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Clown in a Cornfield #4
Lights! Camera! Frendo!
Let the killing continue in Lights! Camera! Frendo! It’s the fourth installment of Adam Cesare’s Bram Stoker Award-winning series, and this time Frendo goes Hollywood – with all the blood, guts, and mayhem you’d expect from the series that spawned the blockbuster motion picture.
Sabrina Alvarez is pretty much a nobody—until she lands the starring role in the big budget film based on the Kettle Springs Massacre. Sabrina knows she should be on top of the world. She’s going to be THE Quinn Maybrook, Final Girl of Final Girls, national hero and certified badass. But as soon as Sabrina gets to Kettle Springs, she just can’t quite shake the feeling that something’s off. A spate of deaths, an out-of-control director, a town decimated by loss and divided by anger, and a movie designed to glorify it all. Something bad is brewing, and this time, it’s all on film.
A meditation on the villains inside us all, it’s the latest installment of Adam Cesare’s Bram Stoker Award-winning series, Clown in a Cornfield.
Sabrina Alvarez is pretty much a nobody—until she lands the starring role in the big budget film based on the Kettle Springs Massacre. Sabrina knows she should be on top of the world. She’s going to be THE Quinn Maybrook, Final Girl of Final Girls, national hero and certified badass. But as soon as Sabrina gets to Kettle Springs, she just can’t quite shake the feeling that something’s off. A spate of deaths, an out-of-control director, a town decimated by loss and divided by anger, and a movie designed to glorify it all. Something bad is brewing, and this time, it’s all on film.
A meditation on the villains inside us all, it’s the latest installment of Adam Cesare’s Bram Stoker Award-winning series, Clown in a Cornfield.
9 pages, Audiobook
First published August 18, 2026
About the author
Adam Cesare
68 books2,779 followersAdam Cesare is a New Yorker who lives in Philadelphia. His books include Clown in a Cornfield, Video Night, The Summer Job, and Zero Lives Remaining. He’s an avid fan of horror cinema and runs Project: Black T-Shirt, a YouTube review show where he takes horror films and pairs them with reading suggestions.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
**4.5-stars**
Lights! Camera! Frendo! is the highly-anticipated 4th-installment to Adam Cesare's Teen Scream Slasher series, Clown in a Cornfield.
I've enjoyed the trajectory of this series. It feels like an ode to Teen Scream and Slasher movies, with this installment being no exception. Cesare is clearly a huge fan of this subgenre of Horror and it shows on the page.
In this installment, we're heading back to Kettle Springs where a big budget movie focusing on the original Kettle Springs Massacre is ready to start filming. Sabrina Alvarez, a young, fairly unknown actress, has been selected to play the role of Final Girl, Quinn Maybrook.
Sabrina is nervous. It's a huge role for her, and it's her first time being on a shoot like this on her own, without her Mom. The rest of the cast and crew already seem well-acquainted, so she's definitely the new girl on the block.
The director's methods are also not what's she is used to, but for the most part, everyone on set is friendly and welcoming. It's the town itself that seems off.
And it's Kettle Springs, so you know her instincts in that regard are correct. There's definitely something off.
We follow along, via multiple different perspectives, as this film tries to get off the ground. Not everyone in Kettle Springs is happy about the exposure.
It's not long before bodies start dropping again. Who's going to be the Final Girl this time?
This was excellent. I enjoyed it so, so much. I loved the Scream 3 feel of a movie being made on the Kettle Spring Massacre. All the actors and actresses, it was fun to follow them on the set and watch as things started to get unhinged in a real Kettle Springs kind of way.
I recently read Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror, which covered the making of the Scream franchise, and a lot of the different elements Cesare included here involving the cast and crew, reminded me of things I learned in that book.
I think Cesare did a great job making the film shoot feel believable, and then pulling in the Frendo lore and the rest of the town as well. We also see some old favorite characters again, like Cole and Rust.
For me, this is the best installment since the 1st-book. I loved being back in Kettle Springs. It was a great set-up, with copious creative kills and a solid continuation of the lore. I am so pleased with how Cesare concluded it. Will we be blessed with a book 5!?
Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins Children's Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I highly recommend this series to Horror fans, and this book in particular if you've already started this series. I'm hoping we get at least one more book!
I don't want it to end!
Lights! Camera! Frendo! is the highly-anticipated 4th-installment to Adam Cesare's Teen Scream Slasher series, Clown in a Cornfield.
I've enjoyed the trajectory of this series. It feels like an ode to Teen Scream and Slasher movies, with this installment being no exception. Cesare is clearly a huge fan of this subgenre of Horror and it shows on the page.
In this installment, we're heading back to Kettle Springs where a big budget movie focusing on the original Kettle Springs Massacre is ready to start filming. Sabrina Alvarez, a young, fairly unknown actress, has been selected to play the role of Final Girl, Quinn Maybrook.
Sabrina is nervous. It's a huge role for her, and it's her first time being on a shoot like this on her own, without her Mom. The rest of the cast and crew already seem well-acquainted, so she's definitely the new girl on the block.
The director's methods are also not what's she is used to, but for the most part, everyone on set is friendly and welcoming. It's the town itself that seems off.
And it's Kettle Springs, so you know her instincts in that regard are correct. There's definitely something off.
We follow along, via multiple different perspectives, as this film tries to get off the ground. Not everyone in Kettle Springs is happy about the exposure.
It's not long before bodies start dropping again. Who's going to be the Final Girl this time?
This was excellent. I enjoyed it so, so much. I loved the Scream 3 feel of a movie being made on the Kettle Spring Massacre. All the actors and actresses, it was fun to follow them on the set and watch as things started to get unhinged in a real Kettle Springs kind of way.
I recently read Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror, which covered the making of the Scream franchise, and a lot of the different elements Cesare included here involving the cast and crew, reminded me of things I learned in that book.
I think Cesare did a great job making the film shoot feel believable, and then pulling in the Frendo lore and the rest of the town as well. We also see some old favorite characters again, like Cole and Rust.
For me, this is the best installment since the 1st-book. I loved being back in Kettle Springs. It was a great set-up, with copious creative kills and a solid continuation of the lore. I am so pleased with how Cesare concluded it. Will we be blessed with a book 5!?
Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins Children's Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I highly recommend this series to Horror fans, and this book in particular if you've already started this series. I'm hoping we get at least one more book!
I don't want it to end!
August 27, 2026
So I murder love in the night, watching them fall one by one, they fight / Did you think you'll love me too? (Serial Killer – Lana Del Rey).
