The closer Patricia gets to James Harris, the more she notices that something's not quite right with him.

I think a large part of why the satire didn't quite work for me was because the humor in this book fell so flat. And then there were some absurd, gory horror moments that felt cheesy and silly and ridiculous. It just didn't work for me. Patricia Campbell remembers what life was like before she gave into motherhood - she was an amazing nurse and strong-willed.When local children go missing, Patricia has reason to believe that James may be more Bundy than Beatnik. But once she and the book club members investigate further, the true monster emerges—and he’s far more terrifying than any serial killer they’ve ever read about. Southern Gothic literature set out to expose the myth of old antebellum South, and its narrative of an idyllic past hidden by social, familial, and racial denials and suppressions.-the Wikipedia entry that I googled to make sure I didnt misremember my lit education. It describes this book to a T.

You can listen to free, amazing, and did I mention free podcasts Grady Hendrix is the author of the novels Horrorstör, about a haunted IKEA, and My Best Friend's Exorcism, which is like Beaches meets The Exorcist, only it's set in the Eighties. He's also the author of We Sold Our Souls, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and the upcoming (July 13!) Final Girl Support Group!

Beyond the Book

You set this in the early '90s, which seems very deliberate. What does that mean for the story? (My nerd brain says "Pre- Buffy," but I'm guessing there's more to it than that) The next section is dated August of 1993 and is titled “Psycho.” The women attempt to go to the police, but their husbands stop them because they are working on a housing development project in Six Mile with James. The husbands make their wives apologize to James for starting rumors. James accepts their apology and suggests he join book club permanently so they will realize they have nothing to fear from him. The women agree, but Patricia is devastated that no one believes her. She tries to kill herself by taking all of the Prozac that her husband gave her. When she wakes up in the hospital, he tells her he will take the children away from her if she does not decide to give up on her conspiracy theory. The novel begins with an omniscient narrator who tells us that the story begins with the bloody childbirth of five little girls who grow up to be housewives in the wealthy Old Village of South Carolina. Their story, the narrator says, will also end in blood. After the prologue, the definition of the word “housewife” is presented, and then the first section, “Cry The Beloved Country,” begins. The section is labeled “November 1988.” All of the sections in the book are titled with the name of the selection the book club is reading in that particular month. The novel switches from an omniscient to a close-third on Patricia Campbell, the main character. The Author Resource Round Table on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/116489?group_id=26989

Grady Hendrix is the author of the novels Horrorstör, about a haunted IKEA, and My Best Friend's Exorcism, which is like Beaches meets The Exorcist, only it's set in the Eighties. He's also the author of We Sold Our Souls, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and the upcoming (July 13!) Final Girl Support Group! JadePhoenix13 on Reading The Wheel of Time: Taim Tells Lies and Rand Shares His Plan in Winter’s Heart (Part 3) 3 hours agoTake That!: To Tom Clancy, whose prose Patricia compares to that of an insurance salesman trying to sound like a military man.