An excellent retelling of the classic vampire story with rich, wonderful characters and a genuinely horrifying villain.

Grady Hendrix is a sneaky so-and-so. He starts out with a cast of funny, quirky Southern women who are slightly overwhelmed by their family responsibilities. Then he starts cranking up the pressure. You know, just like one does when placing someone's head in a vise. Or stretching them on the rack.

And things get <i>gross</i>. I have a low tolerance for gross-out imagery, and there are two scenes in this book that ratchet up the horror of garbage, insects, and getting small parts of you chewed off.

On the positive side, the villain is completely hate-worthy, and the semi-disgusting resolution (fewer bugs and adult diapers, so that was a plus) SO satisfyingly macabre.

I knocked off a star because there isn't a single normal, likable male character in the book. They're all pretty awful, with zero redeeming qualities. While the women are also pretty flawed, at least you have sympathy for what they suffer. I wish at least one male character was sympathetic.

If you are triggered by horrifying amounts of trash, crawly bugs, gaslighting, rape, domestic violence, and child death....you should not read this book. In fact, I'm sorry you got so far into this review. But if you like jokes in the beginning, feeling like your head will explode with fury in the middle, ended only by gouts of bloody catharsis, well pick this up ASAP.

Received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I would describe this book as Buffy meets Fried Green Tomatoes. Read this! I couldn't put this down just like I couldn't put down My Best Friend's Exorcism.. Action-packed, a little creepy, a little funny and a little poignant. Good read.

Grady Hendrix and Quirk Books: such a nice coupling. They've got the blurbs, and he delivers--this lives up to "Steel Magnolias meets Dracula".

Not only does it live up to the blurb on the surface, there's a beating heart here. Patricia's new neighbor is very, very bad, and she must depend on her book club sisters to help address this threat to their own neighborhood.

Hendrix attacks issues of class and race organically in this tale of neighbors, bonded through a love of true crime, banded against a very real evil.

While the bad bad neighbor is a little one-dimensional (he's bad, he's just bad), the true focus here is really on sisterhood and the relationships that sustain these women as their lives evolve over time. Still, the physical manifestation of vampirism is super-creepy and more reminiscent of Del Toro/Hogan's The Strain than traditional fang-growing creatures. Hendrix's typical high-concept, attention-grabbing title is gripping and highly recommended for general fiction lovers, as well as horror readers.

Hendrix turns his eyes to vampires and the 1990s with this impressive suburban drama that asks the question, what would happen if a group of housewives had to take on the undead?
Aptly described as Fried Green Tomatoes meets Dracula, it's a twist on small town Americana, where the men make the business decisions and the women busy themselves with housework, gossip and book club.
But when the small town is threatened by a series of murders, it quickly becomes apparent that it's going to be up to the women to stop the killings.
It is a different kind of vampire story, one that unwinds slowly like a true crime case to a deeply satisfying conclusion.
Hendrix punctuates the mundane of everyday life with moments of severe violence and sex, moments that are used to drive the characters out of their suburban bubble and into a seedier, darker world.
But it's much more than just a monster story.
The book club members - particularly those of Patricia and Slick - are richly drawn and it is just as much a heartfelt story of friendship as it is a horror story.
In a market flooded by vampire novels, Hendrix proves that there's still room for originality.
Highly recommended.

This wasn't what I expected, which was a funny horror story about typical book club ladies taking on the undead. It is a dark and very human story about a group of Southern women whose children are threatened by a seemingly unbeatable villain, a man who has ingratiated himself into their world down to the roots. This is not your typical vampire tale.

This book started off really strong for me. I couldn't put it down. But it lost momentum for me around the time Miss Mary died and I just couldn't stick with it. I've read over 50% and just don't want to read any further. I really appreciate the opportunity to preview this title. Thank you.

