I Thought This Would Be Different

Not going to lie, when I read this was Steel Magnolias crossed with a book club that kills vampires, I was expecting something funny, light, different.

While there were some funny bits, this was heavier than I thought it would be and left me a bit upset.  Patricia is our main protagonist, a former nurse who gave up her career to help her husband's medical career (red flag 1). She stays home to raise the children and tries to get involved in her neighborhood book club. It doesn't go well since the head of the club is a wee bit uptight and, instead of being fun, it's a miserable experience for Patricia. (I've been in such book clubs). 

A few of the ladies do a break out club, reading crime novels with the occasional "normal" novel mixed in, for depth. She's got a good group of friends now and reads books she actually likes! Her husband still insists on working ungodly hours for a promotion, leaving her to essentially be a single mom. They've also taken in his mom, who has dementia, and Patricia cares for her as well. 

When Patricia is brutally attacked in front of her own home by an elderly neighbor, things change. James Harris, the elderly neighbor's "relative", comes around and Patricia is enchanted by him. Hell, everyone gets enchanted by him. Weirdly enchanted. 

Harris' appearance is around the same time black children start disappearing. Patricia, having read up on vampires, figures out what James is and tries to sound the alarm. Her husband's reaction is just outright appalling (red flag 2) as well as her friend's reactions. She's essentially on her own.

Grady Hendrix touches on systemic racism here: why else would a vampire target black children from a working class neighborhood? He shows us how lethargic the police are in responding to the missing children, how the wealthier white neighborhoods have a "Well, it's not happening HERE" attitude. 

As Patricia fights the fight, things get dark (yes, they were already dark, they get darker). I was happy with the ending and happy seeing Patricia stand up. I was less happy about the side plot of the missing black kids and their tormented parents just..... disappear. 

Ms. Greene stands large. She's the black lady who is hired by Patricia to help care for her mother in law. Ms. Greene put her life on the line when Harris attacked Miss Mary and was the pivotal person to bring the missing children to Patricia's attention. And in the end, Ms. Greene did the bulk of the dirty work. I wanted her to have more kudos, more limelight and more of the happy ending. 

In the end.... Fuck Patriarchy and Fuck Racism.

Interview with the Vampire (book author)