The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
2020 • 410 pages
Ratings159
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings159
Average rating3.8
Steel Magnolias meets Dracula in this '90s-set horror novel about a women's book club that must do battle with a mysterious newcomer to their small Southern town, perfect for murderinos and fans of Stephen King.
Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families.
One evening after book club, Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing the neighbor's handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in years. But when children on the other side of town go missing, their deaths written off by local police, Patricia has reason to believe James Harris is more of a Bundy than a Brad Pitt. The real problem? James is a monster of a different kind—and Patricia has already invited him in.
Little by little, James will insinuate himself into Patricia’s life and try to take everything she took for granted—including the book club—but she won’t surrender without a fight in this blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book almost feels like it doesn't belong to one genre. It has humor,a monster and a detective story. And I don't think that's a bad thing. It's also an amazing palate cleanser if you've been reading a lot of one type of book. I enjoyed how fleshed out some of the characters are. It would be very easy to just type cast one of the characters as the “religious one” etc.
So given the above, why not five stars? This book has what I see as a few small problems. They weren't barricades to my enjoyment, but they caused me to pause and “Huh?” a few times. For instance, I think the writer needs slightly more practice writing action scenes. I had to re-read a paragraph a few times to figure who was doing what to whom and how. In addition, at one point a character undergoes some development (yay! Go Team!) and then there's a time jump and seems like the character development has moved to another country, changed its name, and disavowed it's former life as a plot point. The character recovers their mojo (which is part of the reason I have 4 stars.), but I would have liked if that time jump was handled differently.
4.5
This book was unique, disturbing, complex, atmospheric and one of the most entertaining books I read this year. Truly an unforgettable read!
This was a wild ride! The story at times made me cringe, hold my breath, laugh out loud, picture people I know, and clench my jaw in anger, but it was a great book to get lost in! In addition to be a very readable book, there are so many things to discuss that it would make a great book club choice.