The problem with film adaptions of my favorite books is that they never fail to make writing that I found beautiful on the page seem rather trite and silly whenever it’s said by a person. Dialogue I've been gassing up to people comes across as embarrassing dreck whenever it's said on the silver screen and I can't stand it anymore! Whereas the “cool girl” monologue from Gone Girl reads like a masterclass in character introduction and balances a fine line between genuine sentiment versus self-delusional narcissism, in the movie it just felt overwritten and clumsy. Like some Eat, Pray, Love type shit. Pinterest prose and all that. What’s that famous story about Harrison Ford stopping George Lucas when they were doing Star Wars and basically telling him, “George, you can write this stuff, but you can’t say it.” yeah, I guess that’s what I’m talking about. For those who don’t know, there's actually a Clown in a Cornfield movie adaption out there that I watched recently and it’s surprisingly pretty… mid. It’s alright, I suppose. I don't think the characterization for Quinn quite right, but that's more of a writing and directing issue rather than the actor herself, and knowing where her arc goes in the second and third book... I don't know, it's just hard to envision this movie series reaching the same heights as the novels. It’s funny because the movie is the kind of generic I originally thought the book was going to be before I read it all those years ago, and that makes me kind of sad, you know? Because you just know there’s something more to these books considering their enduring popularity, and for some reason, it seems that the movie version just wasn’t able to capture anything outside of the bare bones plot.
Chainsaw clowns, small town, gay twist, sure, all of that is in the movie, but the reason why the original Clown in a Cornfield resonated with me is literally because the author took the subject material and played it straight. The events are crazy wild, but the characters were written as realistically as possible, and I truly appreciate that. The premise sounds like a schlocky b-movie from the 80’s, but because Adam Cesare manages to infuse the narrative with commentary about younger generations losing their parents to ultra-conservatism and how folks can be radicalized very easily towards hatred and bigotry we're given a story that's surprisingly more poignant than the average slasher flick. With the live-action version, instead… it plays the whole “rage against the youths” angle awfully light and easy. Even the relationship between Rust and Cole is played as a joke in a very "Sabrina Carpenter, the only way a man can't be into me is if they're gay" kind of way. Sure, "gay ally" or whatever, but try and tell me this line, "If you don't want me, I'll just deem you gay" is something an ally would say. But yeah, while the movie is somewhat funny at points (like when Quinn and her friend don’t know how to use a rotary phone and that's what slows them down during a clown chase), it's hard not to notice how much of the soul is lost in the process. Hey, this is why I like watching movie adaptions before reading the books, because then I don't have to be that annoying ass dude who constantly plays the "man, the book version was way better" card! Look, these books are ridiculous, but you can’t “wink” at the audience like a Marvel movie because that only ever shows insecurity with the source material. As if you're incapable of trusting the audience to have their own reaction to the story. Sometimes you've just got to let your work out into the wild and it'll resonate with folks or it won't.
The only true way to emphasize the campiness of the "killer clown" premise is to treat it as seriously as possible. That’s why I think the closest film series relation to these books isn’t the literal adaption of them, but rather something like Scream. Because everybody knows that the Scream movies are very funny and meta, but what cements them as fantastic movies (except for Scream 7) is the fact that the narrative always takes Sidney’s or Sam’s or Tara’s plight seriously. Their lives were torn apart, and that's no joke! We can’t make light over the silliness if we don’t even care about the protagonist, right? That’s why horror movies in the mid-2000’s sucked so much; because they were often so hyper focused on being either as dumb or as bleak as possible (frequently ending on a downer ending), there was never any reason to emotionally invest in any part of the film. Sure, The Descent is Reddit’s favorite horror movie for some reason, but how many people could say they were clamoring for the sequel? I mean, except for Reddit, who also loves the shitty sequel for who knows why. Otherwise, I think the biggest problem with movie adaptions to horror books is that they're never able to quite capture the general vibe that the book had going for it. That made the book special. Look, I know “general vibe” is pretty vague, but take Bird Box for example! It’s one of my favorite horror books, and yet, the movie couldn’t possibly be more forgettable unless you Men in Black memory wiped me. See, what makes Bird Box, the book, so scary is the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and the fact that our imagination has to fill in the blanks of whatever is happening in the outside world.
“He was used to dealing with annoyed people, having spent a good amount of his life being annoyed.”
The house that all the characters are stuck in for months has to be an enclosed, boarded up, nondescript suburban home in order for the horror to click. We have to feel like we're in there with the other survivors! So what do we get in the film? A big ass L.A. mansion where everybody’s chilling, doing their own thing until Gary goes crazy for no reason. While reading the book, I felt like I was going crazy, and that’s the kind of vibe that the movie version needed in order for it to be a good adaption. Might as well just watch The Thing, huh? Because a live-action adaption of Clown in a Cornfield doesn’t necessarily need all the same stuff as the books (the barn massacre was pretty crucial to the plot, but I’m not too fussed about it being removed), but I took offense to how clean the movie looked. It felt like I was watching a CW show, where even when people are a bloody gory mess, they’re dirty in a pretty way. Not cool man, Clown in a Cornfield is supposed to be ooey-gooey, so sanitizing the whole thing takes away a crucial element of the world-building. It doesn’t feel right, you know? If there’s one thing I associate with these books, it’s decay, and if you can’t even get that right, then don’t make the movie. Anyway, I know you’re wondering when I’m going to talk about Lights! Camera! Frendo!, but the thing is… I already have been! This fourth installment is all about a movie being made about the events of the first book, with the commentary being less about culture wars (though that’s still prevalent, don’t worry) and more about weird ass actors and dickbag directors. Which, you know, is a pretty solid narrative basis too, because I think more people should take pot shots at how lame Hollywood movie culture is.
For example, the director in this novel is clearly supposed to be a mix of Quentin Tarantino (asshole, puts his actors in dangerous situations, is seen as an auteur) and Michael Bay (makes shitty action movies) and how even though he’s not directly involved with this installment’s latest clown attacks, he ironically helps them out anyway due to the unsafe practices on set that he encourages. Just throwing this out there, but I’m of the mind that great movies have only ever turned out great despite a director’s bullying, and not because of it. And then there’s the method actor guy who only ever uses the method to act like a complete asshole to everyone around him. Sound familiar? Everyone who does the whole method actor thing is a complete hack, including Daniel Day-Lewis, and it only ever proves a poor mental fortitude if you need to stay in character for the entire shoot of a movie. Like, you play pretend for a living, get over yourself. You're not Abraham Lincoln, you dork. So I quite enjoyed how Lights! Camera! Frendo! was able to infuse its own brand of parody in the greater Clown in a Cornfield mythos without it feeling contrived. But here's the thing, with a greater emphasis on actors with big egos this time around, I think there’s an inherent problem in that there’s not as much tragedy. I mean, there is still a clown massacre like in every other book, but because most the victims are deliberately unlikable, it’s hard to feel the emotional weight of the scene. Besides, I couldn’t stop imagining actors and directors I don’t like in this particular situation, so that already had me just waiting for their demise. Bye bye David O. Russell, we won’t miss you and you’ve never made a good movie.
