This was just a fantastic experience. And yes, experience is the right word for it — how else to describe a novel that draws upon a deep well of nostalgia in regard to the horror movies of the 80s and 90s? I remembered each and every one of the references with glee — I couldn’t wait to find out which final girl belonged to which franchise. This was just so damn clever.

What a thrilling ride through this slasher-to-end-all-slashers where the Final Girls are put to the final test. I was constantly trying to figure out the reliability of narrator Lynette, the only Final Girl in the support group who didn't actually kill the killer (so she's not a true final girl). Unexpected twists abound and the killers always come back for final girls in this story which was easily visualized as a horror film in my head.

#TheFinalGirlSupportGroup #NetGalley

Something that always surprises me about Grady Hendrix books is just how well it captures the feeling of being in a movie theater watching a horror film. The Final Girl Support Group is no exception in how it draws on the slasher films like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and others. But what I have always loved about Grady Hendrix's books is that they take these horror movie settings and use them to really make the reader think about some of the greater themes going on.

In the case of The Final Girl Support Group, it really is a story about violence against women, about the obsession the media can have giving their trauma its fifteen minutes of fame, but not doing anything to really stop further pain, and about women having to worry about when the next terrible thing is going to happen to them. I do think it is one I would recommend with caution. By its subject matter and embrace of the slasher genre, it is a very violent book from start to finish. The violence really replicates what you would see from Jason, Freddy, or Michael Myers. However, it is also a book that does not hold back from discussing the trauma experienced by these "Final Girls" who have surivived these monsters and then had to deal with the aftermath. In that respect, quite a lot of this book was difficult to read for me as someone who was raised female and has many female friends who have experienced violence.

I was truly afraid for these characters from start to finish. I did not know who was going to make it out. I will say the tension does ease up around two-thirds of the way into the book in a similar way to the shift horror movies go through when our protagonists rally, stop running and start fighting. Despite it being a difficult read for me, I found it difficult to put down because I was invested in what was happening to these characters and needed to know what happened to them.

Ultimately, I think this is an excellent horror novel. If you are a fan of classic slashers from the 80s, you will likely love this book and all of the references layered in. If you like other works by Grady Hendrix, you will likely also enjoy this one. But, if you are not interested in that kind of a setting or if you have experienced or someone you love has experienced violent trauma, this might be one to skip. In many respects, the fear these women experience and the ways they cope after are well written to the point that they can hit a bit too close to home.

This had all the trademarks of a Grady Hendrix novel: smart, referential scares; interesting and dynamic groups of women; unflinching bouts of violence and gore; and, above all, a respect and enthusiasm for the history and emotions that underpin the genre. It's both humorous and incredibly dark, also a hallmark of his work, but the gross-out bloodfest elements of his other books are less present here. While titles like My Best Friend's Exorcism and The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires rely on the tropes and cues of 80's pulp horror, this book opts for a more straightforward send-up of the Final Girl, pulling thinly veiled references from the most famous slasher franchises to populate the support group. It's an unsettling and surprising book, and I think it's a half-step in a new direction for Hendrix, which is exciting to see as a huge fan of his other work.

Final girls are not just the sole survivors of mass killings: they are the heroines who brought them to a bloody halt. Final girls kill their would-be murderers, but only after their friends, their entire families, and everyone they love have been slaughtered. What is life like after enduring the trauma of saving yourself from a homicidal monster but not being able to save anyone else? How does a final girl move on? Dr. Carol's Final Girl Support Group is the therapeutic outlet six final girls desperately need to move forward with their lives after tragedy strikes for over a decade, and the members of the group become sisters in post-traumatic stress. But when one of the Final Girl Support Group is murdered in her home during group, agoraphobic final girl Lynette realizes a maniac is trying to pick her sisters off one by one and sets off aiming to singlehandedly save her and the other final girls' lives. Grady Hendrix brings all his usual twists and turns, and his commentary on true crime culture and serial killer obsessives is at the same time on point and darkly comical. Expect the unexpected in "The Final Girl Support Group" from start to finish.

