"My vote for the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards in the horror genre! I'm truly, deeply, madly in love with this book—more than five gazillion stars! Someone needs to stop my fingers from adding the entire author's collection to my nearly collapsing Mount TBR, but I can't stop with just one book. Can I?

They've labeled this book as a mashup of Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Dracula, but no, sir. This is Stepford Wives and Southern Desperate Housewives meeting True Blood!

It's not an easy, entertaining read. It's smart, gruesome, wild, and bloody, blended with dark humor, sarcasm, and criticism of the role of wives and structures of marriage. But let me tell you, it's an epic and darkly heart-wrenching women's friendship book. Their bonding reminded me of Thelma and Louise's last scene, filling my eyes with tears!

Five regular Southern housewives (at least that's what their moron husbands think!) start a book club to read true crime stories and discuss them. There's nothing ordinary about them; they know their dark sides and how to restrain them!

Welcome to 90s Charleston! The story is narrated by Patricia Campbell, a member of the book club. She gave up her nursing career, married an extremely workaholic and arrogant husband, and deals with a disrespectful teenage daughter, a son obsessed with the Third Reich, and a mother-in-law suffering from dementia. Thankfully, her book club members intervene to help her take care of her mother-in-law.

Patricia isn't really happy with her life, and the books she reads and her growing friendship with the girls are the only things brightening her mood. But wait for it—did her elderly neighbor attack her and rip her earlobe? Yes, weird things can happen in the South and stay in the South! After her neighbor's suspicious death, she becomes attracted to the charming nephew James, even though her mother-in-law confuses him with her father's killer.

As the story unfolds with suspicious deaths and missing local kids, Patricia starts to question James' involvement. However, their husbands silence them, invested in James' ideas and a large sum of money Patricia isn't sure about.

The wives keep their silence until their children's lives are in danger. Can they stop this dangerous man? Is he a real man, or is he a supernatural creature? Let's find out!

I have to admit, I loved these girls: Slick, Kitty, Grace, Maryellen, and the newest addition to their club, dear Mrs. Greene! I loved their quirky antics, loyalty, and secret badass powers forced to hide due to their husbands' abuse.

Despite the harsh, bumpy, and bloody reading, I enjoyed every second of it, and I wished it would never end! Some producers should wake up and realize this book is a secret gem that needs to be adapted into a streaming series, especially the heart-wrenching story about bitter peaches—a remarkable and unforgettable part of this book!

Overall: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! This is one of the best books of the year! Go on, get it, and read!




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