Descriere
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award, and from the author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, comes a New York Times bestselling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for.
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?
Lynnette Tarkington survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized―someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.
Featured in Waterstones Best Books of 2021 list
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for horror 2021
"'The Final Girl Support Group' sizzles with action, originality, and a gleaming concept sharp as a scalpel." - Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"With "The Final Girl Support Group" Grady Hendrix transforms a horror trope into something bloody original. An incisive examination of society's obsession with violence against women that simultaneously honours and roasts the slasher genre with equal prowess. Wildly entertaining and clever as hell." -Rachel Harrison
"Pray for morning, wish for speed, and be as quiet as you can, it doesn't matter — Grady's Hendrix's "Final Girl Support Group" already knows where you live and breathe." - Stephen Graham Jones
"""Take slasher movie adoration, critique, and satire, mix with compelling, flawed characters and neck-breaking plot twists, and drop it all into an industrial blender with large blades. Voilà, you now have Grady's maniacally clever and compulsively readable ""The Final Girl Support Group""."" - Paul Tremblay "
"'The Final Girl Support Group" is perfect for anyone who loves old slasher movies and, oddly enough, anyone who hates them. Grady Hendrix has somehow crafted both an homage to B-horror schlock and a clever dissection of the genre, all delivered in the form of one long breathless chase punctuated by both unpredictable twists and thoughtful insight." - David Wong, author of "John Dies at the End"
"… a (bloody) valentine to the slasher franchises of the VHS era, but also a smart novel about survivor guilt and the concept of the enduring heroine." - Kim Newman, author of "Anno Dracula"
"'The Final Girl Support Group' is funny, scary, and a roaring good time. Grady Hendrix puts his own spin on Final Girls and I loved it. His unique voice should not be missed by those who enjoy horror with a big dose of sarcasm and humour. - Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author of "My Lovely Wife"
"Grady Hendrix’s canny new novel, "The Final Girl Support Group", gathers all the tropes and iconography of a decade’s worth of slasher movies, throws them into a blender with much more wit and intelligence than any of those movies displayed, in a truly original, compelling, suspenseful tour de force… with a knowing wink. Hendrix has a rare, unique voice in a genre sorely in need of more!" - Mick Garris, writer, director ("The Stand", "Bag of Bones", "The Shining "miniseries)
"""'The Final Girl Support Group' is a deft examination of how our culture's obsession with misogynistic violence destroys the lives of women and how those women are able to keep fighting and living after unthinkable trauma. The beating heart of this book is empathy and it's set into a lightning-paced, vicious thriller. Reading it was a catharsis. Absolutely unmissable. Horror fans... you've never read a slasher like this."" - Mallory O'Meara, bestselling author of ""The Lady From the Black Lagoon"" "
"""A crazy emotional roller coaster ride that took me right back to 1980, but it needs a warning label: may cause severe anxiety, suggest reading with CBD and a glass of wine."" - Adrienne King, actress, artist, Friday the 13th’s 1st Final Girl "
"Hendrix’s cinematic knowledge is deployed with skill, and it’s not necessary to be a fan of slasher movies to enjoy this very clever, gleefully violent, self-aware deconstruction of the genre." - Guardian
Praise for "The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires"
"“[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. Fans of smart horror will sink their teeth into this one.”—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
“'The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires' is funny and warm and it's genuinely creepy and disturbing. Grady re-creates a time and place without the dangerous, distortive lens of nostalgia.”—Paul Tremblay, author of "A Head Full of Ghosts" and "The Cabin at the End of the World"
"“Grady Hendrix has cemented his place as a literary luminary with ""The Southern Book Club's Guide"" to ""Slaying Vampires"". Hendrix has taken his genuine affection for housewives and their work, and folded it seamlessly into a horrifying story of social decay and community betrayal. Cancel your plans and lock your doors—you won't be able to stop reading this one until the very end”—Sarah Gailey, Hugo-Award winning author of ""Magic for Liars"" "
"“Every vampire novel is going to have blood and teeth, but this one’s got that one essential ingredient that nobody else does like Grady Hendrix: heart. These aren’t characters, they’re people, and I consider myself lucky to have known them for a few pages.”—Stephen Graham Jones, author of ""The Only Good Indians"" "
Praise for "We Sold Our Souls":
"“A good, creepy, music-tinged thriller.”—CNET "
“The quintessential horror-metal novel for our times.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Kickass, horrifying, and smart as hell. It certainly earns my two horns up.”—Dread Central
“An addictive read for the metalhead and horror hound alike.”—Bloody Disgusting
“Hendrix’s darkest novel yet will leave readers begging for an encore.”—Booklist, starred review
“If you see me in the wild and I'm reading a book that was written by Grady Hendrix, interrupt me at your own peril.”—Sarah Gailey, Hugo-Award winning author of "Magic for Liars"
Praise for "Paperbacks from Hell":
"“Pure, demented delight.”—The New York Times Book Review "
“Paperbacks from Hell is as funny as it is engaging.”—The Washington Post
“The book is a true appreciation of the genre.”—Los Angeles Times
“Paperbacks from Hell is as wild as its source material.”—The A.V. Club
“Just thumbing through these pages will bring back your youth—and terrify you all over again.”—Newsday
"Praise for ""My Best Friend’s Exorcism"": "
“National treasure Grady Hendrix follows his classic account of a haunted IKEA-like furniture showroom, "Horrorstör" (2014), with a nostalgia-soaked ghost story, "My Best Friend’s Exorcism".”—The Wall Street Journal
"“Take The Exorcist, add some hair spray and wine coolers, and enrol it in high school in 1988 — that’ll give you My Best Friend’s Exorcism... Campy. Heartfelt. Horrifying.”—Minnesota Public Radio "
“Clever, heartfelt, and get-under-your-skin unnerving.”—Fangoria
“A touching story of high school friendship and, well, demonic possession.”—Bloody Disgusting
“Terrific...Sharply written...[My Best Friend’s Exorcism] makes a convincing case for [Hendrix’s] powers as a sharp observer of human behavior, filtered through a fun genre conceit that doesn’t skimp on the spooky—or the bodily fluids.”—The A.V. Club
Praise for Horrorstör:
“Horrorstör delivers a crisp terror-tale...[and] Hendrix strikes a nice balance between comedy and horror.”—The Washington Post
“Disarming.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Hendrix conjures up some wonderfully gruesome imagery.”—Nerdist
"“An inventive, hilarious haunted house tale.”—Bustle "
“If you’ve ever been frustrated trying to put together furniture from IKEA, you’ll get a laugh out of Hendrix’s spoof mystery.”—New York Post
