I consider myself a Grady Hendrix fan and especially loved Horrorstor, My Best Friend's Exorcism. and the Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. Unfortunately, however, this one was a miss for me. I was totally on board for the overall concept as an homage to 80s and 90s teen horror movies, but the execution was poor. A meandering plot, not enough clarity in the writing, too many characters to remember their stories, and a level of absurdity that made the story not very enjoyable. I'll definitely stick with this author, but The Final Girls Support Group will not be a reread.

This copy was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

The final girl support group was a fun and thrilling twist on what happens to the surviving girls we see depicted in slasher movies. Like, the final girls from our classic, well known horror movies that even got their equally terrifying sequels, final girls who truly do need therapy.

While I think I enjoy Grady Hendrix's novels better as audio books, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I literally did not want to put it down. The end was fast, thrilling and bloody... and for once, I never saw the true villain coming. Besides the play on the classic survivor of the horror genre, there was an interesting dynamic as we learn more about our main protagonist and her not so 'final girl' status within the support group. Her paranoia permeates the story and has you on edge the entire time. I cried, laughed, held the book tighter and was disturbed by the horror each of the final girls faced on multiple occasions.

I recommend picking it up this spooky season and giving it a try. More thriller suspense than horror if that is what you are worried about.

You don't have to be into slasher films to enjoy this book, but it helps. I liked the development of all of the final girls in the support group. I liked the build up to finding out what happened to Lynette, as to why some didn't consider a true final girl. The end was fast paced and sufficiently worthy of a horror film.

I truly hate to do this because I loved the previous book, but this was kind of slow, making it hard to finish. There was not much action, like talking about horror movies does not make it a horror book. It fell flat for me and I was always waiting for more. This was definitely not for me.

Wow, did Grady Hendrix knock it out of the park again. I’ve only read The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, which I also loved, and definitely need to back to his previous books. I couldn’t read this one quickly enough. I was dying (pun intended) to get to the end. Lynette, the main character, is a final girl. Meaning she was the last girl standing at the end of slasher-movie type event, but a real-life one. Of course, they made movies about the girls and the horrors they lived through, but these survivors have found each other and attend a monthly support group.

From Goodreads: In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?

Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized–someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.

Don’t confuse this book with Final Girls by Riley Sager, which is just an okay book. They follow the same basic concept, but that’s about it. Lynette is a badass in this book. And she is jerked around by every other character in various ways, but she keeps standing to protect those around her. The other final girls have their own quirks, but all are survivors. One in particular, though, embraced the dark side, which was my favorite part of the book because of the creepiness. I thought this book was fantastic. It’s suspenseful, horrifying, and such a fun read.

Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. And I am sure this is really "it's not you, it's me" case.

In all honesty, the reason I picked up The Final Girl Support Group was the hype it was getting even before it's release, due to the author's popularity.
I usually love horror movies, slashers and gory are my jam, but here in this book... although I do appreciate the action... most of the time I felt lost.

From the very beginning something felt off. It was probably the writing style I just couldn't get into to save my life and the narrator and her craziness/paranoia didn't click with me either.
I am aware that anyone in her place would lose their sanity too.

There were also so many characters, so many final girls obviously based on already created final girls in cult horror movies we all seen or at least heard of, that it took me way much time to acknowledge them.

There was an aha-moment that surprised me in a good way, but that was it.

If I am being honest I just didn't care. I didn't care about the plot, I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care about the end, and I feel sorry I wasn't more invested.

It was clear to me around 15% that this book wasn't for me, but I wanted to finish it as I had an ARC.

After I finally pushed through it I couldn't believe it had only 352 pages. It felt like it was long as an eternity.

So my conclusion is, once again, that this book just wasn't for me and I don't think I will read more of Grady Hendrix' work.

Grady Hendrix’s first non-supernatural title was an interesting departure. Like many of his books, this book deals with themes of gaslighting, coping with ptsd, and trauma. Unlike his other books, those types of issues were brought to the forefront and it made me, well, kind of depressed. I like horror to be escapism and I didn’t get that from this book. Hendrix is one of my favorite authors full stop and I will absolutely continue to support his world. Just more ghosts and demons next time please!!

I have heard so many great things about Grady Hendrix books, so I wanted to pick this one up. I think I just don't like how he writes women. The main characters were all intolerable and the ending came out of nowhere and didn't fit in with the rest of the story. This book was full of tropes and none of the good ones.
I'll maybe try some of his other books, but this was a huge miss for me.

