The Final Girl Support Group
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- Create Date：2021-07-16 10:52:01
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Grady Hendrix
- ISBN：059320123X
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Summary
A fast-paced， thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for， from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires。
In horror movies， the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll。 The one who fought back， defeated the killer， and avenged her friends。 The one who emerges bloodied but victorious。 But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on， what happens to her？
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago， and it has defined every day of her life since。 And she's not alone。 For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable， putting their lives back together， piece by piece。 That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again， piece by piece。
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now， and no matter how bad the odds， how dark the night， how sharp the knife， they will never， ever give up。
In horror movies， the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll。 The one who fought back， defeated the killer， and avenged her friends。 The one who emerges bloodied but victorious。 But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on， what happens to her？
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago， and it has defined every day of her life since。 And she's not alone。 For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable， putting their lives back together， piece by piece。 That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again， piece by piece。
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now， and no matter how bad the odds， how dark the night， how sharp the knife， they will never， ever give up。
Reviews
Savannah Gerena
，
Holy sh*t that was good
Rachel Craig
，
Grady Hendrix has a knack for writing stories that are funny and genuinely creepy。 It doesn't always work for me （see Horrorstör）。 Other times， it does。 I'm happy to say The Final Girl Support Group is one of the ones that works for me。 Plot- Lynette， Marilyn， Heather， Dani， Julia， and Adrienne are Final Girls- women who survived horrific murder sprees that are eventually turned into movie franchises。 They are bound by trauma， grief， guilt and fear， having monthly support group meetings。 They ar Grady Hendrix has a knack for writing stories that are funny and genuinely creepy。 It doesn't always work for me （see Horrorstör）。 Other times， it does。 I'm happy to say The Final Girl Support Group is one of the ones that works for me。 Plot- Lynette， Marilyn， Heather， Dani， Julia， and Adrienne are Final Girls- women who survived horrific murder sprees that are eventually turned into movie franchises。 They are bound by trauma， grief， guilt and fear， having monthly support group meetings。 They are there for each other， even though lately， they've been drifting apart and annoying each other。 Then， Adrienne is murdered and it looks like the monster who killed her friends before is back。 Lynette is now convinced all their killers are coming back to finish off the remaining Final Girls。 As she's trying to keep herself and the others safe， information starts coming to light that not only puts their friendship in jeopardy， but also their lives and Lynette's credibility。 This book does a great job of poking fun at the Final Girl trope while also paying homage to it。 Each Final Girl has a clear horror franchise they are tied to。 Ironically， apart from Silent Night， Deadly Night， which is where Lynette is from， I've seen at least one movie from the other franchises that the other women are from: Marilyn （Texas Chainsaw Massacre）， Heather （Nightmare on Elm Street）， Dani （Halloween）， Julia （Scream） and Adrienne （Friday the 13th）。 So I didn't pick up on most of the Easter Eggs for her franchise， but I did have fun picking up on the other ones。 The weakest part of this story is who is targeting the remaining women， which was fine， but not as good as exploring the trauma a Final Girl would experience after the credits roll and the years have gone by。 My favorite of the Final Girls had to either be Marilyn or Julia。 Marilyn made me laugh and Julia is from my favorite of the horror franchises mentioned， Scream。 If you're a fan of slasher movies， I'd check out The Final Girl Support Group。 It's a fun， sometimes creepy send up of the genre。 。。。more
Amber
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Oops I finished this book in barely 24 hours。 It was an amazing ride， Grady never disappoints。 Trust him to be the one out here serving us the heroines we deserve。 If you pick this up， be prepared to not put it down until you’re done with the whole thing。 And it’s worth every page。
Cristiana
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ya。。。
Angela
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It was a decent book overall but what killed the booked from reaching that 4th star was I didn't like any of the characters。 You'd think after spending so many years together there would be some sense of friendship or bond but most often there's barely concealed dislike。 None have really gotten over the trauma they experienced and honestly that seems realistic。 Horrible events like that would be defining moments for sure。 While the book starts off slower paced it quickly amps up and your going t It was a decent book overall but what killed the booked from reaching that 4th star was I didn't like any of the characters。 You'd think after spending so many years together there would be some sense of friendship or bond but most often there's barely concealed dislike。 None have really gotten over the trauma they experienced and honestly that seems realistic。 Horrible events like that would be defining moments for sure。 While the book starts off slower paced it quickly amps up and your going to need swallow some unbelievable stuff happening long before the book ends。 Its not a bad book but I preferred The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires more。 。。。more
