Holy hell this book. In my opinion, this was some other worldly account of Dracula mixed with a gory horror film…which is why I have to give my thoughts on it. It struck feelings in me that much, and while I did not LOVE it, I truly won’t forget it. And, here is why.
SYNOPSIS: It’s the 1990s and Patricia Campbell always planned on having a big life. But, after she gave up her nursing career to marry a doctor and take care of her kids, she feels stuck. No one appreciates her and the only solace she has is her book club that reads true crime novels. When a mysterious new neighbor rolls into town and a series of unforunate events happen, Patricia and the women of the book club have to put their detective skills to good use as community children go missing or neighbors wind up in the hospital. People get hurt, people die and people get manipulated…all by one solitary figure who is as charismatic as they come. Is he a vampire or a Ted Bundy serial killer in disguise? Only the book club can find out.
MY THOUGHTS: Well good lord almighty, the cover of this book was very deceiving. It has a striking black cover with a peach bleeding from a vampire bite on it, and it is as striking as this book. When I started it, what I thought I was getting into was a thriller comedy about a book club that outs a vampire somewhat Twilight style…I was majorly wrong. What I got was a slow build into a GORY thriller/horror novel. I’ll be honest I was not expecting this to be as gory as it was. And what shocked me even more what I kept listening. Reading this book on audio was an experience, and my mouth was wide open so many times. Specifically, my mouth was agape for the raccoon scene, the basement bugs scene and the eventual final solution to the mysterious murderer. It was disgusting, but if you are looking for a scary fall read, this meets all requirements.
What I liked about this book was how much it shocked me. I know a catch-22, but it kept me listening surprisingly. The narrator for audio was a master of the southern dialects, the charasmatic tone of the mystery man and the condescending tone of literally all the men in the novel. It was well done in terms of the audiobook. The horror scenes were well thought out, but it did not necessarily turn me into a horror lover. Last thing I liked was the setting. It was very southern and transportable to the 1990s. I enjoyed the background of it and how it played into the whole mystery.
Now onto what I did not like…which is quite a few things. First, the men in this novel were infuriating. Unsure if that was the author‘s main point, but the men were atrocious in how they treated their wives and how they just assumed that they were God’s gift to the earth. Second, the women…they were so accepting of their husbands. It just made me so mad. Lastly, the length of this book. It was a lot longer than I anticipated, and I think some of the gory scenes could have been cut short.
Overall, if you like horror, want to be freaked out and don’t mind a ton of gory scenes. This book might be for you. As for me, I rated it 4 stars in terms of how shocked I was, but it will not be a book I keep forever and will only recommend to specific people who might like a horror novel.