Clown in a Cornfield

In Adam Cesare’s terrifying young adult debut, Quinn Maybrook finds herself caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress—that just may cost her life. Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can. Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

It's an all-new horror classic about what happens when the truth is the last thing, we want to believe… After barely making it out of the Kettle Springs cornfields alive, Quinn's first year away at college should be safe and easy. All she wants is to be normal again. But instead, Quinn finds that her past won't leave her alone when she becomes the focus of online conspiracy theories that claim the Kettle Springs Massacre never happened. It's a deranged but relentless fantasy, and there's nothing Quinn can do to get people to hear the truth—not even on her own campus or in her own dorm room. So, when a murderous clown attacks Quinn at a frat party, while another goes after her father in Kettle Springs at the same time, Quinn realizes that the facts alone are never going to save her. Her only option is to go back into the cornfields, back where the nightmare began, to set the record straight the only way she knows how. Because when the truth gets lost in the lies, that's when people start to die.

The thrills and chills are far from over in the third novel from Bram Stoker Award winner and master of scare, horror legend Adam Cesare. Quinn has just survived yet another bloody run-in with the murderous clown Frendo, but somehow still she knows this won't be the last. Tired of being hunted and seeing innocent people hurt, Quinn believes the only way to beat the horror is to take justice into her own hands--and stop the Frendo followers herself. Little does she know that this path will take her across cornfields and state lines, to where she will have to face the most dangerous and bloody menace yet: True believers. It's an all-new tale in this terrifying trio series about the villains inside us all, from the master of slashers and suspense, award–winning author Adam Cesare. Clown in a Cornfield was 2020's Bram Stoker Award Winner for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel. "A pulse-pounding thrill ride for retro-horror fans who are not faint of heart (or stomach)." - Kirkus Reviews "There's a lot to love about Adam Cesare's new novel, Clown in a Cornfield. First, the title. Holy crap. Then the front cover. Double holy crap. Also consider it's already received blurbs from people like Clive Barker, Stephen Graham Jones, and Paul Tremblay? Triple holy crap. People are going to be talking about this novel all year. Get ready for it." - Lit Reactor "Cinematic and blood soaked." - Booklist "This party starts early, and it does not stop until all the bodies have hit the floor." - Stephen Graham Jones, author of Mongrels and The Only Good Indians "Adam Cesare's CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD starts as a fun and scary retro-slasher but then cleverly twists and bloodies its way into being a very new kind of beast. Rejoice horror fans new and old, and be terrified of Adam's everyday clowns." - Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World "Tense, modern and gory, Cesare's Clown in a Cornfield is simultaneously classic and fresh. This is thrilling, old school horror for a new generation." - Madeleine Roux, author of the Asylum series This debut horror novel has all the trappings of a good, popcorn-scented slasher flick. Reluctant readers will find this a quick and fun read. They will definitely appreciate the stress-relieving escapism. Suggest it to readers looking for Stephen King read-alikes and fans of the Friday the 13th franchise. - YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Nominee "This book is a violent and timely tale with thinly veiled yet compelling subtext that should resonate. It's a breakneck slasher sequel that doesn't waste any time getting to the action and suspense." - Bloody Disgusting Clown in a Cornfield is a true-to-form classic horror story, complete with blood and gore, chainsaws and crossbows, and abundant deaths. This is a truly fun piece of escapism for teens who are okay with slasher-flick violence. - YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee "Clown in a Cornfield delivers everything the title promises--and more. More carnage, more mayhem and a sly social commentary that cuts to the bone. A must-read for horror fans." - Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Final Girls "Cesare's cinematic eye means the set-pieces are loud, brash, and dramatic (it's no surprise that there's a film adaptation in the works). Given what we are all experiencing now, there's something wonderfully pleasing, nostalgic, and even therapeutic spending several hours cheering on Quinn – smart and brave -- as she takes on [...] killer clowns." - Locus Magazine "With this novel, Cesare is going to create a new generation of life-long horror fans." - Signal Horizon Magazine "This pitch-perfect horror experience can be enjoyed as pure entertainment for its fun retro slasher style, but teen readers will also fully appreciate the sly underlying social commentary." - Booklist (starred review)