This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read, and I really enjoyed it! I loved all of the character backstories, and I really liked that I never knew what was going to happen next. The mixed media added between each chapter was also super fun. Recommended for anyone who loves a good slasher movie!

I loved this book SO much. As a long time horror movie lover, I loved the way this was written. I love that each final girl survived a monster modeled after the ones I grew up watching. The cast of characters were all so different, and I loved that they were stereotypical, yet different all at once. The female empowerment vibe was strong in this book...these girls are being hunted, but they're not going to go down without a fight. I loved that the twists kept coming through the entire book. Hendrix is such an amazing writer, and he's quickly becoming a favorite/autobuy.


This is honestly one of my favorite books of the year and will probably stay there. The writing was so fantastic, the characters grabbed my attention and never let go, and the story has stuck with me for weeks after reading. It felt like actually being in a horror movie. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have read this ahead of the publication date, even though I knew full well I was going to buy it anyway.

WOW

Grady really stole the show with this book in ways that make this horror head want to scream. Final Girls are one of my favorite horror troupes because slashers are my favorite Sub genre of horror and the fact that Hendrix was able to create a piece of fiction that celebrates the genre is wonderful

This book has it all from intense action to some visceral gore scenes and while I think this book could have been just a LITTLE BIT longer I think he created a cast of characters that moves and deeply explores the trauma of surviving.

This book feels different from his other works and I think just like the slasher sub-genre it may not enthuse all horror fans but it did for me

This book was so much fun! It was a great addition to the horror genre while also being a fun parody of slasher films. The strong, bold female characters were refreshing and page turning. Hendrix has a way of keeping your attention without you realizing it. This book read so quickly that it was almost too short.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, I absolutely adored this book, but it's necessary to make it very clear: This is not like most Grady Hendrix books. I've spoken to others that have read this book, and usually the stance I see is a polarizing one: fans love it, or hate it. I personally love it.

Unlike most of Hendrix's bibliography, TFGSG takes a much more serious approach to the genre of horror and the near mythic cinematic figure of a Final Girl. Most who read Hendrix expect a lot of dark comedy and commentary mixed in with horror. And while there is certainly a lot of commentary and horror, there isn't much in the way of comedy.

When you look into the history of this project and what it means to Hendrix, then you can start to understand exactly why this was treated so delicately and respectfully. The closest comparison I've been able to give to those that haven't read Hendrix, is it's like comparing Wes Craven's "Nightmare on Elm Street", to Wes Craven's "Scream". Both are horror, but one is much more of a subversion of horror.

TFGSG reads very much like a character study of what it means to be a Final Girl, and also a study of us, the audience. That being said, it never slips into being pretentious or told from a soap box, it just knows to take itself and this subject very seriously. In reading this, I was able to connect to the characters in a way I haven't been able to connect to Final Girls in cinema. Hendrix does a beautiful job of showing what it's like to survive something horrible. Many of us have survived something horrible, and life threatening. It isn't always a man with a machete. Sometimes it's thin walls and loud screams. Sometimes it's a tumor slowly growing and going undetected. Sometimes it's not making it through a crosswalk fast enough.

All of us experience fear and terror, but what's important is what we do after that fear and terror. Which is exactly what this book is about. TFGSG is also about what one does when that same terror comes back into a person's life. What do you do when an abuser finds where you live? Or you relapse? Or bullies find you on social media? TFGSG sits in that borderline of caution and not wasting your life worrying.

The characters are well fleshed out, the monster is formidable and somehow sickeningly sympathetic (read it, you'll see what I mean, it's bittersweet to say the least), and the writing is fast paced with that Hendrix banter-like dialogue we all love.

For those that love the study of horror, or even psychological thrillers, this would be a great book to read. If you're wanting something fun and scary and campy, best to go elsewhere.

This is Grady Hendrix at his best, in my opinion, and will probably go down as his masterpiece contribution to the horror genre.

I don't read more than a couple of horror novels a year, because I'm generally a huge scaredy-cat, but this one was 100% worth being scared - I just wouldn't recommend reading it along in the dark!