A group of massacre survivors gets together to discuss their lives. They are the only people some of them can trust. But what happens when you feel like maybe you can't even trust the people you considered your only confidants? This is a well-constructed thriller with twists and turns.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP BY GRADY HENDRIX?
When September rolls around, I just want to read all the books that give me spooky season vibes. Even though it is hotter than heck outside, September was a great time to pick up The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix. This book really hit on my need for a seasonal read even though some parts were pretty gory and kind of scary to be fair.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
What happens to the heroines of horror movies after the credits stop rolling? The Final Girl Support Group explores this question. Hendrix delves into the trope of final girl — attempting to give us an answer to that question. This book follows Lynette Tarkington who survived a massacre 20 plus years ago. Lynette attends group therapy comprised of various other final girls from different walks of life. While these women thought the horrors were over, turns out someone is targeting them. As it turns out though, you don’t get to be a final girl without also being a little bit of a bad ass.

WHAT DID I THINK OF THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP?
It has been such a long time since I have read a horror book aimed at adults and not YA. Suffice to say, this was actually a decent return to the genre for me. I know that after reading this book I definitely want to check out more by Grady Hendrix. This book felt unique and like an homage. Lynette is a very flawed main character — which actually ended up making her more interesting to me. I also enjoyed the dynamic between the various women in the group – messy as it was. Also? I had no idea who the killer was until the end.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of The Final Girl Support Group is 13 hours and 49 minutes long — nearly 14 hours. I listened with varying speeds between 1.5x and 2x. It took me about a week to get through this book off and on, which isn’t bad considering I have been slammed with meetings lately. The book is narrated by Adrienne King who does middle aged woman quite well. So, overall, the audiobook was a decent investment — especially for spooky season.

Another book by an author I enjoy. After reading this I kept hearing about the final girl and it made sense to me now what the meaning was. A good story that I enjoyed.

I could not put this book down. I loved the homage to the different Final Girls we have all known and loved. I especially loved how the book explores the PTSD someone who survives the horrors a Final Girl goes through. Lynnette Tarkington is damaged and beautiful and guilty and all the human things that makes us complex heroes in our own rights. Would 100 % recommend and order as part of the library collection.

This book just did not work for me. I was not really interested in the characters or their stories. It was not what I was expecting to read.

Not my favorite Grady Hendrix, but definitely enjoyable. This was very different from his other books I've read since the events that take place could happen in real life vs. his normal paranormal elements. I was expecting this to go a lot darker and a lot grosser, but still overall enjoyed it.

I read virtually zero horror titles (and watch very few horror movies), so I don't have much to compare this to, and I'm sure a lot of references went right over my head. Also, the humor in this book was a little more subtle than I was expecting. Despite those things, this was an entertaining read; I especially appreciated how unpredictable it was.

Grady Hendrix's latest is a clever homage to classic slasher films!

Someone is killing final girls, and it's up to Lynnette Tarkington to figure out who before she becomes a victim herself.

Each of the final girls in Hendrix's latest is based on a classic horror movie final girl. Each is feisty and strong--as they'd have to be to survive their respective ordeals. And of course Hendrix's signature snarky humor is laced throughout the story. It makes for a compelling and highly entertaining read perfect for fans of 80's and 90's slasher films!

This gave me Final Destination vibes hardcore but I feel like there were a few missed opportunities.

Lynnette Tarkington survived a massacre making her a real-life final girl. The experience left her paranoid and unable to trust others. The only people she does trust are the other women in her Final Girl Support Group who she has been meeting with every month. They bicker with each other and don’t really get along but the connection of the traumas they have experienced keep them together.

Things start to turn when one of the women misses group without explanation. Soon they find out the reason - she has been killed and Lynne immediately believes someone is after all of them. No one believes Lynne. They think she has lost it. But Lynne has prepared for this and she isn’t going down without a fight.

Is this a compelling story? Yes, absolutely. I couldn’t put it down. But have we heard this story before? Yes. If you are a fan of the old slasher movies such as Halloween, Scream, Friday the 13th, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Midnight on Elm Street then you have heard it all before. But do not let that deter you from reading this. Still think it was an enjoyable read!!

My favorite by Hendrix by far. I am absolutely obsessed with his writing, and this one is no different. I thought it couldn't get better than Southern Vampire, but I was wrong.

The similarities between this book and Stephen Graham Jones' MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW are not to be overlooked -- not in a bad way, but rather in a way that elevates both works and helps drive home what the authors are thinking about, what we all as readers should be thinking about. Namely: why is this trope a thing, why are we still drawn to it, how does it mess up the women who are a part of it (either literally or by existing in a society that fetishizes it). I think that Hendrix's book has some weak spots and I'm not entirely sure he gets all the way to where he wanted to go re: Lynnette-as-not-quite-final-girl and what that 'means' -- and there are some big leaps of faith, plot-logic-wise -- but the book reads like a pistol crack and the things the book provokes in a reader are well worth the price of admission. Interesting stuff, even for its flaws.

This was a solid concept, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Well written, full of twists and dark moments that just made my little horror brain happy. Well worth the read.