Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

4.5/5 ⭐️ "When I can't put it off any longer, I get ready to head out. Group is the only time I leave this apartment..." Best work by Grady Hendrix yet!

"Ever wonder what happens to those final girls? After all their plans go belly up and all their weapons fail? After their defenses crumble and they've been shot in the head? After they trusted the wrong people, made the wrong choices, and opened themselves at the worst possible moments? After they're lives are ruined, and they are left at 38 years old with nothing in the bank, no kids, no lover, and nothing to their name but a couple ghosts and handful of broken-down friends? I know what happens to those girls. They turn into women. And they live."

If you have read Grady Hendrix’s works before you’re going to love FGSG! This is my favorite so far! The pace is fast and intense. No slow burn here. It’s action all the way through. This feels like a legitimate Friday 13th movie, mixed with a psychological thriller like Se7en. You are constantly piecing the story together with Lynette, the main character and final girl.

You get a quick introduction to the “Final Girl Support Group”, another group of strong, amazing women Hendrix creates and bam! Action, immediate action, that kicks off the wild ride that follows Lynette as she discovers more and more clues that leads her to her “true” Final Girl moment at the end of this 80’s style horror story, with the flare of 2022 kick ass girl power feminism.

Unfortunately, I can’t give too much of a synopsis because it would give away too many spoilers. The action is truly from page 40 on and everything is important to piece together the mystery of Who Is Killing the Final Girls???

Just like Hendrix’s famous horror tale, Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires (also reviewed by Literary Entropy) he creates a group of women, each with their own individuality, characteristics, and life stories that mesh so well together to form a cohesive group of robust women. I am not sure of Hendrix's background, and why he likes to write these incredible female heroine stories, but nonetheless, a whole generation appreciates them.

After conferring with Jess, Hendrix writes women in a very accurate and relatable way. He doesn’t show any bias as a man, writing about women, in such a way that you almost don’t realize a man is writing. He negates societal norms of women, and goes against the grain of positioning women as weak or less than. He presents women as strong, capable, fiery, and totally badass!

Final Girl Support Group is absolutely one of the best books I’ve read in a long time and will absolutely be in the running for one of my favorite books of 2022. If you like action, mystery, female empowerment, 80’s style horror flicks, and an unfolding story, you will definitely love Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix!

-Flip