I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix Published by Quirk Books on April 7 2020
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 400
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Clever and addictive, full of poignant emotion and colorfully drawn Southern characters, Grady Hendrix’s latest is a must read for everyone who loves a well told story.
At this point in the month, I would normally be frantically trying to finish all my March review books. Thankfully, I have a weird sense of desperation right now (thanks COVID-19!) and I literally devoured The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires in about a day and a half. And wow, all I can say is Grady Hendrix is only getting better with each book he writes. This might not be the traditional vampire story you’re expecting, but in this case, that’s a very good thing. Yes, there is a vampire in this book, and you will recognize some familiar vampire tropes, but that’s where the similarities end.
The story takes place over a period of about nine years, starting in 1988. Patricia Campbell is a wife and mother, living in an idyllic small town in South Carolina where everyone looks out for their neighbors. She spends her days caring for her children, her house and her husband, and in her spare time she belongs to a book club with friends and fellow moms Kitty, Maryellen, Grace and Slick. Once a month they get together to discuss true crime and horror fiction, although Slick’s God-fearing husband thinks she’s in a Bible study group. Life is predictable and normal, that is until Patricia’s elderly neighbor dies and her nephew James Harris comes to town. James is mysterious and attractive, but right away, Patricia knows something isn’t quite right with him.
When children in the nearby low income section of town start to go missing, Patricia is certain that James has something to do with it. Convincing her friends and family is going to be a challenge, however, because no one seems to believe her. Casting aside her fears in order to protect her children, Patricia sets off on a dangerous mission to reveal James’s true nature and save her town from evil.
There is so much to love about this book, I hardly know where to start. Grady Hendrix is one of those authors who never writes the same book twice. In his last book he used music as a backdrop to his story, and this time he turns a bunch of middle-aged housewives into superheroes and pits them against a very dangerous vampire. Part of the appeal for me was being able to relate to the main character Patricia, and oh what a wonderful character she is. Patricia starts out as a fairly timid and polite woman, familiar with the niceties of Southern hospitality. Her world cracks open a bit when she joins the “not-quite-a-book-club” that Kitty starts and discovers the scandalous allure of reading about serial killers. And when James Harris makes an appearance, Patricia’s well-ordered life takes a sharp turn into the weird. I loved watching her change from a mild-mannered housewife into a woman full of grit and determination. And as James digs his claws deeper into their lives, Patricia struggles with her home life as well. Her young son Blue is obsessed with Nazis, her daughter Korey won’t talk to her, and her husband Carter insists that his ailing mother move in with them. Hendrix forces Patricia to deal with all this, and it’s not always easy or pretty to watch.
The story is told entirely from Patricia’s point of view (although there are a couple of weird instances where the POV changes), so we only see James through her eyes. This makes his character feel almost two dimensional and flat at times, although this isn’t a bad thing by any means. I actually loved the author’s decision to keep the focus on Patricia. Because the book club is reading The Stranger Beside Me (in case you aren’t familiar with it, it’s the true story of writer Ann Rule and her friendship with serial killer Ted Bundy), Patricia’s mind makes some interesting connections between the book and her association with James.
I also want to briefly mention another character that I loved. Patricia graciously takes in her mother-in-law, Miss Mary, and at first I couldn’t stand her. She’s losing her memories and is difficult and unpredictable, but as time goes on, she and Patricia develop a wonderful, tender relationship. I loved the fact that Miss Mary knows far more about James than anyone gives her credit for and her role in the story is pivotal. In fact, every character in this story is finely drawn and fleshed out, even the side characters. Sometimes with only a few sentences of description, Hendrix manages to bring each one to vivid life.
If you are an aspiring writer, especially an aspiring horror writer, you need to be reading Grady Hendrix. Every single detail in the story is important, and no word goes to waste. Each element in this story is carefully crafted, from the section titles (the titles of the books the book club is reading), to the slow but steady way he drops hints about James, to the growing sense of unease that permeates the story. Things that don’t seem important at the time turn out to be very important later on.
