Despite not traditionally being a horror reader, the blurb of this intrigued me so much, I simply had to pick it up and I am so glad I did!

I really enjoyed the setting - it made the book so atmospheric. I could practically feel the oppressive Charleston summer in my garden, on a rather chilly spring day, in England. This is certainly a slow-burn horror novel, the discomfort and unease building gradually until the climax.

Aside from Mrs. Green, there wasn't really a single character in this book that I truly liked, yet that didn't dampen my enjoyment of the novel. While it's an extremely fun read, with wonderfully dark comic moments throughout, it is also very political. Hendrix holds a mirror up to society, exploring sexism and racism, leading the reader to not only be appalled by the state of society in the not too distant past but also to question how far we've come since then.

I think that Hendrix is more successful in his infuriating depiction of sexism than in his exploration of the casual and systematic racism of the era - it felt a little clumsy and lacking. However, I am glad he did address it, rather than skating over it entirely.

Overall, this was a page-turner with deeper meaning - I read it mostly in a day and that's always a great sign. I will be posting a more in depth review on www.thewilloughbybookclub.co.uk/blog.

What an incredible take on Dracula! The rare vampire story where the vampire is not entirely an allegory for the threatening nature of sex and middle-aged mothers are the protagonists, I enjoyed this greatly.

I loved that the author made the sexism and gaslighting even scarier than the vampire! Scenes with the vampire attacking were genuinely scary and written well. I'd give it 3.5 stars - I think I just wanted to care about the characters a bit more, but they all felt a bit flat to me. It was also frustrating to see the main character wait 3 years to be taken seriously (although I understand this was part of the sexism of the town).

This was exactly what I was expecting when picking up horror. But the friends who recommended it to me mentioned the words “laughing” and “humor” in relation to this book, and I just didn’t get any of either.

What I did get read like a really odd twist on the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series – and I know that sounds insane. But really, we have a tight-knit Southern community where an unattached but charismatic man turns up, moves in, can’t manage sunlight and has been around a LOT longer than anyone thinks. Admittedly, when James Harris moves into this neighborhood, he makes Bill the Vampire seem like a big, ole pussycat. Because Bill doesn’t come to Bon Temps to prey on the locals, while James Harris has that plan in mind from the very beginning – and he’s ruthless in carrying it out.

But the story isn’t the monster’s story. Instead, it’s the story of the group of suburban women who band together, first to read true crime and murder mysteries, and then to deal with the unreal but absolutely true crime that has invaded their very own little town.

The portrayal of the women’s friendships, through all their ups and downs, was the real highlight of the story. But the way that they not only turn on each other, but turn on their own very selves, was a big part of the sadness. None of their husband’s are remotely worthy of them, as they prove over the course of the story.

They have all caged themselves, and it takes a monster, and a monster’s rampage, to finally get them to set themselves free. They’ve spent their lives cleaning up men’s messes, after all, and they are damn good at it. Which is a good thing, because this monster left one big damn mess.

Escape Rating C: Most readers seem to have loved this book. Certainly all the people who recommended it to me did. And I really did need to read it for reasons that I can’t get into. And I did finish and the ending was compelling. Getting to that point was less so, at least for this reader.

Part of the reason that I didn’t enjoy this book is that it reminded me of all the reasons I don’t normally read horror. It was gruesome and terrible things were happening and nobody wants to believe the book club members and no one wants to pay attention to what’s going wrong.

But it felt like all of the reasons that no one wanted to pay attention had to do with the women themselves. They were all small and narrow and put upon and put down and disregarded in their own lives. They didn’t pay attention to themselves or each other and no one else did either. They were dismissed at every turn, not just by society as a whole, but by their husbands and children. They didn’t believe each other and they didn’t believe in themselves.

Also, this is supposed to be a satire of suburban life in the 90s, but to me it felt flat. Probably because this just didn’t read like the 90s. During the 90s, I was in my late 30s, so relatively close in age to the members of the book club, but I was divorced, childfree and working. I worked in a female dominated profession, so ALL the women I knew worked. Many had stepped out when their kids were very young, but had returned to work at some point when their kids got a bit older, as the children of these women already had. It was difficult if not impossible to maintain a suburban life with multiple children without both spouses working. So for this reader their lives were small, sad and unrealistic and that colored my opinion of the whole book. Your experience of that time period may certainly vary, and your reaction may be entirely different. If this had been set in the 1960s or earlier I would have had a different reaction. I would have still felt the sadness and smallness, but it would have fit better into the times.