But really though, if I had to rate all of these books, I’d probably have to say that Lights! Camera! Frendo! is my least favorite book in the series simply because I couldn’t find the focal character. Before it was Quinn, but she’s not here for this adventure, so instead we’re given a lady who’s playing Quinn in the movie adaption, Cole from the first book, a lady who survived the original clown massacre, and then a bunch of other pov’s who get merked by clowns. See what I mean? It was hard to find an emotional throughline or a force driving us forward because everybody else just felt like they were standing around waiting for the eventual climax. At least Quinn was out there doing shit and proactively going after these evil ass clowns. Also, why the hell would Cole finance and be a producer on a movie about a real life massacre that he was involved in!? Make it make sense, because not only is that in bad taste, but surely Cole has enough money to hire a good therapist that’d let him know that this isn’t the best way to work past the trauma. But what do I know, maybe getting a percentage of the box office gross is as good as therapy. Anyway, Lights! Camera! Frendo! is still a really good book, but it does feel like a bit of a retread (same town, meta retelling of the same events, same characters) rather than an evolution, and it does take a minute to get to the good stuff, but there’s no doubt that these books continue to entertain and frighten all the same. And even though that epilogue chapter has me more excited for a potential fifth book rather than fondly looking back on this one, I still love the Clown in a Cornfield series simply because they’re fun horror books, rather than horror books that want to be made into a movie. Besides, we all know the book was better, no?
Just have fun, wanna play you like a Gameboy / I don't want one, lost the thrill of the same toy?
The problem with film adaptions of my favorite books is that they never fail to make writing that I found beautiful on the page seem rather trite and silly whenever it’s said by a person. Dialogue I've been gassing up to people comes across as embarrassing dreck whenever it's said on the silver screen and I can't stand it anymore! Whereas the “cool girl” monologue from Gone Girl reads like a masterclass in character introduction and balances a fine line between genuine sentiment versus self-delusional narcissism, in the movie it just felt overwritten and clumsy. Like some Eat, Pray, Love type shit. Pinterest prose and all that. What’s that famous story about Harrison Ford stopping George Lucas when they were doing Star Wars and basically telling him, “George, you can write this stuff, but you can’t say it.” yeah, I guess that’s what I’m talking about. For those who don’t know, there's actually a Clown in a Cornfield movie adaption out there that I watched recently and it’s surprisingly pretty… mid. It’s alright, I suppose. I don't think the characterization for Quinn quite right, but that's more of a writing and directing issue rather than the actor herself, and knowing where her arc goes in the second and third book... I don't know, it's just hard to envision this movie series reaching the same heights as the novels. It’s funny because the movie is the kind of generic I originally thought the book was going to be before I read it all those years ago, and that makes me kind of sad, you know? Because you just know there’s something more to these books considering their enduring popularity, and for some reason, it seems that the movie version just wasn’t able to capture anything outside of the bare bones plot.
Chainsaw clowns, small town, gay twist, sure, all of that is in the movie, but the reason why the original Clown in a Cornfield resonated with me is literally because the author took the subject material and played it straight. The events are crazy wild, but the characters were written as realistically as possible, and I truly appreciate that. The premise sounds like a schlocky b-movie from the 80’s, but because Adam Cesare manages to infuse the narrative with commentary about younger generations losing their parents to ultra-conservatism and how folks can be radicalized very easily towards hatred and bigotry we're given a story that's surprisingly more poignant than the average slasher flick. With the live-action version, instead… it plays the whole “rage against the youths” angle awfully light and easy. Even the relationship between Rust and Cole is played as a joke in a very "Sabrina Carpenter, the only way a man can't be into me is if they're gay" kind of way. Sure, "gay ally" or whatever, but try and tell me this line, "If you don't want me, I'll just deem you gay" is something an ally would say. But yeah, while the movie is somewhat funny at points (like when Quinn and her friend don’t know how to use a rotary phone and that's what slows them down during a clown chase), it's hard not to notice how much of the soul is lost in the process. Hey, this is why I like watching movie adaptions before reading the books, because then I don't have to be that annoying ass dude who constantly plays the "man, the book version was way better" card! Look, these books are ridiculous, but you can’t “wink” at the audience like a Marvel movie because that only ever shows insecurity with the source material. As if you're incapable of trusting the audience to have their own reaction to the story. Sometimes you've just got to let your work out into the wild and it'll resonate with folks or it won't.
The only true way to emphasize the campiness of the "killer clown" premise is to treat it as seriously as possible. That’s why I think the closest film series relation to these books isn’t the literal adaption of them, but rather something like Scream. Because everybody knows that the Scream movies are very funny and meta, but what cements them as fantastic movies (except for Scream 7) is the fact that the narrative always takes Sidney’s or Sam’s or Tara’s plight seriously. Their lives were torn apart, and that's no joke! We can’t make light over the silliness if we don’t even care about the protagonist, right? That’s why horror movies in the mid-2000’s sucked so much; because they were often so hyper focused on being either as dumb or as bleak as possible (frequently ending on a downer ending), there was never any reason to emotionally invest in any part of the film. Sure, The Descent is Reddit’s favorite horror movie for some reason, but how many people could say they were clamoring for the sequel? I mean, except for Reddit, who also loves the shitty sequel for who knows why. Otherwise, I think the biggest problem with movie adaptions to horror books is that they're never able to quite capture the general vibe that the book had going for it. That made the book special. Look, I know “general vibe” is pretty vague, but take Bird Box for example! It’s one of my favorite horror books, and yet, the movie couldn’t possibly be more forgettable unless you Men in Black memory wiped me. See, what makes Bird Box, the book, so scary is the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and the fact that our imagination has to fill in the blanks of whatever is happening in the outside world.
“He was used to dealing with annoyed people, having spent a good amount of his life being annoyed.”
