed into a story that set its hooks into me and refused to let go until that last sentence. Jack Clancy’s narration of this story not only brought it to life, but it seemed to fill in areas that I may not have focused on when I originally read the story.

Excellent!

Set in Ireland, at the onset of the plague, this is a story of a village and its inhabitants, a story of a curse and the insidious advance of sickness.

Full of suspense, intriguing and eerie, this is a great horror story, holding itself not by gore and blood, but by the atmosphere and good writing.

Sadly, I didn't really enjoy Jack Clancy's narration but, nevertheless, the story is well worthy of your time.