Damnit Grady! Why must you play with my emotions?!?
I am such a huge fan of Grady Hendrix, My Best Friend’s Exorcism being one of my favorite books of all time, so there was a lot of pressure on this book going in. Right off the bat it was a fun start: a group of southern housewives are SO BORED with their bland book club reads so they decide to start reading something a bit more exciting...true crime! I related to these women a lot in the sense that they had a passion and genuine love for true crime and all things morbid, they were constantly asking questions and analyzing and I loved them all. There was an unfortunate lull toward the middle and I kind of felt like nothing was happening for a good portion of the book, swaying my rating to 3 stars but once things picked up they didn’t stop! Hendrix definitely put his signature humor and gore into this one which I absolutely loved and he did not disappoint. This book made me laugh, made me PHYSICALLY cringe, got my eyes a little misty and I even added some books to my tbr because of the references! This is definitely something you guys should pick as soon as it’s released!
4 stars for me!

Thank you @quirkbooks and @jenmurfee for my free copy. Also, shoutout to the @night_worms for the best book party ever! #mybookclubslaysvampires #bookreview

THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES is pure gold. I have no idea how to explain Grady Hendrix’s writing style because it has a little bit of everything, with horror, humor, mystery, gore, and well developed characters. There’s a book club with a plethora of true crime. One of the characters’ names is Kitty. There is a vampire!!! And that’s just the beginning. I was laughing out loud within the first chapter.

Set in the late 80s early 90s, Patricia is married to a doctor, has kids, and she loves her family, but is bored out of her mind. Being a homemaker is a difficult but thankless job and Patricia rarely gets any stimulating adult conversation. She barely makes it to the neighborhood book club which ends up being a bore. Luckily, there are some cool ladies in the mix that suggest starting a true crime, not so book club, book club. I’m not going to go any further but things stay humorous, get unsettling, make you gasp, get gory, make you uncomfortable, and warm your heart.

I have read and LOVED every one of Hendrix’s books! Maybe it’s his nod to pop culture? I mean nobody writes the 80s and 90s era so well. Or maybe it’s because of his incredible talent to fuse horror and satire so perfectly? Could it be his well-developed characters that you swear you’ve made friends with? Or maybe, it’s because I can relate to his stories in some way and that he’s a damn clever writer? I say it’s all of the above. This is a bloody vampire horror story, but it’s also a sweet story about a group of Southern ladies that read true crime.

I love THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES with my whole heart. All there is left to say is READ IT. ★★★★★

I’m not sure what’s scarier in Grady Hendrix’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. On the one hand, the creature who terrorizes Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, is legitimately terrifying. On the other, the fact that no one listens to protagonist Patricia might be even more frightening. Vampires aren’t real, but disbelieving someone and gaslighting them absolutely exist. The ladies of the titular book club essentially have two evils to battle.

After a disastrous attempt to join a more rigorous book club that requires readers to do research on top of reading the book, Patricia joins a splinter book club that reads pretty much nothing but true crime in the early 1990s. The group become the first girl friends Patricia has had. Sadly, the group gets started near the same time that James Harris arrives in Mt. Pleasant. While the ladies read classic true crime, children start to go missing in the African American neighborhood of the town and Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor. I was not expecting the little old lady to bite Patricia’s earlobe clean off. This act of violence is just a warm-up for the terror that follows.

Patricia, possibly under the influence of all that true crime, starts to draw conclusions from some disturbing deaths, disappearances of children, and her mother-in-law’s insistence that James is the man that swindled her father back in the 1930s. It’s incredible. Worse, it’s unbelievable to everyone Patricia tries to tell about what she thinks. The husbands of the club members do their best to shut down everything Patricia says. It seems that James has become the men’s best friend and business partner.

After a three year jump in time, Patricia seems to have been tamed by Prozac and social pressure. I felt so much for her. Patricia only wants to do the right thing, but no one will listen to her. The tension starts to ratchet up as James becomes bolder in his acts of violence. I raced through the last third of the book because I just hand to know if Patricia would be able to save her children, if she would be able to get someone on her side, and if she would be able to face her fears to commit her own act of righteous violence.

The title and my experience with books featuring vampires and southern women had me expecting something lighter and fluffier. Instead, I got an electrically terrifying novel that was brilliantly written. The pacing is absolutely perfect and Hendrix’s characterization of women trapped by social conventions had me squirming. I am definitely going to recommend this book to my friends who like scary books.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
As a fan of My Best Friend’s Exorcism, I was excited to see that The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is set in the same world. Grady Hendrix does not disappoint! This isn’t a cozy, ladies who lunch book club pretending to be Buffy. Straight-up horror with intensely disturbing images and a high creep out factor.

