#BookReview ‘The Autumn Springs retirement Home Massacre’ by Philip Fracassi

About the book…

Rose loves her peaceful life at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home. A woman in her late seventies, she enjoys the independence the home offers her: she has her own apartment, there are regular shuttles into town, and she has become good friends with other residents – including Miller, who would gladly be more if Rose could open herself up to love again.

It’s a quiet life, but a good one.

Then residents start turning up dead.

While her neighbours and the police are happy to believe these deaths are simple accidents or the result of old age, Rose is convinced that something more sinister is going on. It’s up to her and Miller to catch this killer before they become victims themselves.

Hugest of thanks to Nazia at Orbit for my gifted review copy of ‘The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre’ which was published in September 2025 by new imprint, Run For It, which will focus on Orbit’s horror output.

And what a belter of a book to launch an imprint with!

It would seem, from the title, that the book would do exactly as it says and present a retirement home massacre, but the victims, protagonist and reasons why are all the hooks which make the reader want to pick up this book.

As a COTE (Care Of The Elderly) nurse, which encompasses anyone aged 65-the limits of life expectancy, there is very much an expectation of what is, and what is not, an older person.

They are seen as someone who has given their life, to society and/or their family, and is waiting to die, as thanks to the wonders of modern science, we can keep those with co-morbidities functioning for far longer than they often want to, in the name of progress.

There have been many, many conversations with patients who just want to be let go, feel they are done, and the reasons why take multiple forms and , in these situations, it often comes down to lack of autonomy, independence and fear of being moved into a care facility where they are just shuffled around for the rest of their days.

The Autumn Springs home has one of those names which suggest that it is a place where the inhabitants are encouraged to feel it may be the late season of their lives, but there is a chance for a new beginning.

Divided into assisted living and independent flats, this has all the superficial appearance of being a place that values and supports the needs of those paying a not insignificant sum of money to spend their final years, months, days there.

The main protagonist, Rose DuBois, lives independently in her own contained flat, and has a thriving social network and meaningful days.

Until,a death happens which does not appear as ‘natural’ as it is made to appear, and suspicions begin to arise.

A certain number of deaths is expected in this environment, however, as the numbers increase and the bizarre yet totally explainable circumstances begin to panic Rose and her friends, she begins to suspect that someone, or something , is praying on the elderly residents.

She gathers her thoughts, her troops and her wits to fight back and here is where comes into her own as she battles not only societal expectations of who and what an older lady should be, she has to face the fears she has been running from and embrace the strong, incredible woman she has always been.

Are the elderly residents just ripe for the picking of a serial killer, or is there a supernatural undercurrent to these deaths?

Will Rose and her best friend (hoping for more) Beauregard Mason Miller be able to unearth the person who has been dispatching their friends ?

This is a slasher set in a home full of people whose lives and value placed there on, becomes increasingly obvious as one by one, those you become attached to die.

And there are some truly awful deaths which moved me to tears, strong and feeling they still have so much to love for individuals who fall victim to a killer of the most heinous kind.

Agency is explored as the residents bring their suspicions to the police and are shot down, to the admin of the home, and are ‘there, there’d’ back into an activities session to distract them, and, in one of the most heart-breaking scenes, one by one they call their families asking to come home and are told no, we are too busy, old people are meant to die in these places, it is what it is.

Rose is fierce, phenomenal and goes against any kind of type or trope in wanting to bring the perpetrator to justice, even if it is her last act, and, in a neat twist, has chosen to live in her flat, she does not want to live with her daughter and protects her peace fiercely.

None of the characters are tropes of the whole ‘cosy’ retired people mystery/murder/thrillers which are stacking up bookshelves these days.

Each is a person with a history and a life lived, and I love this so much, Working with older people you see the best and worst of the way society treats them-they may have health issues and cognitive issues but they are real, warm, hilarious and multifaceted individuals that we can still learn so much from if we are willing to listen.

Rose is the final girl no one expected and everyone needs, she is a terrific creation, the lynch pin of this novel which further cements my opinion that Philip Fracassi is able to master any genre or form he chooses to work in.

About the author…

PHILIP FRACASSI is the Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated author of the novels ‘A Child Alone With Strangers’, ‘Gothic’, ‘Boys In The Valley’, ‘The Third Rule Of Time Travel’, and The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre. He is also the author of the story collections Behold The Void’, ‘Beneath A Pale Sky’ , and ‘No One Is Safe!’

His stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Black Static, Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, Interzone, and Southwest Review.

Links-http://pfracassi.com/