Tag: #crimethriller

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Darkness Falls by James L’Etoile

DARKNESS FALLS

by James L’Etoile

September 7 – October 2, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DARKNESS FALLS (A Detective Nathan Parker Novel Book #5) by James L’Etoile on this Partners In Crime Virtual Blog Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a PICT giveaway. Enjoy!

Book Description

Not all darkness flows into the Valley of the Sun from our southern borders.

Detective Nathan Parker discovers a double murder in a Phoenix drug lab, and all the evidence points at a connection to his son, Miguel. Was his adopted son swept up in a drug rip-off and murder? Did he play a role in the distribution of illicit designer drugs in the valley? As authorities close in on Miguel, Parker discovers a border militia group rushing to control the drug flow. The Night Watch militia leaves of trail of violence in their wake and local politicians use the shadow of the scourge of drug violence to influence an upcoming election. Who stands to gain while Parker and his family are caught in the crossfire? Who will betray them?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256806921-darkness-falls?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=jPKPGNqqsM&rank=1

Darkness Falls

Genre: Thriller / Police Procedural
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: August 25, 2026
Number of Pages: 350
ISBN: 978-889203313
Series: A Detective Nathan Parker Novel

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DARKNESS FALLS (A Detective Nathan Parker Novel Book #5) by James L’Etoile is another edge-of-your-seat police procedural/crime thriller featuring Detective Nathan Parker with the Maricopa Sheriff’s Department. While each book in this series centers around a new criminal investigation, this series has main characters that I feel are as significant as the plot and continue to evolve in each book. I suggest reading the series in order of publication.

When Detective Nathan Parker is called to the scene of a double homicide in an isolated trailer, at first glance it appears to be a tragic but not uncommon drug related murder. As he and his partner search the trailer, a familiar backpack is discovered. It belongs to his adopted son, Miguel. Now it is personal and Nathan must discover if everything he believes about his son’s life is true, even as he believes Miguel is not telling him the whole truth.

Miguel becomes a suspect in the murder investigation with DEA and ICE involved which could lead to Miguel losing everything. Nathan must deal with rogue DEA agents, crooked members in his sheriff’s department, white supremist biker gangs, and anti-government militias to fight to not only save Miguel but his pregnant wife, too.

This story has a fast pace and tension level that will keep you reading well into the night. Mr. L’Etoile never shies away from controversial and/or difficult topics that are related to our southern border and immigration. Money, power, and corruption, and all the alphabet agencies give this plot plenty of twists and surprises along the way with an ever-increasing sense of apprehension. Nathan needs the assistance of all his friends to solve this case and protect his family even as he faces a betrayal too close to home.

I highly recommend this thrilling addition to the Nathan Parker series and cannot wait for more!

***

Excerpt

Chapter One

Sucking stale air through a respirator, John Thomas Mitchell finally found his niche. He dropped out of high school because it wasn’t his thing. The teachers said he wasn’t being challenged. Truth was, John Thomas left because he’d learned what he needed to make it on his own.

Most of the people he interacted with only knew him as the Birdman. If you wanted the best high, the Birdman was the source. He wasn’t a drug dealer; he was a connoisseur—a brand ambassador of pills.

“J.T., I got another five hundred bagged and ready,” a reedy voice said through his respirator.

John Thomas pulled the lever on his manual pressing machine, one of his own design, and twenty white, perfectly pressed pills dropped out, each embossed with his own logo—a Blackbird in flight.

“We need another thousand for the college this weekend. It’s pledge week, Cal.”

John Thomas tapped the plastic container, shaking loose the snow-colored powder residue from the sides, and monitored the loose material as it flowed onto the dimpled steel plate where it would be formed and pressed into the coveted Blackbird doses. The perfect blend of Ecstasy and opiate.

A hard knock on the trailer’s thick metal door reverberated through the old single-wide.

John Thomas and Cal exchanged a glance through drug powder dusted goggles.

“Cops?” Cal said.

John Thomas glanced at his watch. “Cops don’t knock. Must be our boy coming to pick up. He’s early. Get it would ya? I’m in the middle of setting up the next press.”

Cal scooted back from the workbench and placed the plastic-wrapped bundle of pills on the cheap folding table set up in the middle of the stripped-down trailer.

The knock at the door sounded again. This time, it came harder and rattled the heavy doorframe.

“All right, all right, I’m coming, dammit,” Cal said as he slid the two bolts that secured the door.

The moment he threw the door aside, a thundering blast echoed in the small space. Cal flew back against the far wall, a crimson blossom leaching through his t-shirt.