As a huge fan of Grady Hendrix and his other books, I knew I was going to enjoy this book. What I wasn't counting on was the fact that I'd devour the entire thing in one night--or that I'd relate to the characters so much. The book is unflinching, funny, scary, and one of the best things I've read this year. I'm glad I'm not a Final Girl...but I do wish I could hang out with them.

This book is what I wanted Final Girls by Riley Sager to be. I enjoyed seeing the stand-ins for classic horror movie heroines teaming up. Hendrix created an interesting, tragic world in which surviving a serial killer doesn't just mean years of therapy and Lifetime movie deals, it means horror movie deals and, worst of all, real life sequels.

"In horror movies, the final girls are the ones left standing when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives...but what happens after?

Like his bestselling novel The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady Hendrix’s latest is a fast-paced, frightening, and wickedly humorous thriller. From chain saws to summer camp slayers, The Final Girl Support Group pays tribute to and slyly subverts our most popular horror films - movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream.

Lynette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre. For more than a decade, she’s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, working to put their lives back together. Then one woman misses a meeting, and their worst fears are realized - someone knows about the group and is determined to rip their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about final girls is that no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up."

I really wanted to read Grady Hendrix's first book but was waived off by many people I trust for it's white savior issues. I hope this one is issue free.

I picked this for request on a whim because if my love of all books Riley Sager. This one didn't disappoint, but didn't quite live up to Riley's books. I would still recommend it to customers looking for a new twist on classic thriller story.

Another gem from Grady Hendrix - and Berkley! A recommended first purchase for all public fiction collections.

Lynette is a final girl. Having been the last survivor in a killing spree as a teenager, as an adult, she and other survivors have formed a support group to fight the trauma that has plagued them. When one their members ends up dead, Lynette suspects that someone is out to get them all, but no one else believes her. Lynette has become unstable over the years and in order to make it out alive, she'll have to depend on herself and her friends.

This book was a wild ride. I love following Lynette as a main character since she seems both unreliable but also likable. This book really kept me on the edge of my seat. I have read a lot of thrillers before, and there were twists and turns in this book I really didn't see coming. I loved how I started to doubt Lynette and then root for her and then doubt again all in the same chapter. Hendrix did a great job of both parodying and paying homage to the 1980's slasher film. This was a great read that I cannot wait to recommend.

A classic slasher horror homage featuring a twisty whodunit thrill ride and literally all the easter eggs. While Hendrix's use of 1970s and '80s slasher films served as a way into the plot, I got caught up in the minutia trying to figure out which movies he was referencing. Horror lovers will enjoy the nods to classics of the genre, but thrill-seekers may be bored by the backstory. (But I will say that I did not guess the ending!)

It’s not often I find myself thinking a book would probably be better as a movie, but here we are.

Grady Hendrix’s latest novel, The Final Girl Support Group, takes a cheeky look at the last girls alive at the end of slasher flicks. The central premise being, what if Sally from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Nancy from “Nightmare on Elm Street” and a handful of other final girls got together regularly for group therapy?

Brilliant idea! Okay-ish execution.

While Hendrix’s characters are inspired by cinematic scream queens, they’re his own creations. Here Sally is Marilyn from Panhandle Meathook and Nancy is Heather from Deadly Dreams. Discerning readers will note that Hendrix’s girls are named after the actors that portrayed their movie counterparts. Marilyn Burns played Sally in Texas Chainsaw, for example.

Confused yet? I definitely was at first. It took me awhile to understand the world Hendrix was trying to create, and I honestly still couldn’t tell the characters apart by the end. Their names were a giant blur of multiple syllables, so if they were up on the big screen with actual faces I would have had an easier time.

Now let’s talk genre. The Final Girl Support Group is clearly being marketed and shelved as horror, though that doesn’t feel quite right to me since I was never the least bit frightened. The jump scares that are so important to slasher movies didn’t translate to the page.

