*4,5 stars*

CW: child abuse, child grooming, child self-harm, sexual assault, domestic violence, emotional abuse, dead bodies, murder, suicide attempt.

This book got me out of a reading slump, it was so captivating, I was completely invested and it made me feel so many different emotions.

I went into this book thinking the villain was the vampire, but the real villain in this story is the husband. I hated Carter with my entire soul, I was so frustrated and angry at the way he made the main character feel small and unimportant, the way he gaslighted her, made her doubt herself, and try to make her be seen as silly by her kids and other people. Honestly, all the husbands in this book were shitty.

I think this book did a great job of exploring the roles white women were confined to in the 90s, especially housewives living in the suburbs, and how everyone saw them as unimportant and silly. While at the same time showing the privileges they had and that marginalized communities and, in this case, especially Black women and Black communities didn't have.

There are some truly disgusting scenes in this book that made me feel gross-out, there were also infuriating scenes where the main character was gaslighted, there were so many sad and frustrating moments between the core friends that were part of the book club, this book truly made me feel so many things.

The ending was bittersweet, realistic, and also satisfying.

I can't wait to read Grady Hendrix's other books.