The house that all the characters are stuck in for months has to be an enclosed, boarded up, nondescript suburban home in order for the horror to click. We have to feel like we're in there with the other survivors! So what do we get in the film? A big ass L.A. mansion where everybody’s chilling, doing their own thing until Gary goes crazy for no reason. While reading the book, I felt like I was going crazy, and that’s the kind of vibe that the movie version needed in order for it to be a good adaption. Might as well just watch The Thing, huh? Because a live-action adaption of Clown in a Cornfield doesn’t necessarily need all the same stuff as the books (the barn massacre was pretty crucial to the plot, but I’m not too fussed about it being removed), but I took offense to how clean the movie looked. It felt like I was watching a CW show, where even when people are a bloody gory mess, they’re dirty in a pretty way. Not cool man, Clown in a Cornfield is supposed to be ooey-gooey, so sanitizing the whole thing takes away a crucial element of the world-building. It doesn’t feel right, you know? If there’s one thing I associate with these books, it’s decay, and if you can’t even get that right, then don’t make the movie. Anyway, I know you’re wondering when I’m going to talk about Lights! Camera! Frendo!, but the thing is… I already have been! This fourth installment is all about a movie being made about the events of the first book, with the commentary being less about culture wars (though that’s still prevalent, don’t worry) and more about weird ass actors and dickbag directors. Which, you know, is a pretty solid narrative basis too, because I think more people should take pot shots at how lame Hollywood movie culture is.
For example, the director in this novel is clearly supposed to be a mix of Quentin Tarantino (asshole, puts his actors in dangerous situations, is seen as an auteur) and Michael Bay (makes shitty action movies) and how even though he’s not directly involved with this installment’s latest clown attacks, he ironically helps them out anyway due to the unsafe practices on set that he encourages. Just throwing this out there, but I’m of the mind that great movies have only ever turned out great despite a director’s bullying, and not because of it. And then there’s the method actor guy who only ever uses the method to act like a complete asshole to everyone around him. Sound familiar? Everyone who does the whole method actor thing is a complete hack, including Daniel Day-Lewis, and it only ever proves a poor mental fortitude if you need to stay in character for the entire shoot of a movie. Like, you play pretend for a living, get over yourself. You're not Abraham Lincoln, you dork. So I quite enjoyed how Lights! Camera! Frendo! was able to infuse its own brand of parody in the greater Clown in a Cornfield mythos without it feeling contrived. But here's the thing, with a greater emphasis on actors with big egos this time around, I think there’s an inherent problem in that there’s not as much tragedy. I mean, there is still a clown massacre like in every other book, but because most the victims are deliberately unlikable, it’s hard to feel the emotional weight of the scene. Besides, I couldn’t stop imagining actors and directors I don’t like in this particular situation, so that already had me just waiting for their demise. Bye bye David O. Russell, we won’t miss you and you’ve never made a good movie.
But really though, if I had to rate all of these books, I’d probably have to say that Lights! Camera! Frendo! is my least favorite book in the series simply because I couldn’t find the focal character. Before it was Quinn, but she’s not here for this adventure, so instead we’re given a lady who’s playing Quinn in the movie adaption, Cole from the first book, a lady who survived the original clown massacre, and then a bunch of other pov’s who get merked by clowns. See what I mean? It was hard to find an emotional throughline or a force driving us forward because everybody else just felt like they were standing around waiting for the eventual climax. At least Quinn was out there doing shit and proactively going after these evil ass clowns. Also, why the hell would Cole finance and be a producer on a movie about a real life massacre that he was involved in!? Make it make sense, because not only is that in bad taste, but surely Cole has enough money to hire a good therapist that’d let him know that this isn’t the best way to work past the trauma. But what do I know, maybe getting a percentage of the box office gross is as good as therapy. Anyway, Lights! Camera! Frendo! is still a really good book, but it does feel like a bit of a retread (same town, meta retelling of the same events, same characters) rather than an evolution, and it does take a minute to get to the good stuff, but there’s no doubt that these books continue to entertain and frighten all the same. And even though that epilogue chapter has me more excited for a potential fifth book rather than fondly looking back on this one, I still love the Clown in a Cornfield series simply because they’re fun horror books, rather than horror books that want to be made into a movie. Besides, we all know the book was better, no?
Just have fun, wanna play you like a Gameboy / I don't want one, lost the thrill of the same toy?
August 23, 2026
★★★★★
Exceeded all of my expectations. A truly amazing instalment in this series and definitely a favourite read of the year!
pre-release thoughts:
It’s absolutely fine for me to wait until August, not a problem at all. Did I mention that it’s okay for me to wait until August? Because I can certainly wait until August.
Exceeded all of my expectations. A truly amazing instalment in this series and definitely a favourite read of the year!
pre-release thoughts:
It’s absolutely fine for me to wait until August, not a problem at all. Did I mention that it’s okay for me to wait until August? Because I can certainly wait until August.
Want to Read
December 1, 2025I’m just going to bookmark my place here. 👀
June 5, 2026
“Die, you fuckin’ teenybopper trash!”
Frendo is back and he's about to become your worst nightmare! Don't go into the cornfield alone!
CiaC has to be one of my favorite book series. It brings together two loves of mine while making them as terrfying as possible. Don't get me started on cornfields because I'll never walk through one ever again. Thanks, Adam.
This series keeps getting better and better with each book. I honestly didn't think these could get more gruesome and then he throws this book in my face. This was wild as all hell, thrilling, and gory as f**k. My horror loving heart is so full right now. The only downside about this book is that it put me into a funk because nothing I pick up can compare to this.
This book has to be my favorite out of the entire series and my fingers are crossed for more books in this series.
Frendo is back and he's about to become your worst nightmare! Don't go into the cornfield alone!
CiaC has to be one of my favorite book series. It brings together two loves of mine while making them as terrfying as possible. Don't get me started on cornfields because I'll never walk through one ever again. Thanks, Adam.
This series keeps getting better and better with each book. I honestly didn't think these could get more gruesome and then he throws this book in my face. This was wild as all hell, thrilling, and gory as f**k. My horror loving heart is so full right now. The only downside about this book is that it put me into a funk because nothing I pick up can compare to this.
This book has to be my favorite out of the entire series and my fingers are crossed for more books in this series.
August 23, 2026
3.75/5
Leaps and bounds, better than the third book. That said, much like the previous book, this would've been better as a standalone book. I get it. The name recognition makes distribution easier and broader.
Leaps and bounds, better than the third book. That said, much like the previous book, this would've been better as a standalone book. I get it. The name recognition makes distribution easier and broader.
August 9, 2026
I was very excited when I was approved to receive an advanced listening copy of Lights! Camera! Friendo! through NetGalley. Thanks to HarperCollins and HarperAudio Children’s for the ALC, and to Adam Cesare for writing another book in one of my favorite horror series!
