A thrilling, kitsch ride for horror movie fans.

The sole survivor of a Christmas massacre, Lynette is a compulsive recluse whose sole confidantes are the five other "final girls" in her therapy group and a pot plant. When one of the final girls is killed and another one injured, Lynette must find the new killer and save them all.

The gruesome references to the six crimes which each final girl survived, and their respective horror movie franchises, is a who's who of allusions to horror classics from Halloween to Scream to Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street.

A picture of the six girls and their survival stories builds gradually, which can be confusing at first. The characters themselves are believable and each "final girl" has depth, with the exception of a few horror caricatures (Chrissy and her lurch-like boyfriend) and Lynette's dialogue with her plant, Fine.

Occasionally zigzagging, the plot is full of red herrings and the occasional unnecessary episode but keeps us guessing until the end.

A tongue in cheek homage to the horror genre - where there is always a shriequel and machetes not machine guns are the weapon du jour - makes for a compelling read which is best enjoyed with a pinch of salt. The sheer ridiculousness of it - like the horror movies it echoes - has to be embraced.

(Review will be published at oxfordbook.wordpress.com in July.)

*I was sent an ARC of this novel via NetGalley and Titan Books - thank you so much for the opportunity to read this one early*

The Final Girl Support Group was almost exactly what I wanted and expected after reading the synopsis - with a heavy focus on slasher films, horror references and tropes of the genre which I really liked. And of course multiple 'Final Girls' who each had their own unique backstory and hellish experience which led them to find solace in the support group. When history seems to be repeating itself and one of their known gets murdered, it's up to Lynette our main character and final girl to save the day. I haven't read any of Grady Hendrix's other books so I went in with no expectations whatsoever.

As a fan of horror and slasher films in general - you name it, I've probably seen it, this book was enjoyable in the ways it explores what happens to the 'final girl' after the credits roll. This is explored a little in the Halloween films and the Scream sequels with Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott becoming the archetypal final girls who becomes guarded and on the offensive and Lynette definitely falls somewhere on this spectrum. She's always prepared, has her escape routes planned out and lives in fear that the nightmares of her past will become all to real again.

I liked the concept of this novel - a whole support group devoted to women who have survived the unthinkable and have group sessions where they have developed these complex relationships with each other. I think these fraught bonds between the women make for some interesting moments and I liked how despite how they're at odds sometimes, they can truly count on each other and relate to each other in a way they can't with anybody else. I will say though that there were times when Lynette felt like the emotional punching bag of the group and it got a bit repetitive after a while.

I think one of my favourite moments in the novel was the final showdown - it was exactly the epic showstopper a novel like this one needed and I could see it translating it really well to the screen as well. The whole book in fact would make for a great film or mini-series actually, and I think with the benefit of good casting and direction it would do really well.

While this book certainly had the elements to make this a five star read, a huge part was missing for me in that I couldn't connect with the characters and really empathise or get into their heads. I feel like you really have to root for them in a book like this but I don't know if the writer always writes female characters like this or if it's a case of Lynette's general narrative voice not clicking with me, but there was something necessary missing here.

Overall, it's a mixed bag here but I enjoyed The Final Girl Support Group for the most part and I would definitely recommend to fans of horror films and slashers in particular.

I requested this eARC on a whim and do not regret it - if you love slasher movies, I think you will really enjoy this. For me it was a mixed bag because I'm not really into the gory stuff - although, in a book about final girls and slasher movies, I should have expected all the gore, I was not fully prepared for it. And at times it felt a bit too much like a trashy movie, and not enough like a book with well-rounded, nuanced characters. Still, if you are looking for some fun book and you don't mind some gore, plus if the trope of the final girl if fascinating to you, I think this will be a much better fit!

This book is really good.

Bringing together some very different characters through the support group, each one is woven into this story so incredibly well, with Lynette leading the narrative and really deliveringa tough, strong and badass woman that makes for a really good person to root for. All these women and flawed and real and feel like they could be real people and I love books like that.

Plotwise, I always feel this author has some incredibly original ideas, they did after all set a horror book in an Ikea-style store, and here we have another really great story with a plot that leaves you on the edge of your seat throughout. Dramatic scenes and well, violence is kind of a thing, combined with the descriptions of the events that led these women to be in the group, this book is not for the faint-hearted.

It's a great thriller that keeps you hooked through every moment with really well developed characters that make this story so interesting from the moment it begins - the chapters divided up by articles or speeches about 'final girls' that really add to the dimension of the story and flesh out the characters further.

I need to read so much more from this author.

4*

(I recieved an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).

Support group of final girls, women who survived the horrors of killing, when nobody should survive. They are tough, courageous, but also very traumatised and paranoid . One day becomes very clear that someone knows about them and will do everything to eliminate them. One by one.
Unique, cinematic and fast paced.

For all slasher movie genre fans.

