The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

This is my first ever Grady Hendrix novel. I’ve heard his name bandied about on the internet, seen his cool book titles and read some rave reviews, but I’ve been putting them on the long finger due to too many books and too little time. Then I discovered we had the e-audio of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires at my local library, and it was time to scratch my GH itch. Here are the relevant details:

Format: Audiobook

Obtained from: Library (support your public library, people!)

Listening time: 13 hrs and 49 minutes

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

ISBN: 9781094136998

Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Disclaimer – I read this in June, so forgive me if I’m a little hazy on some of the details.

So, what’s it all about?

Patricia Campbell is new in Mount Pleasant, the kind of town one moves to so one can bring up ones kids in a safe environment. Moving to a new town is rarely what it purports to be, and Patricia finds herself bored. Her husband is hard-working, but often absent and leaves most of the “home stuff” to Patricia, including bringing up her two teens, both of whom are, well, teenagers. To find some entertainment and try to make friends, she joins the local book club chapter. The problem is, the woman who runs it wants to read classics, while Patricia and the others would rather read mysteries and true crime. Still, she does make some friends and everything is looking better. One night she gets attacked in her yard, having part of her ear bitten off in the process. The police come up with nothing, and Patrica begins to fear for her safety. Then she meets her new neighbour, who, despite some weird proclivities, is attentive to Patricia and relates well to her kids, things her husband isn’t. But things don’t get better, and Patricia’s life begins a downward spiral that has her question her sanity and fear for her and her families life.

Is it any good?

I have a confession to make – as much as I love horror, I’ve never really found any that particularly scares me. Sure, I’ve come across the odd one here and there, but they’re very few and far between. So Al, why do you read horror? Well, it’s watching the character arcs, how they deal with circumstances that defy explanation. TSBCGTSV does this really well, as the very engaging Patricia goes from bored housewife to victim to detective to vampire hunter. The move to Mount Pleasant was supposed to provide a better way of life, but instead, she finds herself lonely, struggling with her teens and workaholic husband. Just to rub salt in her wounds, it turns out Mt Pleasant could be better named as Mt Unpleasant as she digs into its history. Next door neighbour James is another good character. He’s weird, but he’s a friend to Patricia when she needs it most, which makes it all the harder when she starts to suspect him (if this is a spoiler, you’re not following the book). The Book Club on the surface seems like a bunch of thin stereotypes, but as the book progresses, Hendrix peels back the layers (thanks for the metaphor, Shrek) to show their depth. The take on vampirism is kinda cool, and the way they deal with it is kinda messed up. It is horror though, so expect some gruesome bits. 

 Verdict

On the surface, a fun vampire-hunting adventure, but Hendrix also pulls the covers off small-town Americana.