Patricia lives an idyllic, southern lifestyle in a quiet suburb. The only real excitement she gets is from her book club and the true crime books they read. When a mysterious man moves into the neighborhood, Patricia is awakened to what she is capable of and what she’s been avoiding her whole life.

I’m not a huge horror fan, so this wasn’t my cup of tea. However, I think those that do love horror would really enjoy this.

DNF for me at 15%. Not to my reading taste. I found it too gruesome and could not connect with the characters.

I requested a copy of this at Halloween when I was in a mood for monster/spooky reads. Unfortunately that desire passed before I got to this one. Can't get into it.

This book was thoroughly engrossing and deeply upsetting. At its core, it's about men who care only about their own power at the expense of the women and children in their lives. I hated the men in this book so much--this can't be understated! I think it hit me super hard because even though the book is about vampires, yes literal vampires, it is completely believable in every other way. I don't want to say much more about the story except that it's set in the 90s in South Carolina and the central character, Patricia, is a housewife in an upper middle-class neighborhood in the suburbs. Patricia is part of a book club with a handful of other women, and they read true crime and creepy novels. Then, actual creepy stuff starts happening and Patricia tries to protect her family. You should read this, but not if you have high blood pressure or are prone to fits of rage. I think I now have both problems.

Fun reward! The characters, plot, settings and descriptions were superb, looking very forward to reading more from this author!

I didn't really know what i was getting into when I started, but whoa... This is full on horror. Visceral, terrifying, and compelling. I HAD to know what happened at the end and I read so fast I got a headache. A must read for horror fans.

When I saw all the wonderful reviews written about this book I couldn’t wait to read it. What a hoot! I loved this book, the very original storyline, the characters, and the wonderful way Grady Hendrix writes and describes things. I intend to read all of her other books. I can’t wait for others to enjoy this as much as I did.

Sometimes you read a book where the premise is so good and the follow-through is so not and you feel so disappointed. And then sometimes you read a book where the premise is so good and the follow-through is even better and you fall in love with reading all over again. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix is the latter. This is the second book I've read by Hendrix and while I liked My Best Friend's Exorcism and it technically exists in the same universe, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires hit so many more of my bookish pleasure points.

This book is scary, twisty, weirdly sexy, and so good. There's a nice dose of social commentary mixed in with incredibly written horror. By giving the reader more information than the characters have at certain points in the story, Hendrix creates a narrative arc that is almost impossible to put down. You can't help but root for Patricia and her book club friends to kick vampire ass while also showing their ungrateful families what's up. I've consumed a lot of vampire pop culture and Hendrix knocks this one out of the park. I should also note a cw for sexual violence among other more typical horror tropes.

Recommended for readers who want to read a book that doesn't hedge its bets. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires goes there and doesn't apologize one bit.

Fun read, good character development. Set in Charleston SC/Mt Pleasant made it even better for me as I know the area very well. Southern mamas always protect their kids, even from evil.

This was my first book by Grady Hendrix, and I LOVED it! I loved Patricia and the girls! Horror meets the south, what's not to love?? Add in some comedy, and you're all set! Please read this book!

Grady Hendrix has a way of taking a tried and true trope of the genre and adding something new to it. His "mom vs Dracula" book has both laugh out loud moments and passages that wash you with dread.

Overall I've been an enthusiastic reader of Grady Hendrix. Except for We Sold Our Souls (which, I don't know - for some reason I just didn't connect with) I've thoroughly enjoyed each of his books, and I really liked this one. I bought into the plot and setting right away, and found the book genuinely creepy. Highly recommended!

This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year. Think Dracula meets Steel Magnolias . Patricia Campbell has given up her career as a nurse to marry a Dr. she has two children but the most excitement she has is her book club where she and her friends relish reading tru crime . Then a new man comes to town and strange things begin to happen . This novel starts as a little of a light hearted story about a book club in the south but turns into a creepy unsettling horror story . You will become quite attached to the women in this group and loathe to leave them as you turn the last page