The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires was my first book by Grady Hendrix. I saw the cover, read the blurb, and was immediately intrigued. I honestly didn’t have any expectations. But in the end it was quite a bit different than expected.
SYNOPSIS
Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.
Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia’s life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they’re more likely to discuss the FBI’s recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.
But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club’s meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he’s a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she–and her book club–are the only people standing between the monster they’ve invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
MY THOUGHTS
I think the one thing I’ll be taking away from this book is that the author has an amazing way of building a scene. Especially the horror scenes had me on the edge of my seat. They were creepy, and the tension was so high, and then it kept on going, and going, and going. I almost wanted to fast forward the audiobook.
That’s real skill. I don’t know any other author that can drag out these scenes to a point where I’m too creeped out to go on. Well done!!
About the rest of the book:
The story was interesting, and different. Nothing as I imagined. But still entertaining to a point.
I loved the Southern vibe. But I’m having conflicting feelings towards the women, and especially the men. None of them were really likable, and I didn’t connect with any of the women, and the men were mostly ugh.
But I appreciated the difference of it all, because honestly that’s what good books are all about, being unique and different in their tone. And I read in a review, that the author apparently intentionally wrote the novel as a satirical horror, with stereotypical characters.
| last thoughts |
Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by the book. And feel like I might not be the right audience for his books. On the other hand I’m glad I gave it a go. I love reading new authors.
MY RATING:
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The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
If you didn’t connect it makes it difficult to like a book!
I agree Sophie! I honestly hate when that happens.
I love quirky books, but for some reason this one just doesn’t appeal to me. *shrug*
I hear you!! I really loved the blurb, it sounded different, as you said quirky, but the overall execution wasn’t the right one for me. So, I don’t think you are missing out on anything. 😀
I listened to the audiobook for this one, I think it really helped. I’m a sucker for book club books – but I’m not sure what to think of this one overall.
I listened to the audiobook as well, and I think without it I might not have continued with the book. I also feel it makes for a great bookclub choice, there are so many things to talk about.
I’ve been waiting for someone to review this one because I love that title. I don’t know that I could read this one after reading your review, though. Those creepy scenes sound like too much for me!
The title was what pulled me in, and the there are only three creepy scenes, but woohoo!!! lol
And you could always skip them. I actually did fast forward, until the scene was done 🙈
Good to know!
This has been on my TBR since I first heard about it. Being Romanian I am quite skeptical when I hear people taking inspiration from Dracula because most of the time it fails terribly. I kinda expected it to be not a bad book, but just an okay one.
Thanks for your review!
I would love to hear your thoughts when you read it. For me it all came down to personal taste. Because there was nothing wrong with the writing. The author is a seasoned and skilled narrator, no doubt about that. It’s just the atmosphere of it the story, and the topics that were focused on – I was expecting something different, that’s all.