3.5 stars

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brilliant slasher novel with a lot of twists and turns! It was a fast-paced suspenseful story that had me guessing throughout. The clues from all the recent events made me want to solve the mystery behind who wanted to take the lives of the Final Girls. I love it when a story makes my mind work. It was the plot that had me hooked. There were some really gory and gruesome details that I am all for. And some parts were quite amusing as well.

I wasn't a fan of the main character. I understand she was a Final Girl and would have had some issues. But it was frustrating and so hard to root for her. I struggled with the book at the beginning because of this. It is hard when you can't root for the character in a slasher book. Thankfully over time, I started to sympathize with her. All the other characters were unique and portrayed well. But there was a lot of information thrown at us about their backstories, movies, and franchises. I got confused.

I have mixed feelings about this one but I would recommend this to all horror/slasher fans.

What if all the Final Girls from the horror/slasher films got together and joined a support group. Absolutely deserved, but someone out there doesn't want the girls to be the winners/ survivors. With far too much insider information, the killer is taking the final Girls one by one. Not so much a send up of the rules of the horror but there is certainly a dig at the whole genre, particularly with the chapter headings. More a thriller/crime then horror, a great read by someone who knows the subject well.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Final Girl Support Group but that has in no way influenced my review,

The Final Girl Support Group, with its perfect cover, intriguing blurb and kick-ass concept, gave me palpitations at first sight. Everything about it screamed my name and cried out to be read. I just had to get my mitts on this book. And I'm so very, very glad I did! I completely ignored the rest of my TBR. Forgot about my planned schedule and ignored all other commitments until I closed the final page. If you follow damppebbles regularly you'll know that I love blood-soaked slasher novels and have a bit of a girl crush on the final girl trope, so this book ticked so many boxes for me as a reader.

Six legendary final girls meet in secret with their therapist to talk over their experiences and support each other. Yes, there are disagreements, fallings out and a lot of bickering, but the women have something which bonds them together and Lynnette, in particular, finds comfort in the meetings. Until one day, one of the women fails to attend group. Before long, it becomes clear that their secret meetings are no longer a secret. Lynnette is convinced someone has their sights set on the group. Now, all she has to do is convince the others and make it, in one piece, to the end...

I loved reading The Final Girl Support Group. It was a full-on, high energy read which I devoured in no time at all because I found it very hard to put down. I was a little bit smitten with Lynnette who, because of her experiences, is a smidge traumatised (obsessive, paranoid...goes without saying really!). I also found her a little frustrating at times but that only added to my enthusiasm. The other 'girls' are an eclectic, flawed mix and I thoroughly enjoyed finding out their stories. These aren't your normal, every-day final girls though. These six (there should be seven but no one mentions Chrissy...) are the most famous final girls in America and for good reason. I won't reveal anymore. You'll need to read the book to find out why but I loved all of the detail Hendrix puts into each character. They're all beautifully drawn, all different and unique in their own ways, they would be strangers in a different life, but the bond held between these woman is strong. That connection, that duty to each other, was what I loved most about the book.

The Final Girl Support Group has a totally absorbing, relentless pace to it which I adored. I was completely invested in the story and the characters from the moment I started reading. I was able to guess one aspect of the plot but I still savoured every minute I spent with this book. It didn't spoil my enjoyment at all because there was always more to come, more fantastically placed thrills and spills to make me keep turning those pages late into the night.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Final Girl Support Group was one helluva ride which I devoured quickly because I couldn't bear to be parted from it for very long. I've not read a book by Grady Hendrix before but it's clear this is a writer who knows how to tell a good story. I was hooked ( poor choice of word in a way, perhaps...) into Lynnette's monstrous world and I didn't want to leave. Absolutely flipping bonkers but so, so good! Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review an eARC of The Final Girl Support Group. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

What a wild ride this was!! I'm not usually a fan of thrillers, I tend to avoid them like the plague. But something about the synopsis of this one interested me. Within ten pages I was on the edge of my seat, desperate to know what was going to happen next. Hendrix was able to create these characters and make them so real and vivid that I easily would have believed them to be based on real people. The plot was dark, gruesome and gory, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it got worse. I love that some parts of the story were left a mystery, leaving us as readers to imagine it however we want. Some parts were a little too over the top for me, but that's more of a personal preference than anything. And the continued mentioning of these women being "The Final Girls" was a bit much, but again not too much that it distracted from the story. Overall, this was intense and brutal and a book that had me absolutely speechless.

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
I give this book 4.5 stars

In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll.
Lynnette Tarkington survived a massacre 22 years ago.For more than a decade she’s been meeting with 5 other final girls and their therapist in a support group.That is until one of the women misses a meeting —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 no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.

I loved every minute of this dark,chilling and sometimes violent book,it completely kept me guessing in every way right to the very end.l couldn’t put it down once l started it because it is so cleverly written that l could actually imagine it playing out like a film in my mind as l was reading! I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a mystery based horror.
With thanks to Netgalley,Grady Hendrix and Titan Books for my chance to read and review this book.

