Becca Reviews: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

I picked this Hendrix book because 1) it's October right now 2) I love a thriller (or horror if I'm watching with someone) and wanted to try out reading them too 3) I want to read some Stephen King and wanted a transitional book. So I ended up here and I have to say I now want to read his other stories too.

In a nutshell this book is a bubbling pot of horror stories and 90s/00s slasher films reduced down to a lovely sauce that coats the pasta of sisterhood and women supporting women (most the time).

Our protagonist, Lynette, is part of a support group (you'll never guess) that connects 'final girls'. Final Girl (noun): refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. They meet to discuss ways to attempt to lead a normal life as well as ways to ensure they stay safe. As it turns out the final in 'final girl' doesn't typically signify the end of their tribulations. We come to learn that many 'fans', if you can wholeheartedly call them that, of the final girl like to stalk, torment, or even aim to attack/kill them. Sometimes this is in support of the original killer in a sort of copy-cat-killing style, sometimes it's as revenge e.g. a family member of the original killer, or sometimes it's a weird power/ego situation where they want to kill the unkillable girl.

Lynette, in detail, explains how she stays safe by; always knowing her exists, keeping her car parked in a different garage to her apartment, having multiple bug-out bags, never trusting people, the phrase 'one is none and two is one', in relation to plans, computers, secret stacks of cash etc. Hendrix really things about everything here and what stood out for me is how some of these are not a stretch from what the average woman considers on a day to day basis in order to stay safe. Things like being aware of your surroundings, checking people aren't coming in your apartment building behind you, and locking your doors when you get in your car immediately.

We join the story when everything starts going wrong. Someone knows about their support group and now all their lives are in danger. A conceit throughout is that Lynette is not a true final girl as she didn't defeat her attacker and more just played opossum, this is something she is constantly trying to come to terms with and the thing that, ultimately, gives her the strength she needs. Hendrix should be given an award for creating convincing red herring's. We know someone is tormenting the girls, following them, pitting them against each other, and even attacking them but Lynette can not figure out who. As we follow the story we find out whether she is putting her trust in the right people ... or not!

The climax of the story gets a little gory but very satisfying in that we assume Lynette has fallen into multiple of her own traps, but, she's a final girl, of course she has a plan. If you're a fan of, or have seen, American Horror Story, particularly the season 1984, or any of the Scream films, or any slasher/horror, particularly of the more 90s/teen leaning category then these final scenes will feel super nostalgic.

My only negative really is that for such a strong story idea I think the execution could have been a bit stronger or taken further, I'm not really sure but basically, I think 5/5 stars for idea, 3/5 stars for execution which sits him at a happy 4/5 stars. The fast-paced writing and story telling marry well with the plot. Some reviewers have complained or noted that Hendrix attempts to write in jump scares which can be a tricky thing to do, but I think you need to get out of the 'horror film' mindset and think more of the genre and clichés as a whole to enjoy this for what it is. Notably, the scene where Lynette goes "off-road" (no spoilers) surprised me and took me a moment to figure out what was happening/where we were/who was where etc. which I think creates that jump-scare feeling very well.

Personally, I can't wait to read The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires and get stuck into more of Hendrix's great conceits! If you want something that's heading towards horror but is still accessible, definitely use this as a stepping stone like I did!

For some homework, or extra reading check out The Final Girl: more than a trope by Kira Kadar.

Read: 26/10/2024

Published: 13/07/2021

ISBN: 9780593201237

Price: £9.39 (GBP)