John Thomas fell out of his chair, and two gunmen, both dressed in black, wearing full-face respirators, stepped into the trailer. John Thomas crabbed backwards on the floor trying to distance himself from the gun-toting pair.

The closer of the two leveled a black shotgun at him.

John Thomas blanched. He looked away from the gunman. “Take it. Take what you want.” He held his hands up—submissive and cowering.

The gunman tipped his head to his partner, who stepped over Cal’s body and stuffed the bags of finished pills into a black nylon zippered duffle.

When the pills were tucked away in the duffel, the man backed away. The gunman didn’t lower the shotgun.

“You got what you came for. I won’t tell nothing,” John Thomas said. His voice thin and quivering.

Over his pounding heartbeat, John Thomas heard the gunman’s reply.

“I know you won’t.”

A flash from the muzzle and an ear-splitting roar filled the trailer. John Thomas lay sprawled on the floor. The gunman slung the shotgun over his shoulder and stepped around what was left of John Thomas’s head and grabbed the heavy pill press, dumping the powder that hadn’t been compressed on the floor.

He backed through the door and took a last look inside before his partner tossed in a plain blue backpack. They closed the metal door and jogged to where they’d parked their dark blue Ford F-150 pickup.

The pill-laden duffel went into a hardcover case. The gunman took less than a minute to strip down the pill press and remove the plates that formed the pills with their unique Blackbird signature logo. The two steel plates tucked into another hard case, and the mechanical parts of the press were tossed into a thick copse of creosote brush.

After the cases were secured in the back seat, the men got in, started the truck and backed away.

The gunman pulled his respirator off and tossed it into the back seat. His blue eyes fell on his cell phone he’d stashed on the console. He scanned it while driving on the rutted, washboard dirt road and dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency,” a voice sounded over the cellphone.

“Hey, I just spotted a pack of illegals busting into a trailer out near Vulture Mountain west of Wickenburg.”

“How do you know they were undocumented?”

“You can tell, and I heard gunshots.”

“What’s your name?”

The gunman hung up and handed the phone to the passenger, who slipped out the SIM card, snapped it in half and tossed the bits out the window.

“How long you figure it’ll take them to find the place?” the passenger said.

“Not long.”

The gunman pressed down on the accelerator toward Phoenix.

***

Author Bio

James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s state parole system. His novels have been shortlisted or awarded the Lefty, Anthony, Silver Falchion, Macavity, and the Public Safety Writers Award. Illusion of Truth, Sins of the Father, and Darkness Falls are his most recent novels. James also serves as the Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America.

Social Media Links

JamesLEtoile.com
Prison to the Page Newsletter
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub – @crimewriter
Instagram – @authorjamesletoile
Threads – @authorjamesletoile
Facebook – @AuthorJamesLetoile
BlueSky – @jamesletoile.bsky.social

Purchase Links

###

PICT GIVEAWAY

https://pictbooks.tours/csuLGYZV

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Shadows of Frenchmen by Michael Rigg

SHADOWS OF FRENCHMEN

by Michael Rigg

June 22 – July 31, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SHADOWS OF FRENCHMEN (A Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, and excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a PICT giveaway. Enjoy and good luck!

***

Book Description

On a frosty Sunday morning in February, Dr. Jonathan Gray, Coroner of Orleans Parish, faces a gruesome sight. A dead man splayed against the circular steel and cut-glass blocks of the city’s AIDS memorial in Washington Square Park has strange symbols carved into his forehead and chest. A coded note—a cipher—has been placed under one hand. The body mutilation and note are hallmarks of a serial killer dubbed by the news media as the “Mardi Gras Sweeper,” because he strikes during Carnival season and leaves coded manifestos taunting police and giving hints about his next victim.

Hoping to avoid a panic during the city’s most profitable season, Mayor Max Jamerson asks Gray to investigate the murder “on the sly,” without formal assistance from the New Orleans Police Department. Time is of the essence as Gray races to figure out the cipher and track down the Sweeper in order to prevent additional killings—and save Mardi Gras.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250760357-shadows-of-frenchmen?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ozOAu5RFVD&rank=1

Shadows of Frenchmen

Genre: Medico-Legal (Coroner) Thriller
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN: 979-8898202354
Series: A Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery, Book 2

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

SHADOWS OF FRENCHMEN (A Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg is the second exciting book in the Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery series. While this book is easily read as a standalone, I am glad I read book one, Voices of the Elysian Fields, first, just for more detailed character backstory. There is little time between each book with book one set during the Christmas/New Years holidays and this second book set during Mardi Gras.

