The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
by Grady Hendrix
Horror | Thriller
410 Pages
Released April 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads
Content Warnings
I knew I would love this book. Don’t ask me how I knew but I’ve been dragging my feet for years and I finally got around to picking this one up. This book was everywhere a couple years ago and I don’t know why I didn’t read it sooner.
This book follows Patricia, a mother and homemaker living in Charleston with her workaholic husband, teenaged children and mentally declining mother-in-law. To escape her exhausting life, she joins a local book club where the women focus their reading on various true-crime novels. One day, a mysterious new neighbor enters their lives, and shortly thereafter strange and sinister things start happening around the neighborhood. Patricia soon realizes there is more to here new neighbor than meets the eye. But what could a band of housewives ever do to stop a monster?
Firstly, I just have to say how much I appreciate Hendrix’s ability to put such a fun spin on his horror novels. For some reason, his books always play out like movies in my head and I adore his ability to take graphic and horrifying situations but write them in a way that are consistently entertaining. I love how motherhood and the development of female empowerment were at the center of this story. This book touches on several difficult, woman-centric issues. There were so many situations I found myself feeling angry and frustrated on behalf of the main character and I really appreciate how the women in this novel became more and more empowered when the men in their lives dismissed them. This book was an excellent take on the concept of feminine rage and a mother’s instinct to protect her children.
Ultimately, this book exceeded allllll my expectations and I’m happy that I finally got around to reading it. Needless to say (but I will anyway), this has only solidified Hendrix as one of my favorite modern day horror authors. If you enjoy a dark take on female empowerment (or just a good vampire book in general), please add this to your reading list!