A. R. Kingston’s AUTUMN FALLS is a suspenseful horror novel in which a twenty-something paramedic, Charlotte, receives a mysterious phone call with a job offer on an island off the coast of Maine. Despite the fact that she has no online presence and is unsure how they discovered her, she accepts the position because she is running away from an abusive ex with her son who she had at seventeen with her long-lost high school sweetheart. On her first night in the sleepy town of Autumn Falls, Charlotte is wracked by nightmares, and, though she was told she should not get many emergency calls at this new job, she and her paramedic partner receive one violent emergency each day, all self-inflicted injuries that result in death. The terrors and mysteries increase every day, as Charlotte has sightings of a disturbing man with a pig face who points at the abandoned hospital, and she notices that there are no birds on the island except for crows. As the tension rises and Charlotte learns more about what’s really going on in Autumn Falls, the novel becomes a frightening thriller with gores and jump scares waiting around every corner.
The book features numerous classic horror tropes that are used in new ways, such foreboding crows that appear only in groups of six or seven and converge near each new dead body. Supernatural occurrences, like a ghost ambulance retracing its final route from twenty-odd years earlier, are visible to all, not only Charlotte, furthering the book’s mystery and intrigue. For some major plot points, the book relies too heavily on deus ex machina (an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation), with individuals that Charlotte knows visiting the town of Autumn Falls with no warning and affecting her adventure there. These people’s arrivals stir up drama from Charlotte’s past and help further her character development, but they do little to serve the book’s main premise and plot trajectory. As a character, Charlotte is compassionate and friendly, and she is a powerful mama bear when threats come to her nine-year-old son. Quirky minor characters like her ambulance partner Charles add dimension to her story.
Vivid imagery of gruesome injuries and depictions of the setting of Autumn Falls bring Charlotte’s story to life. Even with its odd, robotic inhabitants who go about their day as if nothing is happening while their friends are dying, the little town feels real and tangible. The book is thick with tension, with the threat of violence at every turn, which amps up the horror novel appeal. Precise language bolsters the fear factor to make for a truly heart-pounding tale. Some spelling errors and typos distract.
A. R. Kingston’s suspenseful novel, AUTUMN FALLS, is terrifying in a good way, a horror novel set in a creepy small town that offers a twist on genre tropes with an intriguing backstory and a well rounded heroine.
~Aimee Jodoin for IndieReader