There have been some repercussions for Lt. Detective Betsy Sprance since accusing the mayor in her last case, but Coroner Jonathan Gray is determined to get her help when a body is discovered with strange symbols carved into its flesh. It is very similar to bodies left during a killing spree two years previous, also during Mardi Gras. While Jonathan and Betsy believed they had witnessed the killer’s death, it appears he has returned.

As they race to catch a killer, they are hampered by the mayor not wanting to panic the Mardi Gras crowds. As the murders continue, they must solve the cypher of the killer’s manifesto with only the help of their small group of friends to stop the killings once and for all.

This is another New Orleans immersive fast-paced mystery/crime thriller featuring a great cast of characters. All the main characters are fully developed and realistic. Jonathan and his wife have a strong relationship that has been tested, and they came out even stronger. Betsy has worked hard as a Marine and then worked her way up in the NOPD Detective Squad. Ranger, Betsy’s husband’s storyline is still evolving and intriguing. Jonathan and Betsy are both engaging and exciting main protagonists. The plot of this serial killer crime/ mystery was well paced with as many dead ends as surprises and twists. The discovery of the killer completely shocked me, and I like when that happens. This series is addictive.

I highly recommend this thrilling addition to the Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery series!

***

Excerpt

Chapter One

Alpha and Omega

Sunday, February 1, 2015 – 1:47 a.m.

Twenty-plus years with the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office taught Jonathan Gray to expect the unexpected. But Washington Square Park had always been a tranquil haven on the fringe of the French Quarter. So crime-scene tape draping the square’s wrought-iron fence presented the visual equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. Moonlight filtering through stately live oaks cast eerie—almost funereal—shadows, adding to the dissonance.

Fluttering in the nippy midwinter breeze, the neon-yellow ribbon communicated

a mute warning. On this side, normalcy. On the other, insanity. Stepping into the dysfunction never got easier. Regardless, turning back wasn’t an option. As if speaking the incantation aloud would immunize him against the unfolding drama, he repeated his trite pre-crime scene mantra: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” His breath lingered in the frosty air before evaporating.

After checking in with the uniformed officer monitoring access, Jonathan angled toward floodlights illuminating a temporary canopy above the city’s AIDS memorial. More tape—red as opposed to yellow—identified the innermost “Do Not Cross” perimeter. Crime scene technicians in white Tyvek protective suits busied themselves measuring and photographing what must be the reason he’d been summoned. A male corpse sitting upright on the ground—its arms and legs twisted at seemingly impossible angles—leaned against the memorial’s circular cut-glass and steel panels surrounded by a pool of thick, dark-crimson liquid. 

A curved, nearly rectangular piece of wood with brass edges—most likely a knife handle—protruded from under the right side of the dead man’s rib cage. A portion of his intestines spilled out of the wound. A second knife—its handle and part of its blade visible—had been thrust downward into the soft tissue between the left collarbone and neck.

Cause of death seemed too obvious to require someone of Jonathan’s seniority. A first-year med student could have made the call. But markings carved into the dead man’s forehead and chest hinted at something more sinister. No wonder Mitch Broussard from NOPD had called him in the middle of the night. The man’s heavy flannel shirt lay open, exposing his chest and a series of

capital letters etched into his skin. The letters—G I D I A I D I V—made no sense, at least not in English. A folded piece of paper with similar letters and other symbols, not quite readable from that distance, lay under the man’s left hand. Lack of blood covering the letters in the chest signaled they had been added postmortem. Jonathan focused on two marks in the man’s forehead. An uppercase “A” and what looked like an upside-down horseshoe—the Greek letter Omega—apparently cut while the victim was still alive. 

It couldn’t have been two years already. But there it was. Alpha and Omega. Jonathan bit his lip and cursed under his breath. Then, a silent prayer. Looked like the nightmare was about to begin—again.

One of the CSTs stood and raised her clear face shield. “Hey, Doc. Welcome to Funsville.”

***

Author Bio

Agatha and Anthony-nominated author Michael Rigg, a lawyer for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.