The Final Girl Support Group is a look at what happens to Final Girls - the lone survivor after a horrible massacre or brutal killing. Where do they go? How do they pick up the pieces after everyone around them is gone? Can they succeed in trying to live again? With odes to Scream, Halloween, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, along with others, Hendricks brings several Final Girls together (ones that inspired famous movie franchises) in an awesome story of female strength and friendship. This was a fast paced story that kept twisting and turning and I definitely didn't see the end coming! The flashbacks gave us a better picture of who the Final Girls were and though there were some very gory descriptions, this was ultimately a story filled with hope and promise and I could not put it down!

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinion are my own.

What happened to all those Final Girls? The only ones left standing after a horrible massacre on the worst night of their lives, after the credits roll, after everyone else moves on with their lives and the spotlight goes dim ... ?

All the fun 80s slasher flick vibes! I relished reminiscing about some of my favorite characters from the horror movies of my childhood! Being a child of the 80s, this book transported me and I felt the back of my legs sticking to a plastic covered couch, snacking on Pizza Rolls and Tato Skins while sipping an iced cold Tab, devouring every Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween classic.

It's horror, but it's humor - and Grady Hendrix does it flawlessly.

Of course, there's always some poor decisions that make you want to scream while reading/watching. But how many times have you watched a horror flick, and said "oh no! don't go in there!" And she does. And it's not pretty. If she didn't... well, that would make a pretty boring story right? Bad decisions, make great fun for us.

Great. Bloody. Fun.

It’s no secret that I’ve loved Grady Hendrix’s novels in the past and that I have yet to be disappointed, well that streak continues! THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP is such a fun read. The references alone are worth picking this up and seeing the similarities between our characters and their film counterparts was great. I think that avid horror fans will really enjoy all the nods to the classic horror Final Girls and the observations made about each series/franchise involved. It was fun guessing which one was similar to Friday the 13th, Scream, etc. I’d like to think I could make it to the end of a horror movie, but hopefully we’ll never find out.

Lynette is our narrator and one of our Final Girls – we usually only see the final girl triumph over the monster in the movie and walk away (with a few injuries) but we never see the aftermath. The media storm, the constant harassment from reporters and fans, movie franchises, books, and then the emotional scarring that goes with it. For over a decade, she meets with four other real life final girls and a therapist for a weekly support group. When one of them misses their meeting everyone fears the worst. Lynette goes back into survival mode and they must discover who is starting to target them again – will they survive or will there be one woman standing?

I loved the inclusion of different transcripts, newspaper clippings, movie reviews, diary entries, etc – this will always be a style of writing that makes me happy because it brings in some outside perspective. The only real drawback for me was that some parts got a little confusing and could have been shortened up, but those are small things. Hendrix has such a fun writing style for horror and they’re so addictive. While it’s not my absolute favorite of his books, it definitely top three! If you love horror and the popular final girls of the genre, then definitely give this one a read.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was over-the-top excited when I saw that Grady Hendrix had a new book coming out. Have enjoyed the author's books thus far and I was delighted by sheer delightment with Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. Not normally a fan of 'dark humor,' the fact that it was could legitimately be billed as both humor and comedy, well, that's not an easy feat to pull off. I also loved the idea of this book, so...Chalk it up to another one where I may have set my sights to high. Although it's readable, I found the structure of the story to be a little disorienting and just had a hard time getting it to it. Felt like I was straining to like it more than I actually was. And, while I spent a large chunk of my teen years keeping tabs on the cinema screen theme, can't say that I'm a huge fan - either that or I'm getting old (probably a combo of both.) Basically, all of which is a long way of saying that there is certainly a fan base for this, but I would've preferred a Southern Book Club's Guide...sequel.

Such a fun read, with a surprising amount of emotional depth. I loved this interpretation of classic horror tropes in a modern context.

I was looking so forward to this book because I adore Grady Hendrix but this book had me perplexed. It was a horror and there were twists and the audio narration was fabulous!!!! But I had a hard time following the story line. There were also too many characters in my opinion. Good book but not Hendrix’s best.

