Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Beach Patrol
SERIES: Playa Escondida #2
AUTHOR: Michelle Moore
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 106 pages
BLURB:
Jay’s an average lifeguard. Sure, there’s the family curse–a connection to a demon who shipwrecked on the coast centuries ago–and being the last heir to the heretical sect of monster hunters who failed to destroy that demon. So he’s mostly an average lifeguard.
Dan Green wants nothing more than to find and tag a sea turtle, and finish his degree. He’s starting to think he should have picked a different beach. Even his degree isn’t worth getting tangled up in old ghost stories, demonic curses, and a monster hunt 400 years in the making. But Jay? Jay just might be…
REVIEW:
Dan just wants to study the turtles. That’s all. And yeah, the lifeguard is cute–if a bit lacking in social skills–but Dan just needs to find a turtle and do science-y things to it. Dan does not want to be involved in ghosts, demons, or the whole WTF that is Playa Escondida. Too bad the gods, fate, or even that bitch The Universe, has other plans for Dan. Good news? He’ll get to see more of the cute lifeguard, so there’s that.
Now all he has to deal with is a centuries old demon that may be stalking him, a whole town full of weird people with even weirder powers, and the fact that the lifeguard is sending out so many mixed signals it is a wonder there haven’t been more shipping disastrous off the shore of PE. He should also probably still find that turtle.
Well…that was a bit creepy. Not like horror-movie level of freaking out, but it certainly was hella weird. I’m still a bit undecided how I feel about the whole thing, to be honest.
I liked just about every part of it, and all the historical/religious stuff was really interesting, but there was something a bit missing. I think I just never really got or connected with Dan. Which is a problem, seeing as the story is told from his point of view. The way he so easily accepted everything that was going on around him seemed a bit odd. He went from stumbling over something while out trying to science-up a turtle, to full-on ‘drug me up and stick a centuries old priest in me’ awfully quick.
The rest of the story was pretty great, if a bit creepy. I’d love to come back and get more information and stories out of these odd characters and their even odder town. There were a few points, though, where I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on between the lines (and the various silent looks that were passed) and I never actually understood what the fuck was up with the ‘Well.’ It was a cool scene, but if the whole point of it was ever made clear to Dan and the audience, I must have skimmed that section or something and missed it.
So, there were great characters, and one hell of a interesting town, but there was a few mixed signals that left me a bit lost. It was a good story, and if you are looking for something with some odd magical theories and uses, I totally recommend it. Otherwise it might be something to just read and let the weirdness take you over.
RATING:
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