Social Media Links

www.MichaelRigg.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub – @michaelrigg716
Instagram – @michael.rigg716
Threads – @michael.rigg716
LinkedIn
Facebook

Purchase Links

###

PICT GIVEAWAY

https://pictbooks.tours/EIHFVc9T

Feature Post and Book Review: Voices of the Elysian Fields by Michael Rigg

Book Description

Two days before Christmas, Jonathan Gray, M. D., Chief Deputy Coroner for Orleans Parish, receives shocking news. Robby O’Malley—Jonathan’s mentor for nearly forty years—has died under mysterious circumstances. Within hours after Robby’s death, Gray takes the oath of office as Coroner and participates in autopsies of an elderly couple murdered in their Garden District home. After mass on Christmas morning, Archbishop Phillip Fontenot asks Gray to investigate the sexual assault of one of his parishioners, as well as the disappearance of her sister—without involving the police. As Jonathan winds his way through what appear to be separate incidents, he uncovers connections and secrets that members of the city’s power elite would just as soon remain hidden.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230857363-voices-of-the-elysian-fields?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=5zzgAl1Wyl&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

VOICES OF THE ELYSIAN FIELDS (A Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg is an exciting, fast paced start to a new mystery/crime thriller series featuring the Chief Coroner of New Orleans. This book pulls you in from the first chapter with realistic characters and a total immersion into life in New Orleans.

Just two days before Christmas, Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Jonathan Grey finds himself at the death scene of the Chief Coroner of New Orleans, his long-term mentor and friend. Just hours later after taking the oath of office to Chief Coroner, he receives a high-profile elderly couple from the Garden District in what appears to be a murder-suicide. As the detectives investigate, the autopsy results call the original assumption into question.

Not only does he have a wealthy, prominent New Orleans family to deal with, but the Archbishop of New Orleans asks for Jonathan’s discrete help after Christmas day mass in the sexual assault of a couple that has asked the church for sanctuary.

With pressure coming from all sides, Jonathan and his friends on the New Orleans detective squad must untangle a web of deceit that brings together the political elite, the rich and powerful, and a multi-country sex trafficking ring. Are all these holiday death cases related or not and can he keep his friends and loved ones safe?

This is a wonderful start to a new series that kept me reading well into the night. The characters are fully developed and realistic even with this being the first book in this series. Jonathan and his wife are a tight couple even with the tragedy in their past and I love that they are well suited to each other, but also singularly strong characters. Jonathan and the detectives followed an intricately plotted investigation with red herrings and twists that continually had me reevaluating who I believed was guilty and whether the two major cases were related or not. The city of New Orleans’ history, geography, and people are woven throughout the story and made me feel like I was right there on the streets with the characters. I am looking forward to reading many more books with these characters in the future.

I highly recommend this amazing first book in the Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery series!

***

About the Author

Agatha and Anthony-nominated author Michael Rigg, an attorney for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.

Social Media Links

Website: https://michaelrigg.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.rigg.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael.rigg716/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/voices-of-the-elysian-fields-a-jonathan-gray-m-d-mystery-by-michael-rigg

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: A Voice in the Dark by Barbara Nickless

Book Description

When a husband, wife, and son are murdered in their Denver home and the family’s teenage twins vanish, the case draws the attention of FBI profilers Helen Belle and Benedict Hoffman. It triggers more than professional alarm. It mirrors a horrific case they investigated five years ago, when a boy slaughtered his family and went mute after speaking only a handful of haunting words. Among them: Midnight Man.

Then, nearly thirteen hundred miles away, one of the twins is found dead in a snowy Ohio field, and the parallels between the past and present cases grow more disturbing. Identical suicide notes. The same symbolic blood imagery. And a shared obsession with an online fantasy game. Its mastermind is an influencer who manipulates his most vulnerable and alienated players into killing the people they love most.

The Midnight Man is back.

Helen and Benedict must hunt the darkest corners of the internet to find him before someone else falls prey to an insidious evil that, for now, is in total control of the game.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242288924-a-voice-in-the-dark?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OPJXig3HKZ&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A VOICE IN THE DARK (Benedict Hoffman and Helen Belle Book #1) by Barbara Nickless is a chilling crime thriller/FBI police procedural that is very relevant in all current discussions regarding AI, minors’ use of the internet, and the ever-present dangers on the world wide web. This is the start of a new series with two compelling protagonists and a serial killer crime plot that hooked me immediately.

Five years ago, Helen Belle and Benedict Hoffman had their belief in an outside influence and assistance from the Midnight Man in the slaughter by a boy of his entire family discredited in court. Helen goes on with her work at the FBI and Benedict walks out of his life and job. A detective from the old case is faced with a similar case as well as the kidnapping of the twin of the believed perpetrator and alerts FBI agent Helen Belle.

From almost identical suicide notes to a shared obsession with an on-line multi-player fantasy game, Helen believes the Midnight Man is back and reaches out to now Professor Benedict Hoffman for assistance. They put their personal past aside and work together to unravel hidden identities and motives as they realize they are racing the clock to rescue the missing twin and stop the Midnight Man before someone else is led to murder.