3.5 rounded up to 4...

Thank you @berkleypub and @prhaudio for audio and digital copy of one of my most anticipated reads for 2021!

I think Grady Hendrix fans will LOVE this one. I enjoyed the unique storyline idea, the LA setting, and the unity of women in this one. I really enjoyed the audio for this one as well the narrator was cast perfectly.

Recommended to slasher movie fans and Grady Hendrix fans!

I loved this book! Grady Hendrix is now an auto buy author for me and my library. I love his characters and his writing style. This will be a big hit especially when it is closer to halloween

Grady Hendrix just never disappoints me! He is my new favorite author.
Who else could take on the story of the final horror girls but the new master of horror?

The Final Girl Support Group was one of my most highly anticipated reads. I feel like Hendrix writes the PERFECT summer horror books. Unfortunately, I have pretty mixed feelings after finishing this one and it wasn't the five star read I was expecting.

Per the usual, I really enjoyed Hendrix's writing and a book about a bunch of final girls getting attacked again sounded like something I was going to love, but it missed the mark for me. I felt like the story kept going way off the rails and then it would slowly get back on track only to go sideways again.

I thought the main character Lynnette was a complex character that was easy to root for but also easy to hate at times. I love when a character can mess with your emotions like that. I did really like the last 25% and felt most invested at that point, but the first 75% I was mostly just confused. Although this isn't my favorite book by Hendrix, I'll still check out whatever he writes next.

While reading The Final Girl Support Group, I was 100% able to visualize everyone and everything, anyone familiar with slasher films - or with a working knowledge of pop culture - will recognize the tropes and characters. The book follows Lynette, one of 6 final girls, as she basically flees and fights for her life: despite every precaution, every safeguard, someone has made it their mission to take these women down one by one.

It's a fun summer read, but I had hoped for something a bit tighter, there's a whole lot going on here and many threads that eventually come together in a fairly meh reveal. Though I wanted to love it more than I did, I do feel this book will definitely find a home with many readers, particularly those itching for 80s nostalgia.

Lynnette is one of a select group of women known as "Final Girls." They're the girls left standing when the killer is finished with his bloodbath. The girls who some may think of as unstoppable. These "Final Girls" have been meeting to help each other deal with life after surviving horrific murder attempts. Lynnette is the most cautious of the group, and she believes the killing is never over for a "Final Girl". The rest of the group views Lynnette as the most paranoid and unstable one of their group. But when one of their fellow members goes missing and is later found murdered, the other Final Girls begin to wonder if Lynnette might have been right all along.

Grady Hendrix has done it again. I just love how he can take a well-known trope and make you feel like you're reading it for the first time. In true Hendrix fashion, the concept of a "Final Girl" is woven into a twisty and very entertaining read. Unlike other authors (who I will not name...but you know who) Hendrix does not hide the fact that he's using a well-known trope. Hendrix takes the well-known trope and makes it his own.

I honestly could not put this one down. I usually find myself figuring out the twists in a story like this pretty early on, but I will admit this one took me for a wild ride! And of course I now want to go binge-watch all my favorite slasher movies. BRAVO Grady Hendrix!! You've done what others have failed at doing. You took what some consider to be an overdone trope and made it highly entertaining!!

I included this title as part what's new in suspense, mystery, and thrillers in the month of July. I promoted on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram. https://www.bethfishreads.com/2021/07/22-mysteries-thrillers-suspense-novels.html

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing my review copy.

This is my first Grady Hendrix and probably won't be my last. I'm not a fan of horror movies at all but this book is really bingeable and I would encourage you to try it even if you're a chicken like me.

It was a fun ride, however towards the end I lost a bit of interest. The whole mystery plot doesn't really hold up if you really think about it, but all in all, it was a solid thriller for me.

If you are a fan of the retro-slasher flicks...this book is for you. I really enjoyed it from start to finish. This is a fast paced book, that replicates the feel of an old horror flick. Expect gory content, cheesy characters, and an unbelievable plot that unfolds into an entertaining story that keeps those pages turning.