"The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires": Hendrix's Best Book To Date

I’ve read all of Grady Hendrix’s novels and each one has been a delight. He’s established himself as a unique voice in the horror genre, blending darkness, humor, and pop culture nostalgia. The only thing obviously missing is a cover design as brilliant and quirky as his previous books (like the IKEA catalog for Horrorstör or the high school yearbook and VHS tape from My Best Friend’s Exorcism). Nonetheless, the artwork retains that similar cleverness — the hardcover features a “Town of Mount Pleasant Public Library” stamp. While Exorcism was amazing, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires edges it as his best book to date. Echoing his second novel, Hendrix revisits a late 1980s (and 1990s) Charleston neighborhood as well as the theme of friendship overcoming evil. But instead of adopting another teenage perspective, Hendrix wanted to pit Dracula against his mother.

“Sometimes she craved a little danger. And that was why she had book club.”

After giving up her nursing career, Patricia Campbell’s life is a list of never-ending domestic responsibilities. Her husband is a distant workaholic, her dementia-afflicted mother-in-law is a handful, and her kids are ungrateful and defiant. But at least she has her book club, frequented by stressed, suburban housewives. After abandoning mainstream literary books, Patricia and her friends decide to read true crime. Their discussions about serial killers and the macabre presents a hilarious juxtaposition with their banter about their kids and marriages.

Then the weird stuff happens. While walking back from her book club one evening, Patricia is attacked by an elderly neighbor who appears to have been having a psychotic break. The next day, the neighbor’s nephew arrives to attend to this family matter. James Harris has that Ted Bundy charm and also happens to be an avid reader, so Patricia invites him into her life and to her book club.

“She wanted to close the door and stand on the porch and have an actual adult conversation with this man. She had been so terrified of him, but he was warm, and funny, and he looked at her in a way that made her feel seen.”

James Harris seems harmless other than his sensitivity to light, his van with blacked out windows, and his lack of a bank account. But when he visits Patricia’s house, her mother-in-law goes berserk, confusing him as someone involved with her father’s death.

Soon after, local kids go missing. Patricia suspects her new neighbor is involved. One night, while her investigation takes her into the poor side of town, Patricia witnesses Harris attacking a child in his van. It’s a gruesome and visceral scene showcasing Hendrix’s skill deliver gut-wrenching horror.

Patricia isn’t sure what to believe, but now she knows James Harris isn’t a good man. Naturally, Harris denies her claims and Patricia’s friends are skeptical at best. As the reader, we’re not surprised, but we’re compelled to find out how Patricia will expose Harris’s true nature.

“One thing I learned from all these books: it pays to be paranoid.”

Patricia’s fixation with her new neighbor puts a strain on her marriage, family, and friendships. Her husband and her friends’ spouses are adamant Harris is a great human being — basically gaslighting her like typical male characters in horror movies. Her book club friends reluctantly agree with their husbands, leaving Patricia isolated and fearful of Harris’s next move. Although Hendrix knows how when to spring a visceral scare, he’s just as good building the subtle, psychological dread. With Patricia growing more desperate and Harris’s increasing threat, we question how she’ll be able to prevail.

The theme of the novel foreshadows hope. In the most important moments of our lives, our true friends reveal themselves. A handful of women from her book club — Maryellen, Kitty, Slick, Mrs. Greene, and even Grace —begrudgingly join Patricia in the effort to defeat Harris and keep their kids and neighborhood safe. The book ends with a gripping showdown and a note of community triumphing over self-interest.

“He thinks we’re what we look like on the outside: nice Southern ladies. Let me tell you something…there’s nothing nice about Southern ladies.”

Overall, if you’re a fan of Grady Hendrix, you’ll love this book. And if this is your first Hendrix book and you like campy horror paired with quality storytelling, you’re in for a treat.

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Originally published on Medium