The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires: A Novel
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- Create Date：2021-06-01 11:51:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Grady Hendrix
- ISBN：1683692519
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Hailey Davis
，
A fun different take on vampires！ Included a bunch of strong female characters， which is always refreshing as well。 Nothing insanely special about the book but it was definitely a fun read！
Katherine
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Just a quirky book， about all I got to say。
Merrill
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Stephen King meets Fannie Flagg。 What a fun read…in a totally creepy way。
Misal Cheema
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The last 200 pages of this book earned 4 stars
Jenny Schofield
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Ugh。 And that about sums it up。 The only positive thing I can say is that it was a slightly unique twist on vampires and vampire slaying。 But there is horror， there is suspense， gore， mystery。。。And it can be done well where it is disturbing yet entertaining， without just making you uncomfortable。。。 This was just plain "stomach-churning-uncomfortable。" Thanks， Cort， for the verbiage。。I should have listened to you。 I regret "just getting through it，" I should have given up。 Ugh。 And that about sums it up。 The only positive thing I can say is that it was a slightly unique twist on vampires and vampire slaying。 But there is horror， there is suspense， gore， mystery。。。And it can be done well where it is disturbing yet entertaining， without just making you uncomfortable。。。 This was just plain "stomach-churning-uncomfortable。" Thanks， Cort， for the verbiage。。I should have listened to you。 I regret "just getting through it，" I should have given up。 。。。more
Deborah
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Set in South Carolina in the 90s， this book centers around a group of housewives and the new handsome man that moves into the neighborhood。 As can be gathered from the title of the book however， all is not as it seems。 This book was much more violent and gruesome than I anticipated but I really liked that。 There are some truly creepy scenes。 There’s also deeper themes at play here， regarding gender and race。 This is the South and these are housewives so we see them constantly being gaslighted an Set in South Carolina in the 90s， this book centers around a group of housewives and the new handsome man that moves into the neighborhood。 As can be gathered from the title of the book however， all is not as it seems。 This book was much more violent and gruesome than I anticipated but I really liked that。 There are some truly creepy scenes。 There’s also deeper themes at play here， regarding gender and race。 This is the South and these are housewives so we see them constantly being gaslighted and disregarded by their husbands。 We see the reluctance of the police and the more affluent white residents to take crimes happening in the black part of town seriously until the same crimes begin to take place in their rich neighborhood。 I mostly only cared about our main character Patricia。 Her family was insufferable， including her children so honestly I didn’t mind if they got attacked by the vampire。 I was definitely irritated by the other women in the group for their inaction for the majority of the book， but I can also understand that this portrayal is realistic。 。。。more
Vahue23
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Excellent book！
Barb Thompson
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Decided not to read this book
Tom Britz
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I will be looking forward to reading more from Grady Hendrix。 The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires was a hoot to read。 At times it was laugh out loud funny and at others it will have you cringing in fear and loathing。 Mr。 Hendrix pulls no punches at describing the horrific occurrences that happen to his characters and these characters are not in anyway just cardboard set pieces that he moves around conveniently。 The reader finds himself caring about them all and the lives they lead I will be looking forward to reading more from Grady Hendrix。 The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires was a hoot to read。 At times it was laugh out loud funny and at others it will have you cringing in fear and loathing。 Mr。 Hendrix pulls no punches at describing the horrific occurrences that happen to his characters and these characters are not in anyway just cardboard set pieces that he moves around conveniently。 The reader finds himself caring about them all and the lives they lead are as believable as any of the best fiction。 Mr。 Hendrix gives new life to an old and tired trope， the vampire。 His vampire is not a Bella Legosi look alike and it adds a new twist to the old legends。 Bravo， Mr Hendrix。 I for one will be looking to add some more of his fiction to my read pile。 。。。more
Marina Hegner
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4，5 / 5 ⭐I was hoping for a wee bit more bloody scenes （or deaths😅） but this book got me addicted！
Leane
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Red Flag: Rats！ Excellent new take on Vampire lore， Southern frame adds to creepy tone。 LOL
Justin Lee
，
Update after bookclub
Ryan Fogarty
，
Verrrrry entertaining
Peggy Gordon
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This was fun！！ Great summer read！
Pam Dehring
，
。
Alissa
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A hidden gem， terrifying， wise and surprisingly symbolic。
Jen
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This was much more intense and dark than I expected it to be。 I enjoyed the writing style a lot。 The plot was surprising and unexpected。 For most of the book I thought the characters were all African-American， which would’ve been awesome。 I was a disappointed when I found out that the lead character wasn’t。
Jennifer
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All I can say is， "Ewww！！" Don't know if I've ever had such a visceral reaction to an author's descriptions of horrific encounters like I had with this book。 Trigger warning for creepy crawly grossness！ All I can say is， "Ewww！！" Don't know if I've ever had such a visceral reaction to an author's descriptions of horrific encounters like I had with this book。 Trigger warning for creepy crawly grossness！ 。。。more
Sydney Johnson