Just read this. It is a fun and fast read. It is a wonderful and campy take set in the south. It is an enjoyable distraction from life, and you will find yourself wanting to talk about it when finished.
Highly recommended.

I look forward to Grady Hendrix's new material much like a long overdue vacation, or winning some ungodly sum of money -- a lot, to say the least! His work continues to get better and better with each release, and that has to be a difficult feat, as it's so damn good already! This had moments where I felt a Jack Ketchum "Girl Next Door" vibe, of the real horrors that go on behind closed doors in polite society. Also, much like Jonathan Janz in "Dust Devils" and Glenn Rolfe in the forthcoming, "Until Summer Comes Around" gives readers a refreshing, original, atypical take on a classic monster. At times funny, and at others, downright scary & stressful, this will be in my "best of" list for 2020.

Beginning with a normal description of the affluent life of a bored southern housewife. Just before you think it is another dysfunctional family story, Patricia Campbell one of our five book club members and main character, is attacked by an elderly neighbor while putting out the garbage one night.. The elderly neighbor is put in the hospital as is Patricia. Then a handsome relative of the neighbor (James Harris) comes to stay at the house and help out. Patricia being the lovely southern lady she is feels she should take over a casserole and help out if possible. Patricia befriends James Harris and the book is kicked up to a higher speed.
My favorite Grady Hendrix book so fa. It not only has some surprises but also looks back to some of the classic vampire stories. Patricia Campbell the main character was very real to me as well as the book club she was in. The southern charm of the ladies in the book club rang true if not also a bit funny at times.

dang i don't even know what to say. of the ones i've read (Horrorstor is on hold at the library), i have yet to be disappointed by a grady hendrix novel. even when i can't stand the male characters so much i want to claw my eyes out. even when i get so frustrated with the events i feel hopeless and have no idea how the protagonists are going to get out of this. it's obviously because i care, and he's so good about making me care.

hendrix books all have a tongue-in-cheek, retro vibe that doesn't disrespect or mock the characters or their situation. his books are fun with alternating dark and touching moments. this one is no exception. loved it.

I've been a Grady Hendrix fan since Horrorstör, and I really enjoyed this new horror adventure. The story takes place in Charleston, SC in the 1990s, and centers around a housewife who suspects her charismatic new neighbor has caused the deaths of several children in the area. If you like a classic good versus evil story with some southern colloquialisms and female liberation thrown in, this is the book for you. My only complaint about this book is that it sometimes feels a little too similar to Hendrix's 2016 novel My Best Friend's Exorcism. Both focus heavily on female friendships; both are set in South Carolina in the late 20th century; both pit a female hero against a supernatural antagonist. It's still a really fun and suspenseful thriller, even if it does induce some déjà vu. I can't wait to see what Hendrix brings to the horror-genre next.

The first fiction entry in this list, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires sees a group of ’90s housewives pitted against an evil far more terrifying and insidious than anything they have read about in their monthly book club. Trigger warnings apply for rape, domestic abuse, drug abuse, and suicide.

Patricia is a wife and mother living in ’90s suburbia with a distant husband, increasingly sullen children, and the unwelcome responsibility of caring for her aging mother-in-law. She and her friends are all members of their local book club, which focuses on true crime and horror novels. When a new neighbor, James Harris, moves in, Patricia initially extends traditional southern hospitality, but she quickly grows suspicious of his motives as bizarre occurrences begin to happen and children in a nearby poor, black community start to disappear. When Patricia witnesses James attacking a young girl, she has to speak out, but her fears are laughed away by the men of the community who believe they know what’s best and she is quickly dismissed as mad. Eventually, Patricia must decide whether to stay silent and allow evil to flourish or speak out and risk everything.

In the introduction to this book, author Grady Hendrix states that he “wanted to pit a man freed from all responsibilities but his appetites against women whose lives are shaped by their endless responsibilities. [He] wanted to pit Dracula against [his] mom.” That idea of men having freedom while women are tied down is nothing new. How often have we seen the trope of the husband returning home to immediately crash onto the couch with a beer and the TV on while his wife runs around making dinner, cleaning up, and helping with homework? Here, though, it becomes something even more sinister as James leverages his freedom, and that of the men around him, to his advantage, knowing that the women who have figured out his secret are trapped by social niceties and a desperate desire not to rock the boat and risk their families and their social standing. In the end, though, it ends up being those very restrictions and their skills as “good wives and mothers” that help the women fight back.

