A Book A Week

There’s a phenomenon that tends to crop up in long-running horror franchises. After a while, the formula gets stale. Desperate to recapture former glory, the creators throw the rulebook out the window and attempt a reinvention. Think Friday the 13th's Jason X, where Jason slashes his way through a spaceship, or Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, where Freddy breaks through the fourth wall to stalk the cast of a movie based on Nightmare on Elm Street.

Adam Cesare’s Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives didn’t quite recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of the first novel, but it ended with a compelling tease that hinted at something bold. Against my better judgment, I dove into Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo, curious to see how Cesare would land this trilogy. Like its cinematic horror counterparts, this final installment takes a sharp left turn into new territory—but does it work?

Picking up where book two’s epilogue left off, we find Quinn Maybrook on a mission. No longer just a survivor, she’s become a hunter, tracking down the violent disciples of Frendo across the country. But what began as vigilante justice becomes something far more ominous as she uncovers just how deeply the cult of Frendo has taken root. Back in her hometown, the clown has transformed from a symbol of chaos into the central figure of a burgeoning religion—one fueled by the same hate and extremism that first sparked the bloodshed.

Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo is Adam Cesare at his most unhinged and ambitious. It’s wild, grim, and over-the-top in a way that pays homage to horror’s most infamous third acts. Not everything lands, but there’s a certain satisfaction in seeing the trilogy go out swinging, embracing the bizarre while still holding onto the raw, bloody heart that made the original so memorable. If nothing else, it proves Cesare is unafraid to take risks—and in horror, that counts for a lot.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2025, 38)