Book Description
Rose is in her late 70s, living out her golden years at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home.
When one of her friends dies alone in her apartment, Rose isn’t too concerned. Accidents happen, especially at this age!
Then another resident drops dead. And another. With bodies stacking up, Rose can’t help but wonder: are these accidents? Old age? Or something far more sinister?
Together with her best friend, Miller, Rose begins to investigate. The further she digs, the more convinced she becomes: There’s a killer on the loose at Autumn Springs, and if Rose isn’t careful, she may be their next victim.
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
THE AUTUMN SPRINGS RETIREMENT HOME MASSACRE by Philip Fracassi is a bloody horror story with a touch of paranormal and a serial killer crime thriller mash-up with a feisty elderly female protagonist set in a retirement community in upstate New York. It is a gripping read full of edge-of-your-seat suspense, but not for the squeamish.
Rose DuBois is content living her senior years at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home. She has friends, especially one elderly retired college professor, participates in activities, and can retreat to her own apartment for peaceful solitude. When one of Rose’s girlfriends is found dead in her apartment, it is not considered suspicious for a woman of their age.
But the dead bodies begin to pile up, and Rose and her friends begin to wonder if there is more to their deaths than is being released. Soon, Rose realizes the suspicious deaths are occurring to those in her group who believe there is more going on and the killer is no longer hiding the murders as accidents. With no help from the administration and a skeptical police response, Rose realizes the elderly residents are on their own and if she isn’t careful, she could be the next victim.
Rose is an excellent protagonist for this story because she reactions are believable. She is tenacious, but also scared, and she has a past which affects her actions throughout the story. The murder scenes are graphic, but having read many serial killer books, it did not put me off this story because I was so invested in each character and needed to know who else would fall and if the killer would be discovered and punished. Being older myself, this book does play on many emotions and fears that come with age, from depending on others in our daily lives, safety concerns, and having any family that cares. The plot is full of tension and suspense that continually increases towards a final showdown, and the ending was unexpected and yet foreshadowed throughout. It also took this book out of a crime/mystery classification and put it definitively in the horror/paranormal classification.
I highly recommend this unique horror book and its elderly protagonist.
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About the Author
Philip Fracassi is the Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated author of the novels Don’t Let Them Get You Down, A Child Alone with Strangers, Gothic, and Boys in the Valley. His upcoming books include the novels The Third Rule of Time Travel, The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, and Sarafina.
Other work includes the story collections No One Is Safe!, Beneath a Pale Sky (named “Best Collection of the Year” by Rue Morgue Magazine and a finalist for the Bram Stoker award), and Behold the Void (named “Best Collection of the Year” by This Is Horror). He is also the author of several novellas, including Sacculina, Shiloh, and Commodore.
Philip’s books have been translated into multiple languages and his stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, Black Static, Southwest Review, Weird Fiction Review, and Interzone.
He has published deluxe editions of his work with respected publishers such as Zagava, Cemetery Dance, Thunderstorm Books, Earthling Publications, and Lividian Press.
As a screenwriter, his feature films have been distributed by Disney and Lifetime, and he currently has several stories in development for film adaptation with major studios. His short story, “Altar”, was made into a feature film by studio A24.
The New York Times calls his work “terrifically scary.”
Philip lives in Los Angeles and is represented by Elizabeth Copps at Copps Literary Services, Circle M + P, and WME.
Social Media Links
Website: https://pfracassi.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philipfracassi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pfracassi/?hl=en
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pfracassi.bsky.social
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-autumn-springs-retirement-home-massacre-by-philip-fracassi