And since this is a horror story, I have to talk about the scare factor. I was surprised to find that this is more psychological horror than anything else. Grady Hendrix knows how to slowly build suspense, and a lot of the horror comes from small, seemingly insignificant moments. James is a truly terrifying creature. He’s not flashy, but he’s able to insinuate himself into the lives of the characters until they trust him completely, and only then does he strike (Hmmm, just like a serial killer…). One of the most horrifying elements for me was the point in the story where Patricia knows exactly what James is doing, and at the same time James knows that she knows. And yet they have to lie to each other as if nothing was wrong. And for all you graphic violence-loving readers, there’s something for you, too. The story is punctuated by some moments of extreme horror that really rattled me, and they are perfectly timed so that you don’t see them coming. All I’m going to say is: Rats. Spiders. Cockroaches. Also, do be wary of some elements that might be considered triggers. The story deals with rape, drug use, and suicide in addition to graphic violence, so if you are sensitive to any of these, please proceed with caution.
And like all good horror stories, the real horrors are those things we can’t escape. For Patricia, it’s the knowledge that her children are growing distant and she doesn’t know how to reach them. It was heartbreaking to watch her struggle with this, and as a mother myself I wept right along with her.
Finally, it was a lot of fun to read about the book club, and readers in book clubs of their own will chuckle at some of the funnier moments. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is already one of my favorite books of 2020, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you love well crafted, multi-layered stories that combine horror and suspense, then I can’t think of a better book to pick up right now.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
This was a great review! What you wrote about Patricia and Miss Mary was quite intriguing, and I am glad you enjoyed this reading so much!
Thanks Susy:-)
I came to your blog after reading and loving someone else’s post about this being their WWW — and my goodness do I need this in my life. It sounds more wonderful than I thought — and I seriously need to investigate this author too!
Oooh you should! He’s a unique writer, in my opinion, and all his books are worth reading:-)
I don’t think I’ve ever actually read the blurb for this, but your review has me wanting to read it like right now, especially so I can pass it along to my mother. Glad you enjoyed it Tammy! Hopefully I can get to it soon.
I hope you AND you mom enjoy it!
Wonderful review!! I’ve been waiting to see a review of this and wow, 5 stars!! I’m even more excited to dig in
I hope you love it, Rebecca!
Paradoxically enough, psychological horror can be far more devastating than the blood&gore variety, because it’s all in the mind, and people cannot escape from their minds as they could do from physical danger. More, I like the notion of a middle-aged protagonist with all the problems and troubles of real-life people: it sounds like an interesting contrast with the supernatural elements of the story.
Thank you so much for sharing this!!! 🙂
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He does such a great job with the psychological aspect of the horror. And the sudden visceral horror moments are much more frightening because of that.
This is a book I’m really excited for so I’m happy to see those 5 stars from you. The story sounds even better than I hoped it would be.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was better than I thought:-)
Excellent review, Tammy! I can’t wait to read this.
Thanks Lauren:-)
I’ve been looking forward to your review of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. You didn’t disappoint. I wanna read it!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…29 Short Story Starts
I hope you love it too, Priscilla:-)
What a fabulous review. And, of course, I now have to read this book!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Feed Your Reader With Free and 99 Cents Books And Enter The Giveaway
Yes, you must!
Excellent review, Tammy! 🙂 Your choice of books is unusual, and your reviews are critical and in-depth. I really liked the blurb and cover of this book. Lately, I, too, have been drawn to horror books. I don’t know why, lol!
Debjani recently posted…3 Mini Reviews – Non-fiction
Thanks Debjani:-) I definitely am drawn to the more unusual books, that’s for sure.
I CAN’T WAIT!
Hope you love it too!
Just finished — and yes, I loved it. Your review is perfect. Patricia is such a great POV character, and I did love how the vampire’s habits and ways of insinuating himself into the characters’ lives was so much like a serial killer’s. But ugh, the rats! I”m not going to be over that scene for a long, long time.