This book goes back to the town where it all started and has a similar feel and mood to the first book in the series—which is the best of the first three books, in my opinion. It really felt like an installment in the series, while book 3 just seemed only tangentially connected to it. I like that this fourth book returns to Kettle Springs and shows the reader what the town is like now. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of what life is like for Cole and Rust. I understand that new characters had to be introduced for the plot, but I would’ve liked a bit more of Cole and Rust and less of Jerri. Jerri’s role in this book just wasn’t that interesting to me.
I know some people have an issue with the political commentary in this series, but I actually like that it’s included. It makes the motivations of the baddies more realistic, at least to me.
This book goes back to the town where it all started and has a similar feel and mood to the first book in the series—which is the best of the first three books, in my opinion. It really felt like an installment in the series, while book 3 just seemed only tangentially connected to it. I like that this fourth book returns to Kettle Springs and shows the reader what the town is like now. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of what life is like for Cole and Rust. I understand that new characters had to be introduced for the plot, but I would’ve liked a bit more of Cole and Rust and less of Jerri. Jerri’s role in this book just wasn’t that interesting to me.
I know some people have an issue with the political commentary in this series, but I actually like that it’s included. It makes the motivations of the baddies more realistic, at least to me.
May 22, 2026
It was so nice to be back in Kettle Springs and to have the focus on that with a few of the familiar faces we've grown to love. It's very clear nobody loves Kettle Springs and these characters more than Adam, and that bleeds through every page, every chapter and every word. While some of the same plotline and motives we've found in the other three books, Adam still has a way of making it feel fresh and inventive. Especially those nasty kills. Man has a way with gore. A mix of the same usual comedy and humor with some really great kills and scares.
I love that this one didn't shy away from the PTSD and grief everyone carries. Even Kettle Springs itself feels so broken and morose. It felt like such a nice companion piece to book three and how Quinn handled the fallout compared to Rust, Cole and Jerri. I did find this one a lot slower than the first three books in the series, but not in a way that dragged but more that there was just a lot of build up. More of a creeping tension waiting for the Big Moment to hit.
I think the only issue I had with was that I didn't connect fully with the new character's because I would have rather spent more time with my old friends. I wish they had been more of the focus than anything else. I also found there was too much on the characters inner thoughts or small info dumps during scenes that took away from the building tension in certain scenes. It also didn't really have any high stakes like the previous novels did.
Also, cackling at Janet's whitewashing casting getting mentioned.
Thank you to Harper Collins and netgalley for the arc!
I love that this one didn't shy away from the PTSD and grief everyone carries. Even Kettle Springs itself feels so broken and morose. It felt like such a nice companion piece to book three and how Quinn handled the fallout compared to Rust, Cole and Jerri. I did find this one a lot slower than the first three books in the series, but not in a way that dragged but more that there was just a lot of build up. More of a creeping tension waiting for the Big Moment to hit.
I think the only issue I had with was that I didn't connect fully with the new character's because I would have rather spent more time with my old friends. I wish they had been more of the focus than anything else. I also found there was too much on the characters inner thoughts or small info dumps during scenes that took away from the building tension in certain scenes. It also didn't really have any high stakes like the previous novels did.
Also, cackling at Janet's whitewashing casting getting mentioned.
Thank you to Harper Collins and netgalley for the arc!
Want to Read
January 17, 2026Don't mind me i'm just freaking out
May 20, 2026
Thank you to HarperCollins Children’s for my most anticipated ARC of the year! I loved revisiting the characters and carnage we love to see from CIAC. I loved the meta nature of this taking place on a film set covering events of the first book. Adam Cesare has done a fantastic job evolving the series over four books, leaving us sated but ready for more by the end of this one. This is one of my all time favorite horror series.
June 6, 2026
It feels great to be one of god’s chosen people and have read an eARC for this book, thanks for asking.
Obviously I loved it. Very Scream 3 coded. I really should have done a reread of the other three but I was too excited obviously. That’s my recommendation to you- read the other three again before this drops on August because I think it will hit even better.
Well we are back in Kettle Springs and the kills are plentiful and brutal.
No spoilers but a standing ovation to the ending.
I think the most important thing I can convey with this review is that this is not a flop and if you’ve come this far you’re going to have a good time 🤡
Obviously I loved it. Very Scream 3 coded. I really should have done a reread of the other three but I was too excited obviously. That’s my recommendation to you- read the other three again before this drops on August because I think it will hit even better.
Well we are back in Kettle Springs and the kills are plentiful and brutal.
No spoilers but a standing ovation to the ending.
I think the most important thing I can convey with this review is that this is not a flop and if you’ve come this far you’re going to have a good time 🤡
August 24, 2026
3.5/5
i think this is the weakest of the books so far. it was pretty slow and i felt it got a little too convoluted, even as far as these books go. i was happy to see jerri, rust and cole again but i definitely found myself missing quinn. the half star was earnt by the author genuinely being great at creating suspense.
i do have to give the author his tens for including a trans teen in these books, especially in the current political climate. i do wish though we weren't reminded she was trans through her experiencing misgendering.
i don't read ya much these days but this is a fun series. i do see myself coming back to it if the author were to decide to continue.
i think this is the weakest of the books so far. it was pretty slow and i felt it got a little too convoluted, even as far as these books go. i was happy to see jerri, rust and cole again but i definitely found myself missing quinn. the half star was earnt by the author genuinely being great at creating suspense.
i do have to give the author his tens for including a trans teen in these books, especially in the current political climate. i do wish though we weren't reminded she was trans through her experiencing misgendering.
i don't read ya much these days but this is a fun series. i do see myself coming back to it if the author were to decide to continue.
August 18, 2026
I loved this installment in the series! The slasher books continued in true form. Blending this into a movie set was a fabulous choice! The craft services chapter was an absolute chef's kiss perfection! And, Adam, that Acknowledgements section at the end, SIR!
Thank-you, HarperCollins Children's Books and Adam Cesare, for this complimentary copy. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Thank-you, HarperCollins Children's Books and Adam Cesare, for this complimentary copy. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
August 19, 2026
Okay, I fully intended to read books 2 and 3 before getting to this one and epically failed! 😅 But, I had no issues with skipping from book 1 to this fourth installment! And once again, I really enjoyed the slasher ride Adam Cesare took me on! 👏
Thank you partner Harper Collins for the gifted eARC and finished copy in exchange for my honest review! ❤️
Thank you partner Harper Collins for the gifted eARC and finished copy in exchange for my honest review! ❤️
August 20, 2026
Much better than book 3. Reminded me of Scream 3.