I did like, well, not the villain, you’re not supposed to like the villain, but that the monster didn’t exactly fit into any preconceived versions of monster. He’s referred to as a vampire, but it felt more in the sense that some people are emotional vampires sucking the life out of everyone around them. Not that he didn’t suck blood, but he also put it back. It’s complicated. But he didn’t just take blood, he took everything. He was a force of eternal hunger, always wanting more, always taking advantage, always leaving destruction in his wake. And we never do discover how he came to be. Or whether or not he actually came to end.

So that part was cool. But he also represented the way that the men in these women’s lives had also sucked them dry and left devastation in their wakes, and that leads me back to sad, and a bit disappointed. Your reading mileage may definitely vary.

Fun read, especially for those in book clubs. I’ve been a member of an amazing book club for over ten years, and could totally envision us as vampire slayers. As with all of Hendrix’s books, there’s a sly sense of humor at play and he does a good job of reimaging the standard vampire tropes. I did have a little bit of a challenge relating to the main protagonist, and therefore may not have been as engaged as I could have been. Her lifestyle and personality were so very different from my own that I just couldn’t fully connect.

Thanks to Quirk Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

This was a fun book which reads a little like The Lost Boys meets Book Club. A young mother helps create a quirky little book club that likes to read true crime books in a rather southern traditional community. The author quickly establishes that the members of the book club watches out for each other but that is thrown into a bit of disarray when a young man enters the equation who is a vampire. Can this book club destroy an immortal being before they lose their community.

I really think that Grady Hendrix has taken the horror genre in the most excellent direction. Between "Horrorstor," "My Best Friend's Exorcist," and now "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires," I am hooked! This is a book that is serious but doesn't take itself too seriously, if that makes sense. There is such an excellent balance between horror, camp, and humor in this book (and all of Hendrix books), that makes it accessible to all types of readers. Also, the writing is so engaging, the characters are well developed, and the pacing is absolute perfection, that it's easy to recognize this book as not only entertaining, but also incredibly well-written.

I definitely think this will be popular and will be flying off library shelves. It's also excellent for reader's advisory and those looking to dip their toes in the horror genre.

Easily Grady’s best work to date. I loved how the “super hero” of this story are the everyday mothers we know and love, not the hero you’d expect.

Thanks to #Netgalley for the opportunity to read this for the exchange of an honest review. To me, this felt like Desperate Housewives with a horror twist. I didn’t particularly love the writing but the story and characters kept me reading and on edge until the very end!

Back in 2014 I shared a review of Horrorstör, a brilliantly unique and cleverly designed title from Grady Hendrix, so when I saw this new release pop up on Netgalley I was intrigued to find out more. This title has been hugely popular since it's release last month, with an average Goodreads rating of over 4 stars, and plenty of positive reviews. I'm not usually one to pick up vampire novels so I wasn't quite sure what to expect but based on what I had heard I knew it would have some gory moments.

Set in the 90's this novel follows Patricia Campbell, a housewife who gave up her career as a nurse to settle down and start a family. With her husband always busy with work and her teenage children wanting her to stay out of their business, Patricia's life just isn't quite going as planned. She spends her time looking after her family and attending social events with her neighbours, including a book club with several other women. While this might seem pretty normal, this is not your average suburban book club as secretly the small group of women get together regularly to discuss their shared love of true crime. Little do they know, some of the things found between the pages of the books they've read together may just come in handy in real life someday.

After a very unusual and disturbing incident, Patricia meets a newcomer to town named James Harris, who says he is a relation of a local lady that has recently passed away. James claims to have a medical condition due to something that happened during his childhood causing a serious issue with his eyes that means he has trouble going out in the sun. Soon he has an overly-polite Patricia roped into helping him out with chores and even inviting him for dinner with her family.

Patricia's mother-in-law, who is staying with the family as she can no longer live alone, has a lot to say about the new addition to town but they quickly dismiss her thinking that she simply has him confused with someone else. Of course, as time passes and more disturbing events occur in the local area, including kids going missing on the other side of town, Patricia with the help of a whole bunch of vampire novels, starts to piece together various information that suggests not only may James not be who he seems, but that he may not even be human.