I was pulled into this story immediately and terrified by the possible reality of the crime plot. Ms. Nickless does a good job of not preaching that the internet is all bad and all gamers are going to become killers, but the gray of the situations and discusses the type of adolescents that can be influenced. The crimes are horrific but could also be ripped right out of the current news. Helen and Benedict are interesting protagonists with not only a somewhat unique outlook on humanist psychology on the study of crime, but with interesting backstories, also. This is a couple I will look forward to following in their future investigations.

I highly recommend this first book in this compelling crime thriller series!

***

About the Author

Barbara Nickless is the award-winning, WSJ and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of nine novels; her first and third series have been optioned for film. A teacher and activist, she teaches combat veterans and civilians in the U.S. and Ukraine. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association, the World Affairs Council and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. A former fencer and falconer, Barbara lives in Colorado where she loves to hike, cave, snowshoe, and drink single malt Scotch.

Social Media Links

Website: https://barbaranickless.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbarannickless

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbara.nickless/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-voice-in-the-dark-benedict-hoffman-and-helen-belle-book-1-by-barbara-nickless

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: The Grapevine by Alexandra Sokoloff and Craig Robertson

Book Description

How far would you go to find your missing child?

Lou Gomersall’s going as far as it takes. And there’s no turning back.

When her nineteen-year-old daughter Abby disappears, Lou embarks on a reckless road trip in the family RV, scouring the highways and back roads of California. Through desert and mountains, into the woods, and to the ocean’s edge.

A year later, the police don’t believe Lou’s theory that four other missing young women have been taken by the same elusive predator. So, when another college sophomore vanishes, Lou jumps on the fresh trail, enlisting millennial #vanlifers, Gen Z entrepreneurs, boomer RVers, homeless sages, truck stop prostitutes, and everyone in between in her do-or-die mission to rescue Abby …

Or kill the man who took her.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242618196-the-grapevine?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=otLlbOPnrB&rank=3

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE GRAPEVINE (The Lost Highway Book #1) by Alexandra Sokoloff and Craig Robertson is a tension-filled thriller featuring a mother who will go anywhere and do anything to find her missing daughter. This is a collaboration between two authors I have enjoyed reading individually, so of course I was excited when I was asked to read this book.

Lou Gomersall’s daughter, Abby, is missing without any clues. Leaving her husband at home, she takes the family RV and begins scouring the highways and byways of California. She collects any mention of other missing young women and uses the network of other people on the road living the van life, campground operators, and even prostitutes at truck stops to search for connections. Even when the police are skeptical and tell her to stay out of the cases she has found and go home, she continues. She refuses to believe her daughter is dead, no matter how crazy she seems or acts.

Lou is on a mission to save Abby and kill the man who took her.

Lou is such a memorable protagonist. You have empathy for her, you feel sorrow for her, you cheer her on even when she seems or acts crazy, and you keep hoping with each revelation she discovers the truth of what happened to all the missing girls, not just Abby. All the secondary characters are believable, and I was glad she had Ethan in the second half of the book to help her search for clues and try to keep her more grounded in reality. The plot pace continuously builds as more pieces of the puzzle of the missing young women cases are revealed. The ending chapters kept me on a rollercoaster of emotions and left me completely shocked and not expecting the revelation at the climax of the crime plot and I love it when that happens. I am not sure what these authors and this series will have instore in the future, but you can definitely count me in.

I highly recommend this emotionally charged, edge-of-your-seat crime thriller!

***

About the Author

Alexandra Sokoloff is a Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Black Quill Award nominated author of the supernatural thrillers The Harrowing, The Price, The Unseen, Book of Shadows, The Shifters, The Space Between, and the bestselling Huntress/FBI Thrillers series. As a screenwriter she has sold original horror and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. She is a California native and a graduate of UC Berkeley. 

Social Media Links

Website: https://alexandrasokoloff.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexandraSokoloffPage#

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandrasokoloff/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alexandra-sokoloff

###

About the Author

Craig Robertson had a twenty-year career as a journalist with a Scottish Sunday newspaper before becoming a full-time author. His gritty crime novels are set on the mean streets of contemporary Glasgow. His first novel, Random, was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA New Blood Dagger, longlisted for the 2011 Crime Novel of the Year, and was a Sunday Times bestseller. Murderabilia was longlisted for the 2017 Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize. The Photographer and Watch Him Die were longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize.

Social Media Links

Simon & Schuster Author Page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Craig-Robertson/69815753

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/375796.Craig_Robertson

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/craig-robertson

Feature Post and Book Review: The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

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.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222376624-the-autumn-springs-retirement-home-massacre?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=q24vt2H2V0&rank=1

***

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 her 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.

***

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