Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publication date: 10th February 2024
Content warnings: stalking, blood/gore, animal death

Other books in this series:
A Winter’s Kill (Book 1)
A Spring Kill (Book 2)
A Summer’s Kill (Book 3)

“Pritchard is helpless at my feet. All the power is in my hands to kill him. I tried before. I won’t fail now.”

It’s incredibly rare that I start a series and stick with it, but there is something about this one that keeps drawing me back in time and time again. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but it’s definitely mix of our protagonist, Carolyn Ryder, the dark atmospheric feel throughout and the ongoing hunt to take down one of the most-wanted killers. I’m very happy to be sharing my review for the fourth book in The Killing Seasons series, A Fall Kill by JK Ellem!

About the book

The blood-red leaves are falling all around Carolyn Ryder as she takes the last steps of a journey that has come to an end. All the pain, the suffering, and loss she has had to witness and endure along the murderous road Sam Pritchard has traveled; all leads to here. Ravenwood.

But this time, Carolyn will not be alone. New allies will be forged, and she’s brought along some old ones too who have shared in the same plight in finding and killing monsters just like Pritchard.

This is the ending battle. Good verses the purest evil unimaginable. There’s nowhere to run. No place to hide. Make a stand or die.

The beginning

Another brilliant start to the fourth book in The Killing Seasons series and, despite it being a good few months since I read book three, it felt like I’d only finished it yesterday. These books are so easy to jump back into! This was it for Carolyn. After trying (and failing) to take down Sam Pritchard, aka ‘The Highway Killer’ for so damn long, this was her chance. And this time, she wasn’t going to fail. We can instantly feel Carolyn’s determination, this new drive to kill this utter monster of a man right from the start of this book and it barely leaves us time to breathe as plans are put into motion. I loved how there was no messing around and we get straight into it! Even so, the author still cleverly brings us up to speed with the goings on from previous books as well as the characters I’d become so attached to throughout the series. I had a good feeling about things this time as Carolyn gathers the troops in the form of Ellie (who I’ve loved previously) and Beth. And of course, there’s a mysterious new killer on the loose; the Peeping Prowler. Was he acting alone, or was he connected to Pritchard?

“It’s the choices we make, not the mistakes, which define us.”

I enjoyed the many multiple POVs which included Carolyn, Ben Shaw and Hayley Perez (other friendly faces from the series), as well as another perspective – a killer, someone I was intrigued to read more about, someone who I sensed was Pritchard. We know him by now. We know the kind of sick acts he carries out. It had to be him. Carolyn and her allies find a new secluded place as HQ, a place where all roads had led them, a place where Carolyn is confident they can find and kill Pritchard; Ravenwood. We see the return of multiple characters from past books, people who all want to join the Pritchard hunt and it felt so good seeing them all interact together, all having an input in the grand plan. I did a little squeal when we see the return of Beau Hodges, one of my favourite characters from my favourite book of the series, A Winter’s Kill. With all these characters on one side and Pritchard on the other, it was very unlikely he’d win this time. And justice would be served. There are a lot of characters to keep on top of but as we’d met the majority in previous books, it didn’t feel too much.

The middle

There was something exciting about the hunt for Pritchard coming from two different sides, two groups of people who want to see him killed; Carolyn and Co, and Shaw and Perez. Imagine if they joined forces?! The power of everyone together would be unmatched. They couldn’t not catch him. I hoped this would happen, even if not everyone in the group thought this was the best use of their resources. I enjoyed how these characters worked together and figured out their plan, but this seemed to be a big chunk of the story for too long and it didn’t feel as though a lot was happening to move the story forwards in a way that kept me gripped. Maybe I was just being impatient; I wanted Pritchard dead just as much as these characters did 😅 But it soon became clear that Haley Perez was a new target. Not only must Carolyn and the team try and keep their plans a secret, they had to use Perez as bait, whilst also keeping her safe. There was a lot at stake, but this could be their only shot at revenge. I did like the suspenseful build up, and it was clear things would soon kick off.

“A new twist to the nightmare hits me, and it feels like a knife has been plunged into my heart.”