Maybe I should have reread book 2 because I did not remember Jerri at all. I was glad to have more Cole and Rust in this one.
Maybe I should have reread book 2 because I did not remember Jerri at all. I was glad to have more Cole and Rust in this one.
August 5, 2026
This was such a fun return to Kettle Springs and another wild adventure with Frendo. I listened to the audiobook while following along on my Kindle, and it was a fantastic experience. The narrator did an awesome job bringing each character to life with distinct voices, and it was easy to follow even at 2x speed.
The story introduces a new location, mixes in fresh faces with familiar favorites, and never lets up. It's fast-paced, packed with action, and delivers the brutal, graphic kills I've come to expect from this series. Adam Cesare knows exactly how to write an entertaining slasher, and this is proper horror from beginning to end.
That ending? Standing ovation. I loved it. I've already preordered a signed copy because this series has earned a permanent spot on my shelves. Do yourself a favor and read this book. Better yet, read the whole series.
The story introduces a new location, mixes in fresh faces with familiar favorites, and never lets up. It's fast-paced, packed with action, and delivers the brutal, graphic kills I've come to expect from this series. Adam Cesare knows exactly how to write an entertaining slasher, and this is proper horror from beginning to end.
That ending? Standing ovation. I loved it. I've already preordered a signed copy because this series has earned a permanent spot on my shelves. Do yourself a favor and read this book. Better yet, read the whole series.
May 26, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!
I binged the first three of these books in about 4 days when I first discovered them. They're fun, fast paced, slashers with a storyline and characters that I had a great time following. This new installment, "Lights! Camera! Frendo!" had a similar tone, the return of SOME of the characters but, I have to admit, it did feel like something was as missing.
At face value, the premise of this novel is very fun and meta. We're following a group of young actors who are cast in a film based on the events that happened in Kettle Springs during the first novel. In practice, this also becomes the novels downfall.
Since this is all about what we already read about in the first book, there's a level of repetition that comes into play. And, since this follows the events that transpire during the making of that film, the characters we've grown attached to from the first three books take a huge back seat.
The interesting thing about this novel is that while it chronologically takes place after the events of the first three books, and it includes characters from those books, it does not feel like the next step forward in the story that those books established. It feels almost like an offshoot that is happening in the same universe.
Having said that, as a fan of the first three, I had plenty to enjoy and being back in the world was great, it just felt like at the end of the book, the events were largely inconsequential. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it felt like a "filler episode," in a TV show, but it didn't advance the larger plot, at all. I feel like if a fifth book were to come out, the events of this book could be addressed with a couple sentences in the opening chapter and then never brought up again.
I don't want to make it sound like this book isn't worth your time; the writing is great, it's fast paced, and fans of the series, I think, will have a good time with it. It just felt very odd to me that the first three books told a larger, interconnected, story that built upon a cast of characters that we knew and cared about and this one didn't advance that story, at all.
All in all, reading this was a bit like riding a roller coaster; a good time that begins and ends at the same place.
I binged the first three of these books in about 4 days when I first discovered them. They're fun, fast paced, slashers with a storyline and characters that I had a great time following. This new installment, "Lights! Camera! Frendo!" had a similar tone, the return of SOME of the characters but, I have to admit, it did feel like something was as missing.
At face value, the premise of this novel is very fun and meta. We're following a group of young actors who are cast in a film based on the events that happened in Kettle Springs during the first novel. In practice, this also becomes the novels downfall.
Since this is all about what we already read about in the first book, there's a level of repetition that comes into play. And, since this follows the events that transpire during the making of that film, the characters we've grown attached to from the first three books take a huge back seat.
The interesting thing about this novel is that while it chronologically takes place after the events of the first three books, and it includes characters from those books, it does not feel like the next step forward in the story that those books established. It feels almost like an offshoot that is happening in the same universe.
Having said that, as a fan of the first three, I had plenty to enjoy and being back in the world was great, it just felt like at the end of the book, the events were largely inconsequential. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it felt like a "filler episode," in a TV show, but it didn't advance the larger plot, at all. I feel like if a fifth book were to come out, the events of this book could be addressed with a couple sentences in the opening chapter and then never brought up again.
I don't want to make it sound like this book isn't worth your time; the writing is great, it's fast paced, and fans of the series, I think, will have a good time with it. It just felt very odd to me that the first three books told a larger, interconnected, story that built upon a cast of characters that we knew and cared about and this one didn't advance that story, at all.
All in all, reading this was a bit like riding a roller coaster; a good time that begins and ends at the same place.
May 17, 2026
I wasn’t sure what direction this book would go in, but boy I’m glad I read it. Kettle Springs is just as chaotic and disturbing as it always is, except this time there’s a whole movie crew there filming..you guessed it…clown in a cornfield. I liked seeing the repeat characters. And if you thought the other books were gory you better just buckle up. I think this was the goriest of them all. The surprise twist was really good. This will be out in August of 2026. Make sure to add it to your TBR for spooky season and spend some more time with Frendo.
August 24, 2026
If there's one thing you can count on with a successful horror movie, it's that there will be sequels. Whether they're any good is almost irrelevant. If the first one is a hit, the franchise will ride that success for as long as possible. And when it inevitably fizzles out, well, there's always a reboot waiting just around the corner.
It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Adam Cesare is now on the fourth installment of his hit Clown in a Cornfield series. Fortunately, these books have never felt like sequels for the sake of sequels. Cesare likes to swing for the fences, and each new installment has taken Frendo and the characters he terrorizes in a different direction. That's what has kept me coming back. Four books in, I was more than ready to see what he had up his sleeve this time.
The subtitle Lights! Camera! Frendo! more than hints at where Cesare takes things in this fourth novel. The dust has mostly settled on Frendo the clown and the terror he brought to Kettle Springs. There have been articles, news stories, podcasts, pretty much every possible medium used to dissect the massacre that rocked this small town. So naturally, it's Hollywood's turn to take a crack at the story.
Enter Sabrina Alvarez, a complete unknown thrust out of obscurity to take the starring role in a movie based on the Kettle Springs Massacre. Playing ultimate final girl Quinn Maybrook is the opportunity of a lifetime, but when Sabrina arrives in the actual town for filming, she can't shake the feeling that something is off. Maybe it's the resentment simmering among the townspeople, many of whom aren't thrilled about Hollywood capitalizing on their tragedy. Maybe it's the eccentric director determined to turn their trauma into art. Or maybe the thing that haunted Kettle Springs in the first place never really left at all.
