Grady Hendrix

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

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Veronica Zarate

Jesse Presgraves

"I think," Grace said, and they sat up straighter, "that it shows a remarkable lack of planning on Betty's part. If you're going to murder your best friend with an axe, you should make sure you know what you're doing." 

"A reader lives many lives," James said. "The person who doesn't read lives but one. But if you're happy just doing what you're told and reading what other people think you should, don't let me stop you. I just find it sad." 

"And so, in conclusion," Maryellen said, bringing her case against the author of The Stranger Beside Me to a close, "Ann Rule is a world-class dope. She knew Ted Bundy, she worked next to Ted Bundy, she knew the police were looking for a good-looking young man named Ted who drove a VW Bug, and she knew that her good-looking young friend Ted Bundy drove a VW Bug, but even when her buddy is arrested she says she'll 'suspend judgment.' I mean, what does she need? For him to ring her doorbell and say 'Ann, I'm a serial killer"?"

Absolutely obsessed with this book so far!

Jemima Scott

"We're not a lynch mob, we're a book club,"

Megan BV

“A reader lives many lives,” James Harris said. “The person who doesn’t read lives but one. But if you’re happy just doing what you’re told and reading what other people think you should read, then don’t let me stop you. I just find it sad.”

“We’re not schoolgirls, Patricia. I blame the book for the quality of the evening. Good night.”

My kindle version doesn’t have page numbers for some reason. This is at 35%. All the housewife/ mother moments in this book hit hard. 

“Why do you pretend what we do is nothing?” she asked. “Every day, all the chaos and messiness of life happens and every day we clean it all up. Without us, they would just wallow in filth and disorder and nothing of any consequence would ever get done. Who taught you to sneer at that? I’ll tell you who. Someone who took their mother for granted.”

“Mom,” Blue said from the living room door. “What’s for supper?”

 “Food,” Patricia said from the sofa. 

“Is chicken food?” Patricia replied, not looking up from her book. 

“We had chicken last night,” Blue said. “And the night before. And the night before that.” 

“Maybe tonight will be different,” Patricia said.

“If you really think this man is up to no good,” Grace said, “you need more than this before we go to Ed. We don’t want to go off half-cocked.” 

“Don’t worry, Grace,” Patricia said. “When we go off, we’ll be fully cocked.”

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