Dylan Cobb, Pritchard’s mate and another serial offender, has a goal; to break out of prison. And he’s the one who wants to kill Hayley Perez himself. I think this was probably my favourite part of the whole book, seeing his plans to break free happen in real time, the way he impersonates a prison officer (after he kills him in his cell, of course) was great! But what comes next is a complete nightmare. It’s Halloween. People dressed up as killers, walking the streets, knocking on doors. No one would bat an eyelid if one of those masked killers turned out to be an actual killer. The tension was excellent and it was the perfect scene of dread and uncertainty. There are near misses. There’s murder. Characters meet for the first time which was exciting, and I loved seeing Carolyn’s first interactions with Perez. She admits that they’re hunting Pritchard; I wondered if after everything they’d gone through on this night, that they’d finally team up and take him down, together. I was still craving more from all this and again, it was probably my impatience, but I knew the end would be intense!

The end

The race to find Pritchard was heating up and they were certainly closing in on him, and I had a feeling that some of these characters wouldn’t get out of this alive, or maybe not without trauma or injury. I continued to love Ellie’s character, how she builds a close bond with Beau, their shared hunting nature working in their favour in this particular scenario. She was such a bad-ass, so determined. I just hoped she’d survive the whole ordeal! I did enjoy the main take down of a man who had plagued their lives for too damn long, but I found it to be over way too soon after the build up over the last few books. I think I wanted it to be drawn out longer, giving us more time to really appreciate how much this guy had poisoned them, given them lifelong trauma and horrific memories. But it seemed to be over in a flash. There were some great elements to it though which made me feel so much; secrecy from some characters, the relief they feel, the fear as lives hang in the balance, the thought of what life would be like without this guy and what he’s capable of hanging over them.

“Yes, I am fearful – fearful that it might not work. Fearful that he will get away again, and then the nightmare will reset itself, and I’ll begin this never-ending torment all over again.”

There is a great sense of closure as those final few chapters pass, and it was good to see these characters after the events and aftermath of that night lifted a little. It was also so nice that there was a little bit of happiness sprinkled into the lives of characters who had been through so much. It was satisfying and rounded the book off nicely. At the very end of the book, there is a surprise chapter from a character we met along the way, an unexpected glimpse into the life of another monster, something I did not see coming at all! This might be the end of Pritchard, but it’s just the start of something else… Aamon Jessop… what are you capable of?! A brand new killer with brand new motives, and a brand new plan to take him down. Sounds pretty good to me! After seeing so many more books in this series, I am very excited to jump into the next, as well as books set in the same universe with familiar characters and locations. If you’re keen to read this series, I’d definitely recommend starting with a A Winter’s Kill, the first (and my favourite) book in the series!

Overall thoughts

A Fall Kill is book four in The Killing Seasons series, and while it wasn’t my favourite of the four books I’ve read so far (A Winter’s Kill still takes my top spot!) it was still an intense read, a full-on, dangerous hunt for a killer who had plagued the lives of many for so long. A monster of a man who had killed and tortured time and time again, Sam Pritchard. It’s time to take out the trash once and for all. There’s so much to love in this book. Characters from previous books come together, their skills and ideas combine to create the ultimate killing strategy. Of course, there are hurdles in the way; escaped prisoner and mate of Pritchard, Dylan Cobb, the fact that their plan needs to be on the down low to avoid anything going wrong and blowing their cover, secrets, ulterior motives. There’s murder, and plenty of blood if we’re being honest, so if you’re squeamish, you might want to give it a miss. But I’ve grown to love the style of JK Ellem’s books by now that I’d be gutted if there wasn’t a bit of gore, at least.

I did feel like I was left wanting more from the ending – with a four book build-up to catching someone even I began to fear over time, it all seemed to be over incredibly quickly, and I felt a bit deflated. But even so, it was a satisfying end which had me looking back over the previous three books and reminding myself just how much this killer had to die. A dark crime mystery full of tension, killers hiding in plain sight and of course, revenge.

You can grab your own copy of A Fall Kill as well as all the other books in this series right now over on Amazon*. Make sure you’re following the author over on Instagram for more updates!

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