The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires is a tricky one for me to review as whilst I found the concept interesting and there were parts I liked, there were also parts that I didn't really enjoy. Right from the prologue the book really draws you in and is an intense ride but it does get pretty gory and dark rather early on and there were scenes that I found uncomfortable to read, so if that's not your thing this probably isn't the book for you. I feel that I should also mention the book includes themes of abuse and sexual assault.

Overall, the book got off to an intriguing start and the way the story played out was definitely disturbing, living up to its horror genre. Unfortunately I didn't really feel much of a connection to any of the characters which I think took away somewhat from my enjoyment. However, I loved the book club element and the fact that I wasn't ever 100% sure how things would play out definitely kept me on my toes!

It has been a very long time since I’ve been so wholly consumed and whisked away by a narrative. Lack of time be damned, this book demanded attention. Like being baptized in the middle of a river, a river that is swollen and raging after the storm of the century, that defines my first Grady Hendrix reading experience pretty well. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.

Evil arriving in a quaint small town is a horror staple but a classic for a reason, it’s like going home again. And yeah, while the title tells you a lot of what you need to know or can expect about this story, it’s the execution that kills it, sells it. From the wonderfully dimensional cast of (mostly) horrible characters, to the subtle peppering and not so subtle bludgeoning of the predatory gore, with the feeling of isolation and gaslighting that seeps from the page to infect you, the reader. It all blends and makes for a wonderful reading experience, a Near Dark meets Steel Magnolias type read.

I’m ashamed to say that this is my first Hendrix read, but I tell you this, it most definitely won’t be my last.

This was a delight— a dark, gory, sarcastic, nihilistic delight. Highly recommended for those who can stomach horror and want a unique take on vampires.

Patricia is an ordinary unhappy housewife who works herself to the bone to take care of her family. Patricia's husband is entirely focused on his career. Her children are ungrateful snits. When a strange man moves into the neighborhood and bizarre events occur, Patricia's book club of fellow housewives (who mostly read true crime) is the only place she can turn to for help...

This was an insightful, hilarious, dark read, and I really liked it. It's debatable if the most horrific part is the vampire or the dark and accurate take about unpaid physical and emotional labor from women. Vampires might be serial murderers, but only the patriarchy can kill your soul.

3.5 Stars!

Liked:
• Theme- Steel Magnolias meet Dracula- such a unique and fun idea
• Lots of quirky characters and names
• Small-town life where everyone knows everyone
• Nolgastic feel- 90’s pop culture/ books/ no cell phones

Disliked:
• None of the characters are very likable
• Too long- this book is over 400 pages, the same story could have been told in less
• Slow moving- I found myself skimming through a lot paragraphs
• Disturbing scenes involving rats/spiders/cockroaches, etc.
• Felt 1950’s more than 1990’s

Interesting idea, but wasn’t as amazing as I expected. The ending fight with James fell short in my opinion. I couldn’t believe after everything Korey went through, Patricia let James feed off her as well. And I’m not convinced James is truly dead- could lead to another book? I did like how the women found their strength and each brought something special to the group.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC.

During these strange, strange times, the last place I expected to find relief was an extremely graphic book about housewives fighting a vampire, but here we are.

Grady Hendrix's newest novel, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, is a fast-paced and gory tale that centers around Patricia Campbell and her circle of Southern housewife friends joined by their love of risqué books. Each month, their book club alternates between true crime stories such as Helter Skelter and The Stranger Beside Me and steamy romance novels like The Bridges of Madison County. The chosen book topics aren't something the women's husbands approve of, and when book club member Patricia feels something is amiss after being attacked by an elderly neighbor, the R-rated content is the root of the blame.

The real change in their small South Carolina town, however, is the appearance of James Harris, the elderly neighbor's nephew who is allergic to the sun, handsome and charismatic, and doesn't seem to have any ties to anyone or anything except his aunt who passes away shortly after he comes to town.

In 2016, Hendrix released another horror novel, My Best Friend's Exorcism about two teenage girls living in Charleston, South Carolina during 1988. It's the height of the Satanic Panic and is written from the teenagers' point-of-view as they become convinced that one of them is possessed by Satan. Set around the same time, Hendrix says that The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is not a sequel to My Best Friend's Exorcism but a similar version of the story from a parent's point-of-view, taking place in the same neighborhood.

While I thought the hardest parts to read would be the violent parts — I read reviews talking about how explicit some of the content is (and that holds true) — it was the underlying current of racism and privilege that was even harder to swallow. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires centers around rich, white housewives living in the south, and Hendrix portrays them as having a blatant disregard for the neighboring poor black community, who Harris knows to prey on first because of the no one cares if poor black children go missing.