I just read my first Grady Hendrix recently. Horrorstor was a lot of fun, and I agree with you about his titles. The names of the Swedish furniture, and even the colors you can choose from, said a lot about what would happen in the chapter. Weirdly, I ended up rooting for all the employees in that novella, and had a fun time doing so!
I loved Horrorstor, this one is much darker, with not nearly as much humor. But so good!
Well this is certainly on my radar now. Thanks for the review!
Caitlin G. recently posted…Most Anticipated Releases: April 2020
It’s really good!
I so want to read this one!!! Awesome review. 🙂
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Thanks Lark!
Great review! You have me weirdly interested even though I don’t like Horror books haha
It’s heavier on the mystery side than horror, but either way it’s such a well written story:-)
Oh my goodness! What a fabulous review – to the extent that I’ve got so carried away – I’ve gone and requested it! There’s a chance I won’t get it, of course… But given what a wuss I am, I’m wondering if I’ve done the right thing:))
I hope you get to read it, I’d love to hear what some of my blogger friends think:-)
I’ve only read one Grady Hendrix book, or one and a half, I’m in the middle of another one, but this one did sound really good! Glad to hear you really liked it!
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I hope you get to read it, Lisa:-)
I was unsure of this one when I first read the description. Seemed the kind of book I might really like or really dislike. But this review has me thinking it’s far more likely to be in the really like category. I do enjoy this general sort of story, someone new in town, not what they appear, the hero goes after them knowing no one will believe them. Found goodreads currently has a giveaway for it, so I put in for that. Given the current number of folks entered the odds of winning are right around 0.4%. In other words, almost no chance. 🙂
Hey you never know, you could get lucky:-) I think this book will actually appeal to a wide variety of readers, just because it’s such a well crafted story.
Awesome, I love seeing five stars! Hoping to request this one in audio when it comes out, so holding off on reading all the details 😀
I think this will be fun in audio!
I’m so glad to see a 5 star rating. I’m reading this one in April and now I’m even more excited. I do really enjoy Hendrix’s books and love that he seems to take the odd plot and really makes it his own. Plus, if no dog dies, then it’s a plus – I’m looking at you My Best Friend’s Exorcism! Great review.
OK spoiler Barb: there is a pet dog that dies BUT he’s old and it’s a natural death, and it’s not really a big part of the story.
I’ve only skimmed this one because I want to pick up a copy of this one – but 5 star is so good to see.
Lynn 😀
I hope you enjoy it, Lynn!
I’m so excited to see that you enjoyed this so much! I should be picking it up soon myself (and yes, I’m totally in that rush to finish all the reads haha). I just so love the sound of all of this! The idea of Southern middle-aged women becoming something more was what originally attracted me to this. Psychological horror is my favorite type, and ugh, everything you’ve written here just makes me want to read it all the more! Definitely need to pick this up sooner rather than later.
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I’m so curious to hear what you think!
Oh my gosh, this sounds AMAZING. I’m so glad you loved it, I’ve been curious about it since I first saw you mention it a while back. This looks like it’s a slightly more literary take on the traditional vampire tale, utilizing that story to explore some other things. I’ll be adding this to my TBR as soon as my book buying ban will allow. 🙂
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It’s sooo good. And honestly, the cover is a little misleading, it makes it sound sort of like a humorous story, but it’s actually pretty dark.
Yay!! 5 stars. I love Grady Hendrix. I can’t wait to read this one.
I hope you enjoy it!
Phew, you rescued me with spiders! 😉 …I still really want to read this, but I’ll happily put anything with spiders further back in the TBR queue for now (especially as I haven’t picked this up yet – yet – and still have to read We Sold Our Souls, which is actually on my shelf!). I do feel overdue a really good vampire read though; I’ve got a definite soft spot for them
I haven’t read any of Hendrix’s books and now I feel like I should just buy them all.