Housewives are rarely the focus of books like this, seen as having too many responsibilities to spend our days fighting evil or having adventures, so it’s refreshing—if terrifying—to read a book where I strongly recognised myself as I am today in the main character. That being said, this was one of the hardest books I have read in a long time, to the extent that I had to ban myself from reading it before bed. Not only were the horror scenes truly horrific (anyone with a fear of rats may want to skip this one) but the reaction of the husbands was infuriating in their smug dismissal of their silly wives and their overactive imaginations, and I frequently found myself wanting to scream for reasons other than fear.

Grady Hendrix is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors, and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is another excellent example of his unique and disturbing take on the world.

There were some moments early on when I thought that this would be the prefect mix of humor and horror (a <i>Jude the Obscure</i> joke was the clue) but then, well... it didn't quite live up to that promise. It's not even really Southern Gothic horror, and it's not quite a vampire slaying group, although it does try to do both. The book group that Kitty. Patty, Grace, Maryellen and Slick form is tight knit and supportive, while their husbands are sexists Southerners who embrace golf and the Citadel, and a man's word and honor are paramount. Of course the newbie in the neighborhood , James, is going to help create even tighter bonds between the women and tighter bonds between the men... but you just know that something isn't Quite Right. There are also race issues, with the Book Club trying to help Patty do something about the black children disappearing from her cleaner's neighborhood and, well, it doesn't quite go the way it's supposed to.

The characters are very much people of their time (the 1980s) so attitudes and responses reflect that era. Anyone wanting different, more modern, versions, will be disappointed.

eARC provided by publisher.

*Disclaimer: I want to first start off this review with a huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher of Grady's dark comedy/vampire book, Quirk Books for an advanced readers copy for my honest review.*

Patricia Campbell is the typical, 39 year old bored, southern housewife who wishes she had it better, and better teenaged kids who appreciated her more. She is also a member of a group of southern women's local book club, who are obsessed with Ted Bundy, Ann Rule, true crime and suspense. When an elderly neighbor man dies suddenly and his extremely handsome grand nephew comes into town to take care of the funeral and his death, the book club becomes obsessed with him, James Harris.

Knowing beforehand of going into this book, I expected it to be quite a dark comedy and horror filled novel in the same vein of Hendrix's "Best Friends Exorcism" ( which I loved by the way!) but it wasn't. This almost could be called a sequel to that book being about the Parents of the teens from that first one, and what happens to them this time around. I have never been a great big fan of mixing horror with comedy, but I had high hopes for this one and it never took off for me. The horror aspects didnt even really get going until almost 45 percent into the book, and I was wondering if it was going to pick up speed....it didnt. Now I'm not saying I would not recommend this 100 percent to those who love their horror and love for vampires mixed with spoiled, gossipy and nosey rich people, because that is where Hendrix shines as an incredible author, that is just not my style, and I am not saying that this does not have horror in it, it has some creepy and very graphic depictions of blood and guts. There is one great scene where the 'mysterious stranger that comes into town' is on the roof of the house in the middle of the night that was very well imagined, and i actually felt like i was in there with Patricia and her girlfriends. With me living here in Sacramento CA I loved the parts of the women talking about their obsessions with serial killers and blood draining crazies such as The Sacramento Vampire of the 80's and even Ted Bundy, which was right from my own neighborhood where I grew up in Tacoma Washington! Hendrix had this nailed dead center in the bullseye of the true horrors of LIFE.

When I pick up a horror novel, even if it is mixed with satire and humor, the horror aspect has to take over the comedy and leave me with the feeling of unease and fear. I love to be scared and left with a reading experience that makes me think about who really lives next door to me, and what is lying dead in their basements. Enjoy.

This book absolutely ruled and I can’t wait to sell it at my store. This book makes vampires scary again. I ripped through this super quickly, and it’s absolutely my favorite of Grady Hendrix’s books

I loved My Best Friend's Exorcism and We Sold Our Souls, which made me confident that I would also enjoy The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. But I was unprepared for just how much I would enjoy this book.! The book sucked me in right away, and I had trouble putting it down. I could easily have finished it in two days if I hadn't had to do things like sleep and go to work.

The book is set in the mid-1990s, when I was in high school, and populated by a group of southern housewives who are about the same age I am now, so I appreciated little details like the clothes the characters wore and some of the material things they were concerned with. But I especially liked the invocation of the horror tropes of the day. When Patricia goes to the bookstore in search of vampire novels, her list of purchases reads like my summer reading list from that time period.

I really liked protagonist Patricia Campbell and her book club -- Grace, Slick, Maryellen, and Kitty. And I particularly like how they took the things they learned from reading true crime paperbacks and put them to good use against the stranger in town, James Harris.