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It’s like if Steel Magnolias had vampires in it in the best possible way。 I don’t know how I thought the ending would play out， but it did leave me a little unsatisfied。 Overall， though， this was a great book！ A little funny， a lot creepy。 Definitely recommend。
Liza
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Te eng。 DNF 25%。
Lea
，
I don't read a lot of horror， and I mostly picked this up because of the title and the cover。 It's mostly a supernatural drama with some horror elements， but there were parts that I found a little scary （when I lay in bed in the dark at night。。。）。 I liked the writing style and I was entertained， but I would probably have preferred a more serious take on the characters， and cut the humerous tone - but I think that's precisely what a lot of people appreciate about the book。 In the best moments， th I don't read a lot of horror， and I mostly picked this up because of the title and the cover。 It's mostly a supernatural drama with some horror elements， but there were parts that I found a little scary （when I lay in bed in the dark at night。。。）。 I liked the writing style and I was entertained， but I would probably have preferred a more serious take on the characters， and cut the humerous tone - but I think that's precisely what a lot of people appreciate about the book。 In the best moments， this reminded of what I always hoped Stephen King would read like， but in other moments I found the book a little slow and frustrating。 And I'm unsure how to feel about the antagonist， he was a little underwhelming。 。。。more
Chris
，
It took me over three months to finish this book but that is only because I was dealing with major life changes。 I read over two hundred pages today。 I liked it。 The ladies were cool， way too good for their husbands who were all major tools。 Toxic， frustrating， abusive TOOLS。 The villain was。。。 disgusting。 The way things were resolved was not entirely plausible， it was just way too easy in the end。All in all though， not a bad read。
Meredith
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The southern judgement disguised as politeness in this book got more than a few laughs out of me。 I read this on vacation to South Carolina for fun。 While the book was a little slow for me in places， I do really appreciate that the process of revealing the villain as a villain took years。 Somehow it was easy for a man to become a trusted member of a small community despite evidence against him raised by the women's book club and Patricia。 That black children were targeted first and that these ac The southern judgement disguised as politeness in this book got more than a few laughs out of me。 I read this on vacation to South Carolina for fun。 While the book was a little slow for me in places， I do really appreciate that the process of revealing the villain as a villain took years。 Somehow it was easy for a man to become a trusted member of a small community despite evidence against him raised by the women's book club and Patricia。 That black children were targeted first and that these acts of violence were brushed off is also telling。 There were a handful of moments that turned my stomach - cockroaches， elbow chopping， and rape。 。。。more
Jacky
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It's fun， it's goofy and it's creepy。 If you're a fan of campy horror movies this would be right up your alley。 It's fun， it's goofy and it's creepy。 If you're a fan of campy horror movies this would be right up your alley。 。。。more
Stephen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Biggest disappointment of the year so far for me。 I read Grady’s “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” first， and I loved it。 It became one of my favorites。 And this book is significantly more popular and regarded as his best。This book is extremely frustrating to read in so many ways。 Just terrible thing after terrible thing happening to the main character。 Which inherently isn’t a bad。 I mean， my favorite book series is a Song of Ice and Fire， and hardly anything beats that in terms of terrible things ha Biggest disappointment of the year so far for me。 I read Grady’s “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” first， and I loved it。 It became one of my favorites。 And this book is significantly more popular and regarded as his best。This book is extremely frustrating to read in so many ways。 Just terrible thing after terrible thing happening to the main character。 Which inherently isn’t a bad。 I mean， my favorite book series is a Song of Ice and Fire， and hardly anything beats that in terms of terrible things happening to your main characters。 As long as the writing and story are good， characters are the heart， the plot is gripping， everything well-weaved， etc。 And I do believes Grady’s read all of a Song of Ice and Fire， because in the vampire’s opening scene， he says something that’s almost a direct lift of a quote from a Dance with Dragons。 James rephrases: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies。 The man who never reads live only one。” But the writing wasn’t good at all， most of the time。 Stupid decision after stupid decision followed by a contrived plot contingency。 I understand characters can （and should） be flawed， and human， and that’s what makes them interesting and compelling。 But when it gets to the point where these characters are only making stupid decisions。。 and these decisions have to directly move the plot forward each time。。 and these decisions are often directly in conflict with who they are as a character。。 then it is no longer them being a compelling， flawed character。 It’s then sacrificing your characters for the sake of the plot。 Because you couldn’t find， or didn’t want to spend the extra time and effort， any other way to make that plot happen otherwise。First， while Patricia is investigating everything， she’s leaving both of her children at home （alone） every time。 She knows there’s someone out there killing and/or doing terrible things to children， yet she does this。 The whole time she’s doing this， she’s thinking how she has to stop him so hers and everyone else’s children are safe。 Right after she left her kids alone at home。 That bothered me， but I let it go。Then when they find Destiny with the marks on her thigh， she tells the police and everyone else there that she saw James Harris doing this to her in the back of his van。 Her husband tells the police that night， “If my wife says she saw this， than that’s what happened。” It’s some variation of that quote。 