Kristen
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Hard to start， hard to put down。First I would like to thank Mr。 Hendrix for the compliment he gave medical professionals。 Yes， we do often run into danger in order to save others。I started this book while sitting on a fence。 I’ll let you choose the fence， since I’m feeling generous。 I loved the opening dedication， but was worried about the story。 After chapter two I was hooked。 This story is much more than a spoof on horror movies。 It is also respectful of life， whether you like it or not。 I lik Hard to start， hard to put down。First I would like to thank Mr。 Hendrix for the compliment he gave medical professionals。 Yes， we do often run into danger in order to save others。I started this book while sitting on a fence。 I’ll let you choose the fence， since I’m feeling generous。 I loved the opening dedication， but was worried about the story。 After chapter two I was hooked。 This story is much more than a spoof on horror movies。 It is also respectful of life， whether you like it or not。 I liked it。 Well written， well paced， and the author possesses a through knowledge of the genre。 One scene did not fit in with the characters behavior pattern， and there were two medical mistakes， but other than that I found the story to be flawless。Mr。 Hendrix please tell Fine I said hi， and that when he’s big enough I would like a cutting。 。。。more
Chelsea Bashore
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I had pre-ordered this the day it was announced and then read it in one sitting。 As someone who has just gotten into horror/thrillers in the last few years （ as a weird but effective component in getting a grip on my anxiety）， this was not only fantastic in story， but the history behind slasher/reframing how women are treated/used in these films/pulp book is SO GOOD。 So good。 I can't wait to see what Hendrix does next！ I had pre-ordered this the day it was announced and then read it in one sitting。 As someone who has just gotten into horror/thrillers in the last few years （ as a weird but effective component in getting a grip on my anxiety）， this was not only fantastic in story， but the history behind slasher/reframing how women are treated/used in these films/pulp book is SO GOOD。 So good。 I can't wait to see what Hendrix does next！ 。。。more
Cmeiss330
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I loved this book and the audiobook narrated by one of the OG Final Girls Adrienne King is great。 The thing I didn’t get was WHY Lynette trusted the two people who end up being the killers when she put so much effort into keeping herself safe in every other way？ That didn’t seem true to character。 Other than that it was great and had a satisfying end。 It’s definitely well researched and a story that you can tell Grady Hendrix knows a lot about and is very passionate about。 I was given an ARC by I loved this book and the audiobook narrated by one of the OG Final Girls Adrienne King is great。 The thing I didn’t get was WHY Lynette trusted the two people who end up being the killers when she put so much effort into keeping herself safe in every other way？ That didn’t seem true to character。 Other than that it was great and had a satisfying end。 It’s definitely well researched and a story that you can tell Grady Hendrix knows a lot about and is very passionate about。 I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Nicole
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I loved this book！ I am a huge horror fan and this was right up my alley！ Highly recommend。
Will Singleton
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I’m so disappointed because I really really wanted to love this！ But I just had to DNF around 50%。 Maybe I’ll try this book again later， but it just didn’t do anything for me。 It started out really well， but I just lost interest as the book progressed。 Also， the main characters in this novel are supposed to be at least 40-50 yrs old and they read like teenagers， which confused me a little at times。 Again maybe I’ll pick this up again later because I really wanted to love this， it was one of my m I’m so disappointed because I really really wanted to love this！ But I just had to DNF around 50%。 Maybe I’ll try this book again later， but it just didn’t do anything for me。 It started out really well， but I just lost interest as the book progressed。 Also， the main characters in this novel are supposed to be at least 40-50 yrs old and they read like teenagers， which confused me a little at times。 Again maybe I’ll pick this up again later because I really wanted to love this， it was one of my most anticipated books of the year， but for now I think I just need to move on。 。。。more
Abbey Fillhouer
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3。5
Zasika
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4。5 ⭐️ Super fun read！ I was screaming at all the horrifying bits while reading behind my fingers。
Gabrieli
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the slasher genre is really that bitch。
Karen
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Loved it！
Denise
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Final rating: 4。5My favorite if his so far！
Trace Nichols
