The Final Girl Support Group by Grady HendrixMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars from me.
I didn't like these ladies quite as much as the Vampire Hunter Book Club ladies, but they still provided some fun times. Less creepy, more violent. Happy days for the Final Girls!
The story revels in 90s slasher film references and introduces a group of 'final girls' - the girls who conquered the murderer at the end of their relevant killing spree and came out on top. Only now someone is after them again, all at once, and they'll have to use everything they learnt from their past experiences to stay alive.
There are many familiar stories here, so if you're a fan of horror films like Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, etc. then you will likely have a lot of fun matching familiar characters to their real-world fictional counterparts. Still, even without picking up all the references this is still an enjoyable, chaotic story.
I really enjoyed Lynette's character, not because I liked her - actually, I despised her a fair bit for being so cowardly - but because of how real her behaviour seemed. Hendrix gives full respect to trauma in that he delves into how it might change a person. Lynette is paranoid and constantly terrified, and it means her behaviour is completely understandable, even if she's not the hero you'd prefer her to be. Honestly, she's kind of pathetic.
The other characters are fun, which means its a little sad they're not fleshed out as much as I'd have liked. You still grow to understand their characters, but there were too many of them with too little screen time to get a proper idea of who they were and what drove them until the story was almost over. I also couldn't work out their ages? I got the impression right at the start that they were older, but they seem to act pretty spry still so I have no idea what age group these people were in.
The action came hard and fast and had plenty of variety with a good dose of mayhem. It was unpredictable so I was swept up in it and never really had an idea of who was behind it all. I guess I was too busy keeping up to look for clues, which made it more enjoyable for me.
The plot wasn't quite as solid as I would have liked, though it was still clear and easy to follow. I enjoyed how all of the characters had their own stories, but even though I knew they were based on films from our world, I wanted to know more about these girls and their stories. It felt like there was so much focus on Lynette and her experiences that everyone else kind of got skimmed over. It wasn't a deal-breaker, but it left me pretty curious and unsatisfied.
That being said, it was a highly addictive read from start to finish so overall it won me over.
Not quite the same calibre as The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires but definitely still an enjoyable read with plenty of chaos and mayhem to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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