Sometimes you read a book where the premise is so good and the follow-through is so not and you feel so disappointed. And then sometimes you read a book where the premise is so good and the follow-through is even better and you fall in love with reading all over again. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix is the latter. This is the second book I've read by Hendrix and while I liked My Best Friend's Exorcism and it technically exists in the same universe, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires hit so many more of my bookish pleasure points.

This book is scary, twisty, weirdly sexy, and so good. There's a nice dose of social commentary mixed in with incredibly written horror. By giving the reader more information than the characters have at certain points in the story, Hendrix creates a narrative arc that is almost impossible to put down. You can't help but root for Patricia and her book club friends to kick vampire ass while also showing their ungrateful families what's up. I've consumed a lot of vampire pop culture and Hendrix knocks this one out of the park. I should also note a cw for sexual violence among other more typical horror tropes.

Recommended for readers who want to read a book that doesn't hedge its bets. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires goes there and doesn't apologize one bit.

Fun read, good character development. Set in Charleston SC/Mt Pleasant made it even better for me as I know the area very well. Southern mamas always protect their kids, even from evil.

This was my first book by Grady Hendrix, and I LOVED it! I loved Patricia and the girls! Horror meets the south, what's not to love?? Add in some comedy, and you're all set! Please read this book!

Grady Hendrix has a way of taking a tried and true trope of the genre and adding something new to it. His "mom vs Dracula" book has both laugh out loud moments and passages that wash you with dread.

Overall I've been an enthusiastic reader of Grady Hendrix. Except for We Sold Our Souls (which, I don't know - for some reason I just didn't connect with) I've thoroughly enjoyed each of his books, and I really liked this one. I bought into the plot and setting right away, and found the book genuinely creepy. Highly recommended!

This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year. Think Dracula meets Steel Magnolias . Patricia Campbell has given up her career as a nurse to marry a Dr. she has two children but the most excitement she has is her book club where she and her friends relish reading tru crime . Then a new man comes to town and strange things begin to happen . This novel starts as a little of a light hearted story about a book club in the south but turns into a creepy unsettling horror story . You will become quite attached to the women in this group and loathe to leave them as you turn the last page

I gave up this book at 40% which was a shame as I've enjoyed a number of his other titles. In the end I tired of this group of very boring appearance driven, late 1980s, American housewives very quickly. It lacked the charm of some of his other works and it failed to catch my interest.

This was such a good, creepy, unsettling, and at times humorous book. I was riveted start to finish.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I am a fan of Grady Hendrix, I first found him through Paperbacks From Hell and then My Best Friend's Exorcism, both great books that I couldn't put down, so as soon as I saw this book on here, I wanted to read it, especially since it was about slaying vampires. I love that he ties in true crime books for the ladies book club and once a strange new man comes to town, who sleeps during the day, and has special tinted windows for his van, things start a changin' as they say. When children start disappearing and dying, one woman starts to notice, but does she, or is she just crazy like everyone, especially her husband and the other men seem to think she is, after all, the new guy is "just great" Another great read from Grady Hendrix that I couldn't put down.

I fell into this one with it’s sense of nostalgia and often it’s out and out horror – Grady Hendrix is a brilliantly dark and dastardly writer who lulls you into a false sense of security then BAM hits you with moments that make you clutch at your head, grimacing wildly but unable to look away.

The ladies of this book club are a vibrantly eclectic lot, whose lives follow the path of least resistance in often hilariously insightful ways. They read about the darkest crimes whilst vacuuming their curtains, then one day real danger arrives in the form of the enigmatically attractive James Harris.

This novel has all the horror layers you would hope for, whilst attaching you to the protagonists with a fairly unshakeable bond. It is a crazily relevant vampire tale, in this case with no Van Helsing waiting in the wings, just Korey and Blue’s Mom Patricia…

It really isn’t going to be a fair fight.

Brilliantly observant, cleverly written and intensely addictive, The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires is a razor sharp, absorbing and randomly terrifying novel that has the side effect of increasing your to be read piles exponentially.

I loved it. Highly Recommended.

A wonderful slice of southern charm, wrapped up in a familial horror story. One of my favourite books this year. Simply breathtaking. Read this book .

this was a perfect halloween read! I loved every page of this book, which imagines a group of housewives tasked with an immortal being moving into their neighborhood. A horror novel that actually addresses race, sexism, and is truly horrifying? Sign. Me. Up. The cover makes it seem kind of lighthearted but that is definitely not the case, as Grady Hendrix's book would definitely be rated R if it was a movie. Not for the faint of heart, but in the best way. Going to read the author's other works soon!