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If I didn’t know better I would have thought this author was related to Stephen King， or at least spent some time ghost writing for him。 They have the same sense of dark humor， with an incredible array of detail and description in their writing styles。 The content itself is quite weird， bordering on bizarre at times， and often perverse in its details。 My only problem is I have trouble actually liking any of the authors characters， making the story fall flat。 Besides what is written in the synops If I didn’t know better I would have thought this author was related to Stephen King， or at least spent some time ghost writing for him。 They have the same sense of dark humor， with an incredible array of detail and description in their writing styles。 The content itself is quite weird， bordering on bizarre at times， and often perverse in its details。 My only problem is I have trouble actually liking any of the authors characters， making the story fall flat。 Besides what is written in the synopsis on the book jacket， I couldn't tell you what this was about。 。。。more
Jenna | JennaStopReading
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This book was my 4th title by Grady Hendrix， and my third favorite。 He remains my favorite horror author and I think this one was a great summer read。Here are 4 things I liked about this book:1。 The cast of characters - I liked the different personalities and seeing how each Final Girl was handling the level of trauma they experienced。 It was entertaining and also saddening。2。 The unpredictability of the storyline - just when I thought I had things figured out （as did our narrator）， things would This book was my 4th title by Grady Hendrix， and my third favorite。 He remains my favorite horror author and I think this one was a great summer read。Here are 4 things I liked about this book:1。 The cast of characters - I liked the different personalities and seeing how each Final Girl was handling the level of trauma they experienced。 It was entertaining and also saddening。2。 The unpredictability of the storyline - just when I thought I had things figured out （as did our narrator）， things would switch up。3。 I didn't know whether or not to trust the narrator - this made it an even more fascinating read， since she seemed like she could be off her rocker。 But it was also believable that she wasn't off her rocker。4。 The ending - that was explosive and exciting！ 1 Thing I didn't like about this book:1。 The pacing felt off to me。 I struggled with feeling bored in some sections and then being unable to stop turning the pages in others - it was just all "off"。 Overall， I really enjoyed this read and absolutely look forward to whatever Hendrix cranks out next！ 。。。more
Norman Miller
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really good story with a solid mystery and some fun references to to the slasher flicks of the 70s， 80s and 90s！
RJ
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Excellent concept that falls a little short in the execution。 "TFGSG" has some wonderful moments and plenty of homages and nods that horror fans will devour， but the story unfolds in a way that is very detached and bland。 Worse， it takes a long while to get going。 So， you'll have to have some patience with this one。 It's not Hendrix's best by far， but it's a mostly enjoyable summery-beach read that doesn't take itself as seriously as it should， and neither should you。 Excellent concept that falls a little short in the execution。 "TFGSG" has some wonderful moments and plenty of homages and nods that horror fans will devour， but the story unfolds in a way that is very detached and bland。 Worse， it takes a long while to get going。 So， you'll have to have some patience with this one。 It's not Hendrix's best by far， but it's a mostly enjoyable summery-beach read that doesn't take itself as seriously as it should， and neither should you。 。。。more
Barb Lie
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The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix is a wild crazy standalone horror thriller。 A final girl is the lone survivor in all those horror slasher movies， where they managed save themselves and kill the crazed killer。 There are six girls （each having been victorious in saving themselves against the evil monsters）， who meet with a therapist monthly， to help them try to get beyond the trauma they suffered through。 Though with many years having past for most of the girls， they still need these The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix is a wild crazy standalone horror thriller。 A final girl is the lone survivor in all those horror slasher movies， where they managed save themselves and kill the crazed killer。 There are six girls （each having been victorious in saving themselves against the evil monsters）， who meet with a therapist monthly， to help them try to get beyond the trauma they suffered through。 Though with many years having past for most of the girls， they still need these sessions to help them try to move past the horrors。 Lynette Tarkington， one of the final girls， is the main heroine in this story， as we follow her throughout the forth coming ordeal， when one of the girls does not show up， and is found dead。 Lynnette goes home to lock herself in， and we watch what she has to go through to get back to her place （multiple buses， train， cage outside her door， keeping her address secret， and no social life at all， etc）， which showed how much her life was still like， living in fear。 When one of the other girls comes to visit her， Lynette knows she has been compromised， and suspects someone is out there， planning to kill the remaining final girls。 When shots are fired， Lynnette manages to escape， leaving the other girl injured。 Lynette was a good heroine， though at times a bit batty， but then again， constantly being faced with a murderer on the loose， we can understand that。 She is determined to find out who is out to kill them， （though she constantly suspects various people along the way）， as well as try to save her friends。What follows is a wild intense dark ride that never let up， with a number of twists and surprises along the way。 With Lynette acting mostly on her own， she does everything she can to escape an evil killer， and try to save her friends; with a surprise betrayal。 It is a gruesome and at times gory journey that will give you the chills。 At the same time， it was amazing how these women， especially Lynette， would continue to fight， never giving up。 This is a difficult review to write， as the action is non-stop and saying too much would ruin the book for you。 The Final Girl Support Group was a chilling dark story， with lots of violence and gory details。 Grady Hendrix did a great job writing this book， tying together many of those massacres from those movies。 If you enjoyed your slasher movies， this book might be for you。BarbThe Reading Cafe 。。。more