Lynette Tarkington is a ‘final girl’, the one who survives a massacre, a bloodbath. She meets five other final girls with shocking backstories for group therapy with Dr Carol Elliott and when one of them fails to turn up and then proves to be dead, Lynette realises ‘they're coming for them’, one by one as history repeats itself.

Well, given that slasher movies are the central premise you know what you’re going to get! I thought I may have to read this with my eyes closed (yep, that’ll work!) and from behind the safety of a mental sofa but no! Yes, your jaw drops and I’m not going to pretend it’s pretty in places because it’s so not but I can’t say I find it especially horrifying or terrifying but perhaps I’m not meant to! This is because it’s so over the top in places and the action, especially in the dramatic conclusion, is so far fetched I can’t take it particularly seriously! There are certainly some very movie worthy scenes that’s for sure.

I like Lynette as a central character, the portrayal of her living with the fear and heightened survival skills is very good and I particularly like that the author creates tough survivor women and not victims. The dangers they’re in builds well and there are some good twists and turns in the storytelling as you try to work out who is picking them off and why. The plot does drift into the utterly weird and total lunacy at times with Creepy/Crazy Chrissy and her collection of souvenirs being a case in point.

For the most part the pace is fast but there are occasions where there is over detail or too much expectation which halts the flow. There are a lot of characters to get your head around but you get there in the end.

Overall, if you like your novels dark and gritty and don’t mind some violence and gore then this may fit the bill! If you’re a fan of slasher movies then this is certainly up your alley as it’s a pastiche or homage to the genre and probably a bit tongue in cheek.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Titan Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This was absolutely brilliant. A homage to the slasher flick with an eclectic cast of "Final Girls' Grady Hendrix writes razor sharp prose, a knifes edge plot and doesn't let your feet touch the ground fof a single moment.

I blasted through it like a grasshopper on acid and adored every single minute.

Highly Recommended.

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.

Sometimes gory, sometimes amusing, this is definitely a read for horror fans. It has twists and turns throughout that had me guessing on the "real" killer with a satisfying ending to the story.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lynnette is a final girl: one of the people who escape murderers and are the only ones the manage to kill them at the end. She goes to a support group for years with other women that went through the same as her but then one day these survivors are targeted again and Lynnette might be the only one between them that realises the truth.

Well, that was a bit of a disappointment, but first things first.

I really liked The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampire (it was one of my favorite reads from last year) and I though My Best Friend's Exorcism a good book, so yeah, my expectations were pretty high.

What I liked was the author's writing as usual, his humor - not at all politically correct -, his homage to horror movies and some specifics action scenes, however I struggled to feel empathy towards the characters, which is a pretty big deal in this book since we have to cheer for those women to stay alive, but the author made them so damn flawed - which is good, don't get me wrong - considering all they had to suffer but he didn't make them likeable enough for me to root for them. I'm all for real characters - flaws and all - but I need to like at least something about them, not just pity them and to be honest I'm a really done with books that make women go through hell - emotionally and physically - just to show how "strong" they are. Do we really have to make them a punching bag?

I thought it was a good enough book. I still think that the author has a lot of personality in his writing style and I want to read more by him, even if this one didn't completely work for me. I think people with different expectations might enjoy it more than I did.

The Final Girl Support Group, Grady Hendrix

This group of women have been in therapy together for years. Bonded together by a trauma only few can understand. The Final Girls, all survived stories that sound familiar... a murderous brother on Halloween, a summer camp massacre etc. When one of their one is taken from them the Final Girls must pull together so that they can all remain standing.

The one left standing amongst the slain bodies of her friends. The one you root for, tortured, traumatised but ultimately victorious; the Final Girl. Coined by Carol Clover in 1987 the term has become engrained in popular culture with the misogynistic image of a muted, smart, virgin covered in blood surviving a knife wielding psycho. This novel much like the slasher films that began to subvert the norm like Scream and Cabin in the Woods, attempts to tip the scales. These girls are damaged, addicts, alcoholics they are carrying years of baggage and they are not that nice to each other. Grady Hendrix is doing what he does best, playing with the genre, injecting his trademark humour and it is excellent.

Hendrix adds so many homages to slashers gone by whilst also appreciating that they presented dangerous representations of women. He is careful to sprinkle just enough twists to keep you on your toes and bring it together in one glorious finale. With the adaption rights already purchased this will be another excellent one to play out on screen, as Hendrix so vividly brought every page to life.

I LOVED this book. Its the second Hendrix I have read and I am blown away by his writing and characters.
In the world of this book, those famous horror franchises are based on real life events and so those girls who survived are real girls- now women - who have been shaped and scarred by the horrifying events. They attend a support group and have each dealt with the horror in their own way. Now someone is picking off the final girls one by one...
There is plenty of horror and gore but lots of action and humour too, as well as heartfelt character development and edge of your chair tension. Absolutely brilliant.