The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Staff Top Fives 2020-2021

Our favorite books of 2020-2021.

This was my first introduction to the "horror novel." I was unsure if I would like it, but it did not disappoint! This was a full-blown thriller with twists and turns. With just enough gore to make one shiver. Recommended By Mariette E., Powells.com

The New York Times Best Seller
A Barnes & Noble Best Fiction Book of 2020
A Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist

Now in paperback, 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.

Bonus features:
• Reading group guide for book clubs
• Hand-drawn map of Mt. Pleasant
• Annotated true-crime reading list by Grady Hendrix
• And more!

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.

"[A] clever, addictive vampire thriller....This powerful, eclectic novel both pays homage to the literary vampire canon and stands singularly within it." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Hendrix cleverly sprinkles in nods to well-established vampire lore, and the fact that he's a master at conjuring heady 1990s nostalgia is just the icing on what is his best book yet." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"Hendrix has masterfully blended the disaffected housewife trope with a terrifying vampire tale, and the anxiety and tension are palpable...a cheeky, spot-on pick for book clubs." Booklist (Starred Review)

"A vampire's hunger for blood may be insatiable, but this masterpiece novel ladles out ample thrills, chills, and relevant examples of sociopolitical injustices to satisfy any literary appetite." Foreword Reviews (Starred Review)

"As fun (and as creepy) as the title suggests....This novel will definitely whet your appetite if you're looking for something a bit eccentric and spooky." BuzzFeed

"[Hendrix] remains excellent at staging page-turning sequences of excitement and anxiety...[and] a master of adding little details that fill in the landscape of his Southern-fried world." The A.V. Club

Grady Hendrix is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter living in New York City. He is the author of Horrorstör, My Best Friend's Exorcism, We Sold Our Souls, and the New York Times bestselling The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, which is being adapted into a series by Amazon Studios. Grady also authored the Bram Stoker Award-winning nonfiction book, Paperbacks from Hell, a history of the horror paperback boom of the '70s and '80s.