Malvika
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A rare， solid 4， this 1 was well told with a wonderful lead。 My only quibble is the lens - I think the author zoomed into too much detail on unnecessary bits and as a result skimmed over some really interesting ones。Definitely worth a read though。
Steph Gharrity
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I read this book in one sitting， I am a huge grady hendrix fan， and this book was so edge of your seat nonstop thrill ride。 But what really resonated with me were the characters， the women are so well written they remind me of my long forgotten group therapy sessions， they are inspiring， I did not have one favorite girl， I loved them all equally， and I plan on buying a copy of this book for all the women in my life :）
Joey Vichio
，
*gasp* My most Anticipated book of the year is only rated 4 stars！ How dare I ！ Let’s talk about the good first。 For starters， it’s Grady Hendrix。 Perhaps this alone has saved the book from being three stars， but it’s on thin ice。 and you know what， I’m fine with admitting that because this man has my horror heart wrapped in the palm of his hands。 This book is a love letter to horror movies。 Okay， yes， I know I say that about every Hendrix book but I really do mean it this time。 The best part o *gasp* My most Anticipated book of the year is only rated 4 stars！ How dare I ！ Let’s talk about the good first。 For starters， it’s Grady Hendrix。 Perhaps this alone has saved the book from being three stars， but it’s on thin ice。 and you know what， I’m fine with admitting that because this man has my horror heart wrapped in the palm of his hands。 This book is a love letter to horror movies。 Okay， yes， I know I say that about every Hendrix book but I really do mean it this time。 The best part of Final Girls for me was being able to point out every single nod to a horror movie that already exists - whether it was obvious or super-Easter-egg-hidden。 It was quite simply a fun time connecting each final girl to the respective movie that they were based off of。 This book is written FOR horror fans。 Like， die-hard horror fans who spent their entire lives devouring shitty films and looking up obscure trivia on IMDb。 You’ll be happy to know that I read it in a day and a half （ is that a thing？ Am I allowed to say that。） I couldn’t put it down。 The story is great and at the end of each chapter you’re greeted with different pieces to the overall puzzle - newspaper clippings， journal entries， police reports。 You know that if it’s a Grady Hendrix book， the physical book itself is going to be a well crafted piece of art。 There’s no exception here。 It’s fast paced， it’s intense and you will have fun， I promise。 That being said。 It’s my least favorite Hendrix book thus far。 （LIVE studio audience: ） aawwww *BOOOO* I know， I know。 LOOK。 By now I’m familiar with this man’s work and I gobble it up like Halloween candy， okay？ My staff rec card for “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” literally reads: “A bold statement: but this is my favorite book in this entire store。” And I mean that。 “Southern Book Club” was my favorite book last year。 So。 Why didn’t this one connect with me as much as my faves？ It’s the characters。 See， in Best Friends Exorcism and Southern Book Club， I am rooting for every single female throughout the entire novel。 The love and friendship between Abby and Gretchen in Best Friend’s is something that I come back to often。 The climax when Abby is releasing the demon from Gretchen’s body while Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” plays in the background？？？？？ I cry。 Every time。 And don’t even get me started on Patricia Campbell and the love that she has for a family that doesn’t deserve or appreciate her。 The trauma that woman goes through in the face of that sexy sexy vampire neighbor is TERRIFYING。 She spends the ENTIRE novel saving her friends and family while putting herself in danger and I just - GOD I LOVE THIS FICTIONAL WOMAN。 That’s the thing about Patricia and Abby。 They are fighters。 Nobody believes them。 Nobody believes Abby that her best friend has the devil inside of her。 Nobody believes Patricia that her sexy new neighbor is a blood sucking parasite。 But they PERSIST。 Just like a final girl。 However， unlike the final girls of this novel…。they are not nearly as annoying。 Ouch， Joey。 That hurt。 But it’s true， alright！ I’m sure it was written for camp and for parody but my god are these final girls depressing and bleak。 And mean！ In their defense I’m sure I wouldn’t be a happy camper if I went through the trauma they went though， but it was tiring at times。 And I’m just gonna say it - Lynette， as our narrator， is no Patricia Campbell or Abby Rivers。 And I get it - that’s the point。 Lynette is flawed and dishonest and down right scared and weak。 And yes， she does keep fighting。 But she just didn’t have this …charm that our previous two heroines had。 I suppose she was just too fickle for me。 Her thoughts and ideas were all over the place the entire time （ look whose calling the kettle black， bud。） I mean it though。 Like， how impactful can the big reveal of the killer be when our main character has gone over every single possible suspect 3 times each， changes her mind like twice， and then by the time it’s revealed we’ve already known from the first two times she’s realized it。 Still， it all worked very well in the end， if not a little all over the place。 I was just a bit more hard on this one because I was expecting it to be at the same level at Exorcism and Vampires。 That being said， I love Hendrix’s reoccurring theme throughout all of his novels of women persisting in a world that’s against them。 This is something in horror as a genre that works so well and i think that’s why so many gay men consume it and are inspired by it。 （ that’s a whole other thesis paper right there that we won’t touch right now。） But it truly is Badass women getting shit done。 Because that’s what they do。 They’re final girls。 。。。more
