The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix Review

I want to find a new vampire book that I love. I hoped The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires would be it, but unfortunately I walked away disappointed. There were aspects that I enjoyed I just wasn’t blown away by it.

Set in the ’90s in Charleston, South Carolina, house-wife Patricia Campbell is starting to feel stuck in her routine. She gave up her career to be a suburban stay at home mom, but she is getting bored. The one thing she looks forward to is her book club that focuses on true crime and thriller novels. But when an attractive new stranger moves in next door life gets a bit more interesting. Then children start to go missing and her suspicions turn toward the new neighbor. The monster she uncovers is more horrifying than she can ever imagine.

My Thoughts on The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

Ok, we all know sometimes people in horror movies and books don’t always make the best choices. However, in this one, the bad decisions just pile up. There are two major ones that jump out at me. First, she helped the creepy new neighbor set up his bank account by signing on it. This was literally the second time she met him, and the first time she met him wasn’t a positive encounter. The author justified it as “Southern hospitality.” Well, I am from the South and while people are nice down here we aren’t stupid. Anyhow, maybe that only annoyed me because I am in the financial industry. The second bad choice was leaving her son alone on Halloween night knowing that there is a creepy child killer around.

My next problem was the way the vampire was portrayed. The first description compared the way he sucked blood to a long roach leg protruding from his throat. The local authorities thought the bite marks he left were track marks from a needle. I really just like good old-fashioned fangs, but that’s totally my preference.

In the end it was a creepy, slow burn of a horror novel. The ending took a strange twist. I guess I can summarize this review by saying nothing about this book was what I expected. The creep factor was there, but the rest fell flat for me.

My Rating: 2/5

Purchase

Don’t forget to check out bookshop.org to support indie bookstores!

Disclaimer: I am happy to be an affiliate of both Books-a-Million and bookshop.org. I will earn a commission through purchases made from my links. It will help support the blog at no extra cost to you.