The first Grady Hendrix book I read was The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and I loved it. I don’t read much horror, but it’s nice to have another go-to author besides Stephen King. I had The Final Girl Support Group on my TBR for a while as I tend to gravitate toward slasher films if I ever do watch horror movies. I liked The Final Girl Support Group although I think this book would be much better as a movie.

Lynette Tarkington is a final girl. She survived a horrific massacre of her family and as such, her trauma leaks into her routine. She has intense security measures in her apartment, carries a weapon, and takes several different bus routes in case she’s followed. Lynette has been attending a “Final Girl Support Group” for decades led by successful psychotherapist, Dr. Carol Elliott. As the group’s session comes to an end, Lynette is alerted to the fact that Adrienne, another “Final Girl” in their group was murdered. As the day progresses, each Final Girl is targeted including Lynette. Lynette has to go off the grid to figure out who’s targeting the Final Girls.

The Final Girl Support Group is a book that I couldn’t put down. My husband had invited a friend over for a BBQ at our place and I hung back in our room to finish this book. I couldn’t help it! The book from start to finish was a page-turner. I wanted to know who was targeting the Final Girls. Additionally, the way the book was written, there are clearly secrets that Lynette didn’t share with the reader and I wanted to know what they were.

As far as the characters, I liked Lynette and how she developed throughout the book. Lynette’s arguably the Final Girl whose trauma is exhibited the most. Granted, Lynette’s the main character and there isn’t as much of a preview into the other Final Girls and how they live their lives. After the climatic showdown, Lynette distances herself from someone in her past, moves into a new place, and is seeking help through physical therapy and leading the new Final Girl Support group. It’s nice to see her progress and try to live her life.

As a fan of slasher films, there are a lot of throwbacks to this genre of horror. Some of the names of the Final Girls are names of the actresses who played the roles in those films. Additionally, there’s a mention of a film series called Stab which retells Julie’s Final Girl story. Stab is also a film franchise that’s mentioned in the Scream films. In one of the section breaks, there’s an interview transcript featuring two cops interviewing one of the Final Girls. The cops are Dwight Riley and Judy Hicks who are characters in Scream 4 specifically. While I think that anyone can enjoy reading The Final Girl Support Group, I think it’s more fun knowing the references from these films.

I mentioned earlier how I think The Final Girl Support Group would be better as a film than a book. The book’s plot is a little messy and convenient. Without spoilers, there’s a moment where Lynette starts to put together the pieces of who might be responsible. I thought the way this came together was a little odd to me. Additionally, there’s another moment where Lynette has a run-in with someone from her past. The scene itself felt a little over-the-top when really it didn’t need to be that way. For a book, it was a bit much, but for a movie, I think this would be an entertaining scene.

The Final Girl Support Group was an intense, page-turner that helped me break out of my reading slump. I can see where this book might not be for everyone, but I liked it nonetheless. I rated The Final Girl Support Group four stars on Goodreads.