The very next day or two， when they have their intervention when all of the husbands command their wives， he has literally flipped completely。 He tells her that she either didn’t know what she saw or implies that she’s lying and/or crazy。 And all of her best friends of seven years abandon her。 Because， in their words， they don’t want to lose their families and husbands and the lives they’ve built。 I seriously doubt if they all stuck together on this issue that every single one of their husbands would have divorced their wives and taken the children。 Extremely unlikely that would’ve happened。 But okay。 Also their son is a nazi for some reason？ It’s never genuinely explored， explained， and doesn’t serve a greater role to the story。 It could’ve been just to add to his character， but it detracted from the story completely because I couldn’t stop asking， “Why are neither of his parents addressing this？” He will literally interrupt their conversations at the dinner table multiple times， just stating random Nazi/Hitler facts， and they don’t seem to have any large genuine concern for this， not even in inner monologues or anything。 Yeah， they confront him after he spray-paints a dog and tell him he might have to take Ritalin。 But about all of the Nazi stuff？ Nothing。 Both of her children at this point in the story seem to genuinely dislike her at the very least。 Without any real reason。 I mean she did repeatedly leave them alone while a killer is on the loose， but they’re unaware of that。 She tells her daughter to do something and she replies with some variation of， “Dad says we don’t have to listen to you right now。” After that， the mother immediately goes to attempt suicide by taking all of her pills at once。 This didn’t work for me。 And it’s not due to a lack of understanding on the subject， as someone who’s struggled with severe depression and also attempted suicide。 She displayed no signs of anything like that up to this point。 And her impulsive decision to do that felt out of left field and contrived based on everything else I had read up to this point， and it only got worse。After she’s in the hospital， only one of her seven best friends visit her。 After a SUICIDE ATTEMPT。 These are supposed to be her BEST FRIENDS。 The sole reason I loved My Best Friend’s Exorcism so much was because of the way Grady wrote the friendship between Abby & Gretchen。 But this is just atrocious。 And I thought oh well。 They’re shitty friends。 I， unfortunately， have a lot of understanding on that subject as well。 Extremely shitty friends who just abandon you。 So I tried to let it go。 But I couldn’t， because I just knew she was eventually going to pair up with these shitty friends for the big showdown at the end， and everyone just pretend that almost no one visited her after she tried to kill herself。 If the end was going to be as predictable as it was panning out to be。 It was。 And everyone says the ending was the best part， or some people that didn’t like it otherwise say it redeemed it。 But it was one of the worst parts， after what came before it。 It made it even more contrived and poorly written。Yet after the suicide attempt， her sons yells and says he despises her。 And the daughter just ignores her and walks out of the room。 Then there’s a three year time skip。 Time skips aren’t inherently bad。 They can really effective and add to a story。 But not here。 It just felt lazy。 Like a way to avoid the emotional writing and confrontations that would follow with everyone right afterward。 Then just follows more never-ending stupidity。 Patricia leaves the photo with Slick， and Slick calls the supernatural being James and TELLS HIM that she has some evidence on him， and that Patricia is currently going to his house to look for more evidence。 WHAT？ That’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever read。 I couldn’t believe it。 Then， after Slick confronts James on the phone and he breaks into her home and literally rapes her， Patricia has an inner monologue， saying something along the lines of， “I have to go to him and confront him。” At this point I literally put the book down and almost quit。 But I decided to power through and I don’t want to talk about the rest。I looked for negative reviews to see if anyone had the same issues as me， but all I found were people disingenuously calling him sexist and racist。I’ve never had this many negative things to say about a book。 Because usually， a book that I would have this many negative things to say about， I know beforehand and I don’t read it。 But I didn’t even have any second thoughts about whether I’d love this book or not。 I love horror， Grady’s previous book was one of my favorites， and everyone raves about this one。As you can tell I’m extremely disappointed。 I’m sorry， Grady， but I will not be picking up your new novel in July。 。。。more
Kevin Carey
，
Man， this book gets DARK but what a read。 Not only is this a great/often times super creepy vampire read but the social commentary is excellent。 Setting the book during the ‘90s helps highlight how absurd and out of place some of this ideology is and often leaves you shaking your head either out of frustration or because of ridiculousness。 The characters shine and the story moves quickly。 As things evolve things get darker and darker leading to a satisfying conclusion。
Kristen
，
I expected to enjoy this book in the same way as B-film horror， but it shocked me in how different the book was from my expectations。 The characters come alive through Hendrix's writing， including the ones you wish wouldn't， and the 1990s South was nostalgic perfection。 I read the first three-quarters in a fervor， then had to take a break because I was sure I was permanently traumatized。 Now， I just finished the last chapters - absolutely worth it， trauma and all。 I expected to enjoy this book in the same way as B-film horror， but it shocked me in how different the book was from my expectations。 The characters come alive through Hendrix's writing， including the ones you wish wouldn't， and the 1990s South was nostalgic perfection。 I read the first three-quarters in a fervor， then had to take a break because I was sure I was permanently traumatized。 Now， I just finished the last chapters - absolutely worth it， trauma and all。 。。。more
Carrie
，
If you've ever been any kind of housewife or stay at home mom， read this。 Just don't read it at night or while you're eating。 If you've ever been any kind of housewife or stay at home mom， read this。 Just don't read it at night or while you're eating。 。。。more
Julie
，
Good fun
Ally Wagner
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