A truly fantastic book. Hendrix know how to write to drag you back to the times, in this case the Nineties.
The main protagonist is Patricia, a housewife who struggles with distant children, an ever absent husband, his poorly mother, and life in general. Her only escape, her book club who devour true crime books. When a stranger comes to town and starts to instigate himself into the community, Patricia’s precarious world starts to crumble.
If you want a vampire book a little different then this is for you.

Grady Hendrix has a fabulous mind.
He’s managed to retain the best of the glut of pulp and gothic paperbacks he’s read and smash tropes in such touching, hilarious, horrifying, and meaningful way.
Nita. Single book of his should be missed.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is such an outstanding, fun novel that I cannot recommend enough. If you need something to completely captivate you and pull you out of real life, read this novel. It's a fun entry into the horror genre if that's not typically your forte. Highly recommended!!

This is the second book I have read by Hendrix (the first being My Best Friend's Exorcism), and like the first book of his I read, I was deeply disturbed! This book is freaky, for sure! I don't read a lot of Horror, but I think Hendrix is just the level that I can handle. This book really rides the edge of gross-out/scary. I wasn't particularly afraid while ready, mostly just horrified (which I guess is the point!).

What I love most about this book, though, are the characters. I love Hendrix's writing - he really knows how to make believable characters that you want to root for/hate. Patricia is my favorite kind of main character. She doesn't want to sit around and hope things get better - she wants to take action, to DO SOMETHING. I really felt things alongside her and felt afraid for her when she was in danger. There are plenty of tense times in this book and Patricia handled them like a champ! I also really loved to hate the "bad guy," as well. He is creepy, so smarmy, and just the kind of self-important vampire you'd expect.

This story has a nice flow to it and it really kept me turning the pages. I really enjoyed myself while I was reading it. I only wish I could have listened to an audio of it with southern accents, because that would have really made it for me!

What a completely unexpected winner for our book club! This one was a dark horse - although I'd seen all the positive reviews all over the web and GR, I'll admit I was a little worried about how it would go over with our very diverse group of readers, but it ended up having something for everyone! True crime elements, horror, suspense, strong women, friendship, and plenty of material for a deeper discussion of feminism, misogyny, and racism.

Please note that this author is famous for parody/satire. There are tropes in this novel. But they are tropes, I firmly believe, meant to cause further discussion of the themes/social situations, and not to propagate them.

I found it to be incredibly enjoyable, and even more so when talked about over some peach wine with my fellow Southern book club buddies! :D

"...[she] knew how they looked, a bunch of silly Southern women, yakking about books over white wine. A bunch of carpool drivers, skinned-knee kissers, errand runners, secret Santas and part-time tooth fairies, with their practical jeans and their festive sweaters. Think of us what you will, she thought, we made mistakes, and probably scarred our children for life, and we froze sandwiches, and forgot carpool, and got divorced. But when the time came, we went the distance." - Grady Hendrix, The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires

This book was heart-pounding, gripping work. And as fun as it was to read, it was thought-provoking, too. It satirically tackles a lot of real issues that make it a timely read--race, wealth, and privilege, gentrification and land development and their impacts on communities of color, and the way women are frequently treated as hysterical or dramatic when we raise concerns about male predatory behavior. It doesn't hurt that I also live within a short distance of Hendrix and know, very well, the types of characters he writes about; their attitudes and actions are very familiar to me, and he writes what he knows very well. Understand--this book is supposed to be a fun horror novel and all of the things I just detailed are undercurrents in the story--it's not a book ABOUT feminist thought or ABOUT race specifically, as it's not supposed to be pedantic but rather enjoyable to read. That being said, I know there are reviewers out there who feel that Hendrix didn't tackle these social issues forcefully enough, or who felt that the story should have been told differently in light of these issues. I read the whole book and I'm not sure what these reviewers are talking about, so I would advise you, one reader to another--if you're thinking about reading this book but are worried, I would strongly recommend that you read it anyway and form your own opinions rather than deferring to negative reviews on Goodreads that don't offer much in the way of specific textual evidence to support what is likely just a personal aversion to the book. Read it, or don't, but don't just believe the first thing you see on Goodreads.

