A review by revolverreads
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Have you ever been gaslighted by your husband? Made to believe that everything is your fault, that you are the one losing your mind? If so, please contact your local divorce lawyer because you may be eligible for a lump sum payout from your high school sweetheart turned garbage husband, whom you married right out of high school.

This month, we found ourselves with a book full of husbands who do not even meet the minimum criteria for a loving life partner. 'The Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Slaying Vampires' by Grady Hendrix teaches you that sometimes the real monsters are not supernatural; they are the living, breathing meat sacks (your local trashman husband) that sleep next to you at night.

The novel captivated our attention from the very first page. From passages about how closely tied motherhood and bloodshed are to the standoff between Dracula and a mother, you know from the start that this book will not disappoint. Hendrix wastes no words; the introduction sets the tone of the journey, and what a powerful start it is.

To be fair, the husbands are TRULY monstrous in this novel, but not in a way that is unbelievable. This truly feels like a novel of its time (the 80s nuclear family), but instead of seeing the mom as some nagging housewife who can barely get things done right, we get a glimpse into the physical and emotional labor that is motherhood.

The main perspective follows Patricia Campbell, a local housewife who always planned for a big life, only to find herself living a life smaller than ever. The more you see her day-to-day life, the more you begin to understand why she wants to risk it all for the emaciated nephew of the neighbor who died trying to chomp Patricia’s ear off. It’s quite simple, really; for the first time, someone sees HER. Someone is giving her a crumb of attention, seeing her as something other than a wife, mother, or live-in nurse. There are certainly times you want to shake and scream at Patricia. After all, she’s opening the door and inviting a vampiric monster into her life, but you can’t help but sympathize with the circumstances that lead to those decisions.

This book follows a group of Southern Housewives with a taste for some truly great true crime novels. Our protagonists find themselves battling two great monsters: their husbands and James Harris (Mr. Not Perfectly Fine - he’s literally a parasitic vampire; the husbands, there is no excuse for, they are just awful). The story unfolds in two parts, before James Harris and after James Harris, detailing the lengths that a mother will go to in order to protect her family.

As much as we loved the novel, there were moments when we had to side-eye the characterization. Patricia does almost get painted as the white savior as she fights to be Patricia Campbell, First of Her Name, mother of Blue and Korey, (ex)wife to the failed Head of Psychiatry, Carter Campbell, and savior of the murdered and forgotten children of Six Mile. Mrs. Greene, the only one who actually gets things done and one of the central but barely given any credit characters that has the greatest hand in eradicating the vampire, feels like one of the most underused players. The intersectionality is there, but somehow it just feels like it misses the mark of what could truly be.

'The Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Slaying Vampires' is truly impossible to put down and far more horrifying than you can imagine, but in a way that we haven’t yet seen executed. Check us out at Revolver Reads: A Bookclub Russian Roulette on your podcast platform of choice, or simply @revolverreads on Instagram and let us know what you think. If you’d like to email us any future book suggestions for our roulette wheel, feel free to send them to [email protected].
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