Whatever it is, Sabrina and the people of Kettle Springs are about to discover that recreating a massacre can be every bit as dangerous as the real thing.
With Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights! Camera! Frendo!, Adam Cesare brings his horror series into an exciting new chapter. He manages to draw on the history of the previous books while introducing a largely new cast, turning the whole thing into a page-turning bloodbath that I found to be the best installment since the original. There's a self-awareness to this one that makes it all the more fun. Cesare doesn't shy away from the familiar tropes of the genre. He embraces them, playing with our expectations just enough to keep us on our toes.
Sabrina proves to be a fantastic addition to the series and a compelling final girl in her own right. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about following a new protagonist this far into the series, but she quickly won me over. It shows just how much Cesare has built around Frendo and Kettle Springs. There's enough history, mythology, and lingering trauma here to support a whole new group of characters while still feeling like the Clown in a Cornfield series I've been reading all along. Four books in, there's still plenty of life left in that creepy clown. If horror franchises have taught us anything, it's that there's always room for another sequel. When Clown in a Cornfield 5 inevitably comes along, I'll be ready to read i
It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Adam Cesare is now on the fourth installment of his hit Clown in a Cornfield series. Fortunately, these books have never felt like sequels for the sake of sequels. Cesare likes to swing for the fences, and each new installment has taken Frendo and the characters he terrorizes in a different direction. That's what has kept me coming back. Four books in, I was more than ready to see what he had up his sleeve this time.
The subtitle Lights! Camera! Frendo! more than hints at where Cesare takes things in this fourth novel. The dust has mostly settled on Frendo the clown and the terror he brought to Kettle Springs. There have been articles, news stories, podcasts, pretty much every possible medium used to dissect the massacre that rocked this small town. So naturally, it's Hollywood's turn to take a crack at the story.
Enter Sabrina Alvarez, a complete unknown thrust out of obscurity to take the starring role in a movie based on the Kettle Springs Massacre. Playing ultimate final girl Quinn Maybrook is the opportunity of a lifetime, but when Sabrina arrives in the actual town for filming, she can't shake the feeling that something is off. Maybe it's the resentment simmering among the townspeople, many of whom aren't thrilled about Hollywood capitalizing on their tragedy. Maybe it's the eccentric director determined to turn their trauma into art. Or maybe the thing that haunted Kettle Springs in the first place never really left at all.
Whatever it is, Sabrina and the people of Kettle Springs are about to discover that recreating a massacre can be every bit as dangerous as the real thing.
With Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights! Camera! Frendo!, Adam Cesare brings his horror series into an exciting new chapter. He manages to draw on the history of the previous books while introducing a largely new cast, turning the whole thing into a page-turning bloodbath that I found to be the best installment since the original. There's a self-awareness to this one that makes it all the more fun. Cesare doesn't shy away from the familiar tropes of the genre. He embraces them, playing with our expectations just enough to keep us on our toes.
Sabrina proves to be a fantastic addition to the series and a compelling final girl in her own right. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about following a new protagonist this far into the series, but she quickly won me over. It shows just how much Cesare has built around Frendo and Kettle Springs. There's enough history, mythology, and lingering trauma here to support a whole new group of characters while still feeling like the Clown in a Cornfield series I've been reading all along. Four books in, there's still plenty of life left in that creepy clown. If horror franchises have taught us anything, it's that there's always room for another sequel. When Clown in a Cornfield 5 inevitably comes along, I'll be ready to read i
August 21, 2026
2.5/5 but I’m rounding up.
I hate to rate this book this low, I really do love this book series and the movie (more on that in a moment), but the fourth entry did not click with me.
I’d been looking forward to this ever since I read the afterword in book three (my favorite, though apparently the most divisive book in the Clown in a Cornfield series). I was ready to get back to Kettle Springs; check in on Rust, Cole, Quinn’s dad, and all the rest. While we do get those characters (kind of, Mayor Maybrook is oddly absent from this entire novel), it feels very distanced from them. The novel instead focuses on series newcomer Sabrina (great character, by the way) and Jerri (returning from book two). Rust and Cole are obviously there as well, and I enjoyed their parts for the most part. Jerri’s segments start off strong, but quickly run out of steam. She was present in a lot of the key scenes, especially towards the end, but she just kind of feels there. It was weird, she was so light on dialogue that it felt as though the action was carrying her along. Again, there’s this weird distance from the characters that made it difficult to connect with. Moments with Sabrina felt the strongest to me. Maybe I was missing Quinn more than I anticipated.
Now, I still enjoyed this overall. It’s a fun slasher and I do love my slashers, but the main motivations for the antagonists felt a bit half baked. The previous books were very politically and socially driven, and you kind of get that here but it all feels a bit half hearted. If anything, I think the main driving factor was the making of the real life Clown on a Cornfield movie that served as inspiration for the Clown in a Cornfield movie being made in this novel.
I love meta-horror, and this has some fun commentary on that (Janet really is doomed to be whitewashed, huh?), but I really started wondering if Adam Cesare was venting about his experience. Like, I get it, the movie we got changed things when it didn’t really need to, but it was still a fun horror film. Maybe a little more distance between the production of the film and writing this novel would’ve helped? I don’t know.
In the end it just feels very scattershot. Again, I wish I enjoyed the direction this one took more than I did. I wanted to love it, but I couldn’t. I’ll still pick up the next book if (when?) Mr. Cesare writes another one, though. I like this series too much to let one book that I didn’t jive with turn me off from them.
I hate to rate this book this low, I really do love this book series and the movie (more on that in a moment), but the fourth entry did not click with me.
I’d been looking forward to this ever since I read the afterword in book three (my favorite, though apparently the most divisive book in the Clown in a Cornfield series). I was ready to get back to Kettle Springs; check in on Rust, Cole, Quinn’s dad, and all the rest. While we do get those characters (kind of, Mayor Maybrook is oddly absent from this entire novel), it feels very distanced from them. The novel instead focuses on series newcomer Sabrina (great character, by the way) and Jerri (returning from book two). Rust and Cole are obviously there as well, and I enjoyed their parts for the most part. Jerri’s segments start off strong, but quickly run out of steam. She was present in a lot of the key scenes, especially towards the end, but she just kind of feels there. It was weird, she was so light on dialogue that it felt as though the action was carrying her along. Again, there’s this weird distance from the characters that made it difficult to connect with. Moments with Sabrina felt the strongest to me. Maybe I was missing Quinn more than I anticipated.
