Bloody, disturbing, often hilariously well observed, Grady Hendrix’s novel The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is a tale of darkness stealing into a quiet and reserved community, and how that community responds to the evil in its midst. It’s the early 90s, and in a well-to-do Charleston town Patricia Campbell and her friends meet once a month for their book club, a much-needed slice of time away from husbands, children and never-ending lists of jobs needing doing. When strange goings-on bring charming newcomer James Harris into their orbit, however, the stories they read of gruesome murder and true crime begin to feel worryingly relevant.
