The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
By Grady Hendrix
Quirk Books, 2020. 404 pages. Horror
A supernatural thriller set in South Carolina in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious stranger who turns out to be a real monster.
Grady Hendrix juxtaposes the mundane status quo of southern housewives with horror. The prologue promises with the first line that the story ends in blood, unsettling the reader from the get go even as you are plunged into the ordinary, albeit chaotic, life and concerns of our main character and housewife Patricia Campbell. This is not a romantic vampire telling and expect to feel unease with the predator as they infiltrate the seemingly idyllic small community as well as frustration with the book’s characters and their decisions even as you come to understand their individual motivations. Themes in the book outside of horror include racism and sexism. Those looking for a fast-paced horror/thriller will not be satisfied with this plot, but if you are up for a slow building horror story with some surprisingly gory scenes mixed in then this one is for you.
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The Stranger Beside Me
By Ann Rule
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From the perspective of the former policewoman, crime writer, and unknowing personal friend, tells the story of Ted Bundy, a brilliant law student executed for killing three women, who confessed to killing thirty-five others.
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