Now, I still enjoyed this overall. It’s a fun slasher and I do love my slashers, but the main motivations for the antagonists felt a bit half baked. The previous books were very politically and socially driven, and you kind of get that here but it all feels a bit half hearted. If anything, I think the main driving factor was the making of the real life Clown on a Cornfield movie that served as inspiration for the Clown in a Cornfield movie being made in this novel.
I love meta-horror, and this has some fun commentary on that (Janet really is doomed to be whitewashed, huh?), but I really started wondering if Adam Cesare was venting about his experience. Like, I get it, the movie we got changed things when it didn’t really need to, but it was still a fun horror film. Maybe a little more distance between the production of the film and writing this novel would’ve helped? I don’t know.
In the end it just feels very scattershot. Again, I wish I enjoyed the direction this one took more than I did. I wanted to love it, but I couldn’t. I’ll still pick up the next book if (when?) Mr. Cesare writes another one, though. I like this series too much to let one book that I didn’t jive with turn me off from them.
August 20, 2026
Thank you so much to @harpercollins for the eARC of Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights! Camera! Frendo!
As a horror film lover (the cheesier, the better I always say), I’m a sucker for a story that keeps spitting out sequels. So I’m feeling BLESSED, that Frendo has once again returned to cause more bloodshed in the cornfields!
Also, on the mention of sequels can we get a Frendo in Space?! 👀😂
CiaC4 didn’t fully have me in the first half; there were some pretty good moments, but it wasn’t until the second half that I was on the edge of my seat. This book ended up being exactly what I want in slasher sequel: insane kills, a bit of silliness and some breaking of the fourth wall (at least I assume that was intentional, maybe I read too hard into it 😂)
I think what threw me off in the beginning was that I didn’t necessarily care about the newly introduced characters. & because of that, there was a bit of a drag before the story really took off. But once the action begins, it’s pretty non-stop until the end.
If you’ve already read and enjoyed the first three books in the series, I definitely think this one is worth picking up. It’s a fun and ridiculous time & I’m looking forward to a possible fifth book!
As a horror film lover (the cheesier, the better I always say), I’m a sucker for a story that keeps spitting out sequels. So I’m feeling BLESSED, that Frendo has once again returned to cause more bloodshed in the cornfields!
Also, on the mention of sequels can we get a Frendo in Space?! 👀😂
CiaC4 didn’t fully have me in the first half; there were some pretty good moments, but it wasn’t until the second half that I was on the edge of my seat. This book ended up being exactly what I want in slasher sequel: insane kills, a bit of silliness and some breaking of the fourth wall (at least I assume that was intentional, maybe I read too hard into it 😂)
I think what threw me off in the beginning was that I didn’t necessarily care about the newly introduced characters. & because of that, there was a bit of a drag before the story really took off. But once the action begins, it’s pretty non-stop until the end.
If you’ve already read and enjoyed the first three books in the series, I definitely think this one is worth picking up. It’s a fun and ridiculous time & I’m looking forward to a possible fifth book!
August 18, 2026
Clown in a Cornfield 4 Lights! Camera! Frendo! by Adam Cesare takes us back to book one, as book four is about a movie being made about the events in book one. A few old characters return, but I won’t spoil it if you haven’t read the other three books, along with new characters who play the part of some of the characters in book one. Although we revisit some of the incidents in book one, this whole book has all new scenarios playing out, including a gruesome ending that is pretty gross. Its imagery is very vivid, even with this being a YA horror book. If you haven’t read book two or three, I think you could follow along with what’s going on if you read book one, you would just have some spoilers on who didn’t survive in the other books. There is one character that I really enjoyed reading their journey throughout, and that is the person who becomes sheriff. If you are a fan of the first book, then I think you will really enjoy this new book.
August 7, 2026
Once again Adam Cesare has hit it out of the park with another YA slasher! I will forever give him props for not watering down the gore just because the books are considered YA. One of the things I hate the most about many YA “slashers” is that they lack substance and never fully commit to “going there”, as if the young adult audience can’t handle depth. That has never been a problem in these books and this fourth book is no exception. In fact, I think he might have dialed up the grossness even more in this one. Every single book in this series has been a hit for me and I will forever pick them up as soon as I can. Can’t wait for Clown in A Cornfield 5: Five Nights at Frendo’s*! *I jest. 🤡
August 14, 2026
Obsessed is an understatement. My love for the CIAC books goes way back, so I was ecstatic about the fourth book being released (it’s not a trilogy, people!) and it was great (?) to be back in Kettle Springs.
Plot aside, I think I had so much fun with this one because they were filming the Clown movie while we had the real movie already out in the real world.
I loved being back with Cole, Rust, Jerri, and Mayor Maybrook, and the newbies were all great additions. Sabrina Alvarez was a total badass.
The 💀 scenes were brutal and gory and a lot of fun.
Here’s to hoping for book five and remember, WWQMD?
Also, I loved how meta this was. Totally giving Scream 3 vibes.
Plot aside, I think I had so much fun with this one because they were filming the Clown movie while we had the real movie already out in the real world.
I loved being back with Cole, Rust, Jerri, and Mayor Maybrook, and the newbies were all great additions. Sabrina Alvarez was a total badass.
The 💀 scenes were brutal and gory and a lot of fun.
Here’s to hoping for book five and remember, WWQMD?
Also, I loved how meta this was. Totally giving Scream 3 vibes.
August 20, 2026
Really enjoyed this book and if it is the last in the series it’s a good way to end.
It had a good mix of legacy characters, and new characters who were interesting additions to the Frendo universe.
The opening kill was interesting and I like that we then spent time with the new characters to build them up when the kills started they were well done and were inventive, each character had enough character to make them interesting.
The end was pretty interesting and the reveal of the killer was good as well and the reason for the main killer was original and was a great twist.
It had a good mix of legacy characters, and new characters who were interesting additions to the Frendo universe.
The opening kill was interesting and I like that we then spent time with the new characters to build them up when the kills started they were well done and were inventive, each character had enough character to make them interesting.
The end was pretty interesting and the reveal of the killer was good as well and the reason for the main killer was original and was a great twist.
August 18, 2026
3.5 rounded up!
August 23, 2026
I mean, it’s clown in a cornfield 4. If the title alone doesn’t let you know whether it’s something you’d be into- I don’t know what to tell you.
August 24, 2026
I really enjoyed this one! Fun, gory, true to the roots!
August 25, 2026
3.75
Probably my favorite of the series.
Probably my favorite of the series.
August 22, 2026
These are just my favorite books ever!
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