Autumn Falls by A.R. Kingston

 

Twenty-five years ago, a deal was made to save a child’s life. Now the time has come for someone to pay the price.

Paramedic Charlotte Briggs is a woman on the run. Having escaped an abusive man with her son, she lives out of motels until a mysterious call offers her a job in a sleepy, fog-locked town of Autumn Falls.

At first, the picturesque New England town, situated off the coast of Maine, seems like an ideal place to raise her son, until strange things begin to happen. At first, it’s just the crows following her around the island and the frightful creature lurking in the shadows. Then, the accidents start. Gruesome, bloody accidents unlike any she’d ever seen before. The island is thirsty for human blood. The dead also don’t stay dead. They either return to warn her or threaten her, and Charlotte suspects that not all is well in her new town.

Digging into the island’s past, Charlotte won’t only unearth its supernatural secrets, but also solve the mystery of her own link to this cursed chunk of rock in the Atlantic.

Charlotte has come to build a new life for herself and her son. What she doesn't know is that there was a nefarious reason she was offered a new job and a place to start over.

Autumn Falls, a lovely name for the odd town with weird inhabitants. There were lots of things I liked about this book. The mystery of the old hospital where even paramedics are forbidden to go, the "ghost" ambulance that can be seen cruising down the street, the creepy way the children act, as if they are synchronized, even the Pig Man! There are lots of spooky happenings here and several  gruesome deaths and mutilations.  What I didn't like was the way some of the characters interacted, and their dialogue. It just hit a few wrong notes with me that a woman who has had to flee an abusive relationship would be so willing to spill her life story to her new coworkers practically the minute they first meet, or to feel obligated to explain to strangers why she chose to raise her son on her own. It could be, that was the way the author chose to fill the reader in on Charlotte's back story but in my head I was screaming it's none of their business! Why are you spilling your guts to these strangers?

I enjoyed the more macabre moments of the story but wasn't crazy about the long lost love angle.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review

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About the author

Multi-genre author A.R. Kingston is a lover of all things dark and magical. She started out writing fanfiction in High School until going off to college to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and spent a few years in the mental health field before her passion for writing called back to her. Now she spends her time weaving fantastical tales of magical worlds or planting terrifying beasts on earth. When she is not writing, you can find her enjoying tea with her potbellied pigs while she reads a book or hones a new skill. Eventually, she hopes to retire in her beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado, and run her own pig rescue.