The Final Girl Support Group
A fast-paced, thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized—someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.
Reviews
"A wildly entertaining romp through the conventions of horror’s slasher film subgenre…Hendrix masterfully evokes the paranoid existences of his diverse cast in the aftermath of their traumatic ordeals, and he so explicitly details the massacres and fictional film sagas that grew out of them that readers may believe them to be real. The result is a wonderfully suspenseful and darkly comic novel that cleverly subverts popular culture.Horror fans will be wowed."
"Hendrix presents yet another thought-provoking, fun, and chilling winner."
“A bloody and grotesque but ultimately entertaining and inspiring take on horror movies, trauma, and self-determination.”
"[An] entertaining, fast-paced, and darklyhumorous novel that reads like a sequel to a spooky '80s horror flick."Booklist
"A savvy summer slasher."
"Hendrix’s cinematic knowledge is deployed with skill, and it’s not necessary to be a fan of slasher movies to enjoy this very clever, gleefully violent, self-aware deconstruction of the genre."
"This is a must-read for stalk 'n' slash fans and another hit from a horror writer at the top of his game."
"While this story’s appeal should be obvious to fans of movies like Friday the 13th and Halloween, Hendrix gives the slasher genre an added level of depth and sophistication as he explores residual trauma as well as the consequences and complications of commodifying that trauma. The Final Girl Support Group is a quirky but refreshingly thoughtful homage to slasher films and the stalwart women who outfoxed their diabolical stalkers."
"This is a fine reworking of a genre exercise: pulpy without feeling trashy, conventional without feeling unintelligent, and always geared toward delivering maximum enjoyment. It’s about time we had another good slasher beach read."
"THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP is ultimately a novel of courageous self-discovery as damaged, flawed, but nonetheless determined and capable women face decks fatally stacked against them. But in the lessons learned from their grisly pasts and shared among their supportive circle, they never lose their potential to become not just survivors, but saviors, to be the awe-inspiring heroes of their own stories and of one another’s, as well."
"If you’re a horror lover and a fan of slasher movies, you’ll adore The Final Girl Support Club."
"[Readers are} in for a thrill ride that’s equal parts terrifying and satisfying, as the final girls refuse to be victimized anymore."
"THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP sizzles with action, originality, and a gleaming concept sharp as a scalpel."
"The Final Girl Support Group... pays homage to the slasher genre while recognising that mainstream views have changed over the last four decades, that those who did so can no longer ignore the sexual and physical violence perpetrated on women"
"Support Group starts with the question that slasher movies don’t bother asking: What happens to the final girl once the movie ends? How does she go on?"
"The Final Girl Support Group is a fast-paced horror thriller, not-quite-slasher that pierced through this slasher fan’s heart and bone."
"Pray for morning, wish for speed, and be as quiet as you can, it doesn't matter—Grady Hendrix's The Final Girl Support Group already knows where you live and breathe."Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“The Final Girl Support Group is funny, scary, and a roaring good time. Grady Hendrix puts his own spin on Final Girls and I loved it. His unique voice should not be missed by those who enjoy horror with a big dose of sarcasm and humor.”Stephen Graham Jones, Author of The Only Good Indians
"Take slasher movie adoration, critique, and satire, mix with compelling, flawed characters and neck-breaking plot twists, and drop it all into an industrial blender with large blades. Voilà, you now have Grady's maniacally clever and compulsively readable The Final Girl Support Group."Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author of My Lovely Wife
"The Final Girl Support Group is perfect for anyone who loves old slasher movies and, oddly enough, anyone who hates them. Grady Hendrix has somehow crafted both an homage to B-horror schlock and a clever dissection of the genre, all delivered in the form of one long breathless chase punctuated by both unpredictable twists and thoughtful insight."Paul Tremblay, National bestselling author of Survivor Song
"A (bloody) valentine to the slasher franchises of the VHS era, but also a smart novel about survivor guilt and the concept of the enduring heroine."David Wong, New York Times bestselling author of John Dies at the End
“With The Final Girl Support Group Grady Hendrix transforms a horror trope into something bloody original. An incisive examination of society's obsession with violence against women that simultaneously honors and roasts the slasher genre with equal prowess. Wildly entertaining and clever as hell.”Kim Newman, author of Anno Dracula
"Grady Hendrix’s canny new novel, THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP, gathers all the tropes and iconography of a decade’s worth of slasher movies, throws them into a blender with much more wit and intelligence than any of those movies displayed, in a truly original, compelling, suspenseful tour de force… with a knowing wink. Hendrix has a rare, unique voice in a genre sorely in need of more!"Rachel Harrison, Author of The Return
"THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP is a deft examination of how our culture's obsession with misogynistic violence destroys the lives of women and how those women are able to keep fighting and living after unthinkable trauma. The beating heart of this book is empathy and it's set into a lightning-paced, vicious thriller. Reading it was a catharsis. Absolutely unmissable. Horror fans... you've never read a slasher like this."Mick Garris, writer, director (The Stand, Bag of Bones, The Shining miniseries)
"A crazy emotional roller coaster ride that took me right back to1980, but it needs a warning label: may cause severe anxiety, suggest reading with CBD and a glass of wine."Mallory O'Meara, bestselling author of THE LADY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON
"A crazy emotional roller coaster ride that took me right back to1980, but it needs a warning label: may cause severe anxiety, suggest reading with CBD and a glass of wine."Adrienne King, actress, artist, Friday the 13th’s 1st Final Girl
Awards & Accolades
New York Times Bestseller List: #11
L.A. Times: #4, on the list for 3 weeks in a row
Indiebound Bestseller List: #8
USA Today: #36
UK Bookscan for HC Fiction: #22
#15 on the SoCal Indie Bestseller List for Hardcover Fiction!
USA Today: "Books to Read This Summer"
LibroFM: #3 in Horror Bestsellers for Audiobooks