If the book were an actual guide it would read: Ignore your instincts, listen to your husband, and don't take action until your family is gravely affected.

It was uncomfortable and hard to read the when women ignore the facts that are right in front of them, when they chose to look the other way because acknowledging what's going isn't proper, it's not what "good Southern women do." But that's real life — it was true in the '90s and even to this day — and that's what makes Hendrix's novel even better. The stories in the news that make us feel something, whether that be anger, discomfort, sadness, while also entertaining us are the ones that stay with us. The fiction stories that align closely with our climate, even when the main character is fighting a vampire, are the ones that resonate.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is one you will read and won’t soon forget.

Another good book by Grady Hendrix. I really enjoyed Horrorstor by him so I was excited to read this one. The book starts off really well and is actually pretty humorous. Towards the middle, it started to get bogged down a bit. I personally find it exhausting when books spend half of the story just trying to get the other characters to believe the main character about whatever is going on. That was probably the only thing that bothered me about the story, I just felt that it went on too long. Other than that, it was great and I enjoyed the book club characters and their friendships. It really portrayed small town life and families in an interesting way.

I'm not going to lie, there are some parts of this book that are genuinely hard to stomach. This is a STRESSFUL read. That being said, it has surprisingly funny moments and each well-written, thoroughly detailed chapter thrummed with rising anxiety. I was subconsciously clutching my necklace while reading.

I've had a copy since the ALA Midwinter meeting and an e-ARC through Netgalley, but needed to put it down to breathe through disgust and fear at different parts. I needed an awesome read-along/support group to push through and I'm very glad I did! The story has definitely stuck with me and I loved the author's note which ends with: "I wanted to pit Dracula against my mom. As you'll see, it isn't a fair fight."

I'm hovering between 3 and 4 stars for this book, because the writing is incredible... but it was much more upsetting than I was prepared for. Definitely look up the trigger warnings before getting into The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, because they cover a wide range including: gore, domestic violence, gaslighting, racism, classism, and more. Heavy stuff.

This was a good quarantine reading choice...total escape into horror lite...picture Desperate Housewives vs Vampire...yet another book I’d like to see Reese Witherspoon get her miniseries hands on...Patricia and her suburban Charleston book club start to become wary of the creepy new guy in town but their efforts at figuring out what his deal is are thwarted by their husbands...there are clear themes about sexism that could probably be pulled out and discussed at length but I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with it these days....but maybe post-covid, this would be a good book club choice...in the meantime, if you’re a True Blood fan or just enjoy a dabble in vampires, this is a good choice....

If you want a creepy and gory book about vampires, this is the perfect read for you. I was entertained and often found myself holding my breath in anticipation,

I did feel like other than Patricia and Mrs.Greene, the characters fell pretty flat and were annoying until the end. The book could have been 50-100 pages shorter as a particular plot point with the "no one believes the protagonist" dragged. It would have been a 4-star read if that hadn't been the case.

Another heart-warming and blood-curdling hit from Grady Hendrix! Again, I really like the way the women are portrayed... My only criticism is the names! What a wild selection of crazy names..

4.5 stars. I think this is technically the first horror book I’ve read. And I really enjoyed it. I was actually surprised when at a certain point of the book I was truly creeped out and scared for the characters. The suspense and tension was real! I’ve really only had that reaction to scary movies and I have to say it was just as exhilarating coming from a book!

I realize now that maybe I should’ve known it was horror since I knew from the description that it was a vampire story where the vampire wasn’t nice... or sparkly 😉. But right from the beginning of the book I loved Patricia’s voice. She wasn’t a hero or perfect. She was just getting life done. And she was funny. Which is why I was surprised when it started getting suspenseful and scary.

But it’s not just a horror book that’s kind of funny. There is a lot of social commentary here. I mean it’s told from the point of view of a southern housewife in the 90’s and there are definitely parts that will make you want to scream in frustration. But that’s what I want. I want books that make me feel. As long as it’s not feeling bored or annoyed at poor writing.

But a warning here, it is still a horror book. There are gruesome scenes and scenes the will make you uncomfortable. But it’s not needlessly gruesome, in my opinion. So if you aren’t comfortable with that then you probably will want to move along. If you can handle that stuff then I recommend this book.