I enjoyed this story of Southern housewives and book club members fighting an evil in their community. I do wish the author hadn't relied on rape and sexual abuse to make the story compelling, but otherwise found it to be an engrossing read. My library will be purchasing a copy.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I really could've done without the sexism and racial undertones. But i enjoyed the so called vampire part of it. And how all the book club members took him down. There was a gross factor there, but that doesn't bother me. I would recommend this book but with a warning.

This wasn't my cup of tea. I tried to get into it, but I think Grady Hendrix is on a whole other level than I am ready for. I think it was the early 2000s trauma of vampire obsession that influenced my disengagement from the text. I'll try again in the future, but for now, I'll pass.

**Received an ARC via NetGalley from the publisher**

I'm not sure what else to say other than this was absolutely delightful. It's a new top fav for me. I love love loved it. It's a masterful mix of clever, serious, scary, and weird. It made me laugh, cringe, gasp, and cry.

It was my first Grady Hendrix book and it definitely won't be my last!

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in the creepy. If anything, this was entertaining. There were some good references to life in the South.

I wanted to love this book. It is full of some of my favorite things, the south, books, vampires. However I just didn't get all the way there for me.

Weird and wonderful! An excellent take on the vampire story. Recommended purchase for all general fiction collections.

I didn't think that I would like this book because of the title, but I did. I thought it was going to be silly, but it was actually a bit Stephen King-ish. Contains some gore, stupid husbands, and female empowerment. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I have a love-hate relationship with Grady Hendrix. He writes high concept, interesting books that are definitely popcorn reads. I always love them for most of the narrative because they're fun pastiches, but then he always seems to devolve into sexual violence against young women for shock value. It's something I wish we'd stop promoting in literature, and definitely affected the way I experienced the book.

This book simultaneously cracked me up and creeped me out. The women in the book club at nosy Nellies who come together to kick butt and save their families.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. I love all things vamps and supernatural, I just found it a bit dull. The last few chapters were definitely my favorite, but there wasn't enough slaying for me, honestly. .

Maybe it's a generation thing, but I would never let my husband treat me like any of these woman. I would never let a monster live among us because it was just easier to do. I do feel like the ending added some redemption to them, but I don't know. This was definitely missing the excitement I expected it to have reading some of the other reviews.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires was the southern vampire story that I never knew I needed. The book hooked me right away. I didn't know what was about to happen but I was eager to enjoy the journey. The book made my skin crawl at times. Grady Hendrix did not shy away from grotesque imagery and creepy crawly elements. Some of these characters made me want to scream, while others I was cheering on from the sidelines. Hendrix did a great job weaving fantastical elements with reality. This was a wild ride and I can't wait to see what else Hendrix comes up with!

Grady Hendrix does it again with his trademark humor. These southern ladies cracked me up! These proper southern ladies took on the likes of Helter Skelter, In Cold Blood and Anne Rule. I loved reading their book discussions. They could be so inciteful and innocent at the same time. And there were some great creepy scenes in the beginning, which really left you looking forward to what was coming. I was hooked!

But to be honest, if I could, I would give this book a 3.5 stars. Too much of this book, I felt was of nobody believing the main character....who just knew in her gut something was wrong. That's a huge pet peeve of mine. Maybe that doesn't bother other people, but it drives me crazy. A little big of that, sure. But if it goes on for too long...you've lost me! But as you can see I still really liked this book. I just wanted to love it so much. I'd still recommend it, cause I know it's just a beef I have. This book is highly imaginative! I have never seen anything like it! And I can't wait for more by Grady Handrix!

A book club slaying vampires? The excerpt that drew me in seemed humorous, so I went for it. It did not remain humorous. It was a little gory and gross in some parts but I could not put it down. The bored, conservative housewives in this small Carolina town unexpectedly find themselves having to step up. Patricia in particular must step out of her comfort zone and confront her peers and her husband in order to save her children from a horrific fate.
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