I did enjoy the L.A. setting, plus I do appreciate that this author has built himself a unique niche of horror-inspired thrillers. And the final scene for his final girls? It’s pretty darn killer.

This campy homage to the best of 80s and 90s slasher films is an absolute blast!
It's been years since the final girls who inspired some of the genres most famous horror franchises faced off against their attackers, but those blood filled nights still haunt their every waking hour. Not even group therapy seems to help- especially when it appears that someone has discovered that the famous survivors have been meeting together for secret sessions, and decided it's time to end them, one by one. Who will be the last one standing? Like any good bloodfest, you'll be left guessing until the grand finale!

An excellent nod to all the old slasher movies. The book is a bit crazy, unreliable narrator, which makes it a lot of fun, except for the few parts that it gets to be a little too much.

It was a very enjoyable and quick read, but the road trip then final confrontation went a bit too long. I drifted off from the book a couple of times during those parts. I think part of it was that I didn't really like Lynnette. I did really enjoy the other women in the group and how different they were, how they dealt with what had happened to them so differently.

Overall, it's a worthwhile read. I enjoyed the author's My Best Friend's Exorcism more, but I'm still happy I read this.

Huge thanks to Berkley for making my dreams come true with an ARC of this highly anticipated release!

I am a sucker for any book, movie, or TV show featuring the final girls trope. The Final Girls Support Group is the ultimate homage in my opinion because we rarely get to explore what happens to the final girls when the machetes and chainsaws stop on the screen/page.

Lynette Tarkington is part of a support group for other final girls. Every day of her life for the last twenty two years has been a preparation for the day her monster comes back for her. When one of the other women in the group misses a meeting, Lynette's worst fear comes true as someone comes for the final girls one by one.

The rest of the book is a wild ride as Lynette races to save the other women and herself. I will admit the journey is a bit unbelievable at times, but any slasher-horror fan knows that is exactly what the genre is 99% of the time! The book plays out exactly like a slasher movie, so definitely steer clear if you are squeamish!

My only problems with the book were distinguishing between characters and the killer is essentially spoiled from the first page. You don't really get to know the final girls long before the action starts, so I would forget which final girl survived which massacre, but it didn't really affect my enjoyment of the book. I was really disappointed that the ending wasn't a surprise because it really cut down on the suspense and shock of the final reveal. Skip the first page with the Reddit thread if you want to be more surprised by the ending.

Review will be shared to more platforms closer to the pub date.

The neurotic self-talk is simply too much and makes this way too long. It makes me remember why I hate Nightmare on Elm Street so much. I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone other that teenage girls and boys read this thing.

I love Grady Hendrix. He might be my favorite author right now. This book was an absolute trip and I loved almost every second of it. I adored the badass group of final girls and couldn't wait to see who would be left standing. I can't wait to see what he writes next!

Grady Hendrix has quickly become a favorite author of mine. His unique and quirky writing style always manages to pull me in. This particular book, took me awhile to get into however. But once it grabbed me, I couldn’t stop reading until I finished.

A deliciously thrilling page-turner filled with heart pounding twists and turns that will sure keep you entertained. A group of 'final girls', all sole survivors of different massacres, have been attending a support group run by Dr. Carol Eliott for guidance in needing to heal and overcome their trauma. When one woman misses a meeting, their nightmare comes true. Someone knows about the group and is coming after them.

The narration is done in the perspective of Lynne Tarkington and I truly enjoyed the unreliable and unlikable characterization. She is definitely paranoid and very flawed. A complex character that you can't help to despise, empathize with and root for her survival. We are able to witness Lynette's growth through her series of introspection. Each of the "final girl" were created with their own distinctive voices and colors with exploration in different ways each woman experienced and dealt with trauma. Filled with over the top scenes done with purpose that is darkly humorous. "The Final Girl Support Group" is addictive, gruesome and full of tension that will impress readers of horror fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.