While there is humor here, the book is also dark and disturbing. I was already a Hendrix fan, but this is definitely my new favorite Grady Hendrix book!

This is one of those most horrifying books I've read in a long time.

Yes, this book would be categorized as traditional horror--a Southern housewife pursues a vampire, after all, and--and the suspense and gore certainly fit within those parameters. But Hendrix also introduces domestic, social horror as well. The men are all (yes, ALL) irredeemably terrible and stupid, including the husbands and the villain himself, and the titular vampire preys on poor, Black neighborhoods because he knows he'll get away with it. I had to put this eARC down several times not because I was tired of it but because I wanted to scream at these men.

CW: rape, child abuse, domestic abuse, general gore

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I fell hard for Grady Hendrix after reading We Sold Our Souls, so when I heard he had another book coming out, I was interested. When I heard that book was set in the 1980s, I was very, very interested. When I heard that book was about proper Southern ladies fighting a vampire, I was OBSESSED.

(I have a thing for vampires.)

Patricia Campbell is your typical housewife, living in the suburbs of Charleston, SC. She cooks. She cleans. She drives carpool. She has a never-ending to-do list that keeps the lives of her husband and her two children running smoothly...all with little acknowledgement or appreciation.

She does have one thing for herself, though — her book club, where they read true crime novels and bond over the joy (and pain) of marriage and motherhood. They make each other laugh and hold each other as they cry.

So when she links the arrival of James Harris to a series of weirdly violent events and missing children, Patricia knows that she needs to stop him. And she needs her book club’s help.

They know he’s sucking the life from their hometown. He knows that they know, but he doesn’t care. Who would believe them?

In his author’s note Hendrix writes, “With this book I wanted to put a man freed from all responsibilities but his appetites against women whose lives are shaped by their endless responsibilities.”

This concept is a huge win for me! The evolution of these women from soccer moms into badass vampire killers was wonderful, especially Patricia. Hendrix shows the casual mistreatment and gaslighting that these women face (and overcome) in believable and relatable ways. He deftly shows how often good manners trap the women in uncomfortable, even dangerous situations. Patricia is a complex character who shows growth over the course of the book. The other characters are rather one-dimensional, standing in more as representations, but it works.

Hendrix’s style is a fun mix of pop culture, homage to old school horror, and satire. It’s a quick read and the writing is excellent. The essence of the 80s is well represented, with the book being described as “Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula.”

But this is no fluffy vampire romp. This is a gruesome, bloody, terrifying portrayal of a vampire slowly taking over and destroying everything these women love. And it’s also the story of the women standing up, slaying the monster, and saving themselves. Hallelujah!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Thank you to Grady Hendrix and Quirk Books for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for my review.

Grady Hendrix has become one of favorites! Hendrix's flare for nostalgia and unique stories make For a perfect combination. SBCGSV' is one of those books that you will remember and recommend often. Wish there was book club , not a book club like this in my area.

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

What scares you? Gory figures scuttling in the shadows? Cockroaches drilling in your ear? Losing your partner, your children, your sanity? That’s all here, and more, in Grady Hendrix’s Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
Patricia Campbell is an archetypical Southern housewife, both overwhelmed by her family’s demands and bored by her routine. Her guilty pleasure is meeting with her neighbors, also bored housewives, to discuss gruesome true crime books. Life in her well-manicured neighborhood turns sideways when she is attacked in her own yard. Everything spins out of control when she uncovers something horrifying about her new neighbor. Who can she turn to for help? Who are the real monsters?
If you’re looking for campy Southern belles sassing and staking their way through a cemetery, look elsewhere. Hendrix employs satire and a nostalgic nineties setting to ease the reader into a bleeding miasma of tribalism, racism, and vampire horror.

This review is based on an ARC, and appears on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3178745538

I stand by my initial assessment of this book on Goodreads: we don't deserve grady hendrix tbh.

I've been a fan of Grady Hendrix since reading <em>My Best Friend's Exorcism</em> for book club two years ago. His writing is engaging and accessible, and his ability to pull true horror out of absurd situations is unparalleled. In <em>The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires</em>, the themes are perfectly entertwined: the ennui of suburban motherhood, the feminine draw towards true crime, the systemic ignorance of predators in communities of color, and I'm sure a thousand things I've forgotten since I finished this book. Highly recommend, as with all of Grady Hendrix's books (I still haven't read <em>Paperbacks from Hell</em> but it's on my never-ending TBR list).

I love Grady Hendrix. Great book, turns the southern ladies and book club cliches on their heads. This book does it's own take on vampires and the effects they have on people.