Clown in a Cornfield is a 2020 horror novel by Adam Cesare.
Quinn Maybrook and her father, Glenn, have moved to the small town of Kettle Springs for a fresh start after the death of Quinn's mother. Ever since the town's corn syrup factory closed, Kettle Springs has been struggling, and the adults think it's the fault of the younger generation, who care nothing for hard work or making the town great, only making prank videos and leaving as soon as possible.
One night, Quinn is invited to a party in a cornfield, where Frendo, the town's mascot, comes wielding a crossbow. Now it's up to Quinn and her classmates to outsmart the clown and survive the night.
Spoilers abound!
It was soon followed by Clown In A Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives!, with a third installment, Clown In A Cornfield: Cult Of Frendo, set to be published in the October of 2024. Adam Cesare has stated his intention to continue the series in an indefinite capacity, provided enough people continue to pick up the books.
This novel features examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Arthur Hill, who wants to murder his son for the role he thinks he played in the death of his daughter.
- Action Survivor: Quinn and Cole fill this role once Frendo shows up. Quinn at least morphs into an Action Girl.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unknown if Janet's mother was in on the plan along with her husband, and Quinn briefly wonders this when she realizes Mr. Murray is one of the killers.
- An Arm and a Leg: Rust shoots Trudy's hand off when she corners him and the others in the barn.
- Anyone Can Die: Several named characters over the course of the book are killed, such as Janet and Ginger.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Dr. Maybrook is generally a friendly, cordial man (not to mention a doctor), but when Trudy threatens his daughter, he deliberately pinches a part of her hand stump that causes her enough pain to black out.
- Crosses over with Papa Wolf as well.
- Big Damn Heroes: Just as Cole is about to suffocate, Rust (previously thought to have died) comes bursting into the factory, driving the Tillerson's car, and he saves Cole's life by parking under him and cutting him down.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Every single adult in on the murder plot, but especially Trudy the Waitress, who acts cordial to Quinn and her father when they first meet, and then tells Dr. Maybrook later on that she "hopes his little slut dies slow in that field."
- Category Traitor: Ronnie and Matt, who sell out their classmates by working with Sheriff Dunn and the other adults.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Cole and Rust.
- City Mouse: Quinn, who grew up in Philadelphia.
- Corrupt Cop: Sheriff Dunn, who spearheaded the whole Frendo plan.
- Distressed Dude: Cole, who is kidnapped towards the end of the book, and he would have died by hanging, were it not for Rust and the Tillersons' truck.
- Dr. Maybrook as well, who is kidnapped before the clowns enact their plan.
- Disproportionate Retribution: So the young people in your town don't show you "respect" and make prank videos? The solution: BRUTALLY MURDER THEM ALL. Makes perfect sense.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Janet, badly wounded, manages to make her way to the barn and warn her classmates that there is more than one Frendo. She ends up being decapitated with a chainsaw shortly after.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: It's mentioned that Cole has grown his hair rather long since the deaths of his mother and sister, being too depressed to care much about his physical appearance. After surviving the Frendo massacre and inheriting his father's money, Cole is mentioned to have started trimming his hair again.
- Final Girl: Downplayed; Quinn is the main character and has all of the hallmarks including Gender-Blender Name. After she takes a level in badass, she manages to survive and kill multiple Frendos, but her father and both of the leading men survive. Though, Cole only survives because of her efforts.
- Gun Nut: Rust owns many different types of firearms and knows how to use them quite well. However, he is a more sympathetic example than most, since he emphasizes the importance of gun safety and lets Quinn know that he always eats what he hunts. His gun skills also come in handy many times over the course of the book.
- I Have No Son!: Arthur Hill's attitude towards Cole.
- Insane Troll Logic: Cole calls out Sheriff Dunn for having this when he is told what the adults had planned.
- It's slightly justified later, when it's revealed that Arthur Hill - the millionaire people were hoping would reinvest in the town - was the ringleader of the plan, with the implication he'd reinvest in the town after it was said and done.
- Cole also accuses his father of this, since he refuses to acknowledge that his sister Victoria's death was an accident.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Janet. While she is catty and obsessed with popularity and looks, her attitude stems from facing prejudice when she moved to Kettle Springs as a child, and she admits to herself that she does like her classmates, enough to try to warn them about there being multiple Frendo's despite being badly wounded, resulting in her death.
- Missing Mom: Samantha, Quinn's mother, died of a drug overdose before the events of the book.
- Cole's mother died of cancer long before the story's events.
- Monster Clown: Frendo, which is made quite clear in the title. Actually, they're Frendos, all of whom count as monsters, since they're murdering teenagers.
- Never My Fault: Arthur Hill blames Cole for Victoria's death... even though as their father, he really should have been keeping a better eye on his kids.
- Off With Her Head: How poor Janet meets her fate.
- Offing the Offspring: It's unclear if Mr. Murray kills Janet, his stepdaughter personally, but it's still an example, since he was in on the plan to kill her and her friends.
- Arthur Hill had this planned for Cole, but his attempt is foiled.
- Only Sane Man: Mayor Jaffers serves as this to the adult cast, which explains why he is murdered before the Frendos attack the teenagers.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Arthur Hill outlived his daughter Victoria, for which he unjustly blames his son, to the point of trying to murder him.
- Preserve Your Gays: Cole and Rust both survive.
- Pretty Boy: Quinn's assessment of Cole, at one point likening him to Jared Leto.
- Sequel Hook: Despite being shot, Arthur Hill survived the events of the book, and still wants to wreak vengeance on his son.
- Ship Tease: Quinn gets this with both Rust and Cole, though it turns out that they're interested in each other, not her.
- Slashed Throat: How Tucker dies.
- Smug Snake: Sherrif Dunne is a bit too proud of his plan to murder the kids and pull a Frame-Up, since it's revealed in the end that his own shoddy knowledge of technology was practically a confession note.
- Straight Gay: Neither Cole nor Rust show any stereotypically gay traits, with the gun-toting farmboy Rust even crossing over into Manly Gay territory.
- Unperson: At the end of the novel, Frendo is made this, since no one in Kettle Springs wants their businesses associated with a massacre any more than they have to.
- Wham Shot: The reveal that there are multiple Frendos