Lauren
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The Final Girl Support Group was an unputdownable thriller for me！ So much chaos and I was reluctant to ever want to put it down because I just had to know what was going to follow from one line to the next。 I am a horror movie junkie and the slasher subgenre in particular is one of my favorites。 In The Final Girl Support Group， you are introduced to a group of women who were victimized by mass murderers in situations that will sound extremely familiar to slasher movie fans。 I thought it was a c The Final Girl Support Group was an unputdownable thriller for me！ So much chaos and I was reluctant to ever want to put it down because I just had to know what was going to follow from one line to the next。 I am a horror movie junkie and the slasher subgenre in particular is one of my favorites。 In The Final Girl Support Group， you are introduced to a group of women who were victimized by mass murderers in situations that will sound extremely familiar to slasher movie fans。 I thought it was a choice to make them follow so closely to horror movie fan favorites， but it really allowed me to understand their horror without having to relive it with all of them。 The premise of this novel is so simple -a group of final girls have a support group and start getting bumped off- that it felt really cinematic to me while I was reading it。 I loved the exploration of how we ignore the people actually victimized when movies/books tack on that “based on a true story” header。 As a true crime podcast listener it’s something I grapple with frequently， how to listen to these stories and be respectful。 I think this book does a great job of calling out the fact that we watch these women and young people mostly go through horrible stuff and never really see the fallout。 This book manages to take something that could be self-serious and keep it fun and tense。 And while this book has blood it’s reasonable gory and not exploitative gory as it could have been， which I am sincerely grateful for！ 。。。more
Robin Bonne
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I had trouble putting this one down。
Kaethe Douglas
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I'm planning to use this for Halloween Bingo 2021。 I'm planning to use this for Halloween Bingo 2021。 。。。more
Jason
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Best slasher since Scream 4Best slasher since Scream 4 but in book form。 I can't recall the last time I cried at the end of a horror book but here we are Best slasher since Scream 4Best slasher since Scream 4 but in book form。 I can't recall the last time I cried at the end of a horror book but here we are 。。。more
R。L。 Bailey
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I've been a huge Grady Hendrix fan for awhile。 He's definitely one of my top modern authors to read and his books have twice been best of the year for me。 So it kind of breaks my heart to say this one bored me。 It takes a trope that has just been done so much this past decade and doesn't do anything creative。 Final girls have been analyzed scholarly and been tackled a ton in fiction。 The only thing Hendrix seems to do a tad different is hint heavily at the characters in the book being actual cha I've been a huge Grady Hendrix fan for awhile。 He's definitely one of my top modern authors to read and his books have twice been best of the year for me。 So it kind of breaks my heart to say this one bored me。 It takes a trope that has just been done so much this past decade and doesn't do anything creative。 Final girls have been analyzed scholarly and been tackled a ton in fiction。 The only thing Hendrix seems to do a tad different is hint heavily at the characters in the book being actual characters from horror movies。 A fun concept， but he spends so much time making sure we know which character he means that it's boring。 He goes as far as to reference actual scenes from horror movies。 These constant obvious references always take me out of these "love letter to 80s horror" books。 It's pandering at its worst and its a bore to genre fans at its best。 Which leads me to this bold prediction; this is probably Hendrix's most mainstream book and will be a hit。 He's dulled down his previous work into a meat and potatoes， cat and mouse book。 It doesn't have that Hendrix charm， but you could do a lot worse。 。。。more
Adeline
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I might change my rating cause I don't know on one hand I liked it， it was fast pace and action pact but on the other I didn't really enjoyed the "all men are evil" vibe I got from it， it was too much especially coming from a men 🤷♀️ so I guess 3 stars it is for now 🙂 I might change my rating cause I don't know on one hand I liked it， it was fast pace and action pact but on the other I didn't really enjoyed the "all men are evil" vibe I got from it， it was too much especially coming from a men 🤷♀️ so I guess 3 stars it is for now 🙂 。。。more
Aaron Carter
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