Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a real monster.
Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her ambitious husband is too busy to give her a goodbye kiss in the morning, her kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on thank-you notes and her endless list of chores. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime and paperback fiction. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are marriage, motherhood, and neighborhood gossip.
This predictable pattern is upended when Patricia meets James Harris, a handsome stranger who moves into the neighborhood to take care of his elderly aunt and ends up joining the book club. James is sensitive and well-read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in twenty years. But there’s something off about him. He doesn’t have a bank account, he doesn’t like going out during the day, and Patricia’s mother-in-law insists that she knew him when she was a girl—an impossibility.
When local children go missing, Patricia and the book club members start to suspect James is more of a Bundy than a Beatnik—but no one outside of the book club believes them. Have they read too many true crime books, or have they invited a real monster into their homes?
© 2020 Blackstone Publishing (Audiobook): 9781094136998
Release date
Audiobook: 7 July 2020
Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a real monster.
Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her ambitious husband is too busy to give her a goodbye kiss in the morning, her kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on thank-you notes and her endless list of chores. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime and paperback fiction. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are marriage, motherhood, and neighborhood gossip.
This predictable pattern is upended when Patricia meets James Harris, a handsome stranger who moves into the neighborhood to take care of his elderly aunt and ends up joining the book club. James is sensitive and well-read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in twenty years. But there’s something off about him. He doesn’t have a bank account, he doesn’t like going out during the day, and Patricia’s mother-in-law insists that she knew him when she was a girl—an impossibility.
When local children go missing, Patricia and the book club members start to suspect James is more of a Bundy than a Beatnik—but no one outside of the book club believes them. Have they read too many true crime books, or have they invited a real monster into their homes?
© 2020 Blackstone Publishing (Audiobook): 9781094136998
Release date
Audiobook: 7 July 2020
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Overall rating based on 951 ratings
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Labster
7 Oct 2021
What a fun, quick read this book was! I thoroughly enjoyed the narration, the story and the ending. Didn't expect the climax at all and was surprised by it. As a woman, lot of relatable instances and personalities.
Sanju
23 Feb 2022
This book was just ok for me .....it was creepy and torturous to read about. But I did feel that the book was a bit too long and the end as too nicely wrapped up for my taste
Shalini
7 Nov 2022
It was a fun ride!
Ankita
27 Nov 2022
I could not put it down!! It was so good 👍
Monica
1 Sept 2020
The best of the best in almost a decade!!!!!!! 😀😀😀🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿 Bahni Turpin is immaculate as the narrator. Recommended reading level ONE MILLION.💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Debamitra
6 Sept 2022
Monsters lurk everywhere. A superb retelling of Dracula and an unflinching gaze on the abuse caused by vile men over women through the ages. Splendid and Unputdownable! Enjoyed every single gory minute of it.
pallavi
24 Oct 2020
I was glued to the book till the end. Rollercoaster of horror and heartwarming unity of the book club. A wholesome horror novel.
Nisha
11 Jun 2023
That turned out to be a surprise. A real cozy thriller with an understated thread of humour, sadness and all those nitty gritty events which make up a woman's life.
Deeksha
22 Jan 2023
My first horror/paranormal read..the narration made it so much better. Enjoyed the read.
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