This is not an action-packed book. Rather it is a slow-burn - developing a creeping sense of discomfort and unease.

Roach is the character to provide the darkness - awkward and struggling to fit in, while Laura is the focus of Roach's attention - a social butterfly, all effortless light. Or is she?

It's not quite the story I was expecting. The characters weren't easy to root for and the plot actually quite understated for one involving death.

It did hold my interest though, and left me feeling unsettled!

Thanks to the author, Hodder and Stoughton, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

SO FUN AND DERANGED - deserves all the hype and praise it can get, also a brilliant cover! Perfect for bookshops across the country...

A BOOKSHOP. A TRUE CRIME CASE. A DEADLY FRIENDSHIP.
Roach is a bookseller who loves true crime
Laura is a bookseller who is the victim of one.

This book is a slow burning creepy story about obsessions and addiction and damaged people. I didn’t warm Romany character but it drew me in until I could not put it down.

It’s been a long time since I was repulsed by a book and yet compelled to keep reading, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Roach is an absolute reprehensible person, and being in her head while reading often made me feel like I needed to take a shower when I put the book down. Both Roach nor Laura are flawed characters, but where Laura has normal flaws, Roach is an absolute monster at times. I started sending hysterical texts to a friend who’d already read this when Roach started regularly creeping into Laura’s flat. (She destroyed her books, which is obviously horrifying to me, but is the least of the horrors she inflicts on Laura.)

This is also the best depiction of bookselling I’ve read—one of Laura’s descriptions of customers in the bookshop at Christmas actually brought back a physical flashback.

A book I couldn’t put down, but a really uncomfortable one. I have no idea how Alice Slater was able to cope with the character of Roach in her head as she wrote and revised this book.

I’ve just finished this by @alicemjslater and I really enjoyed it. You can choose your friends but you certainly can’t choose who you work with and this is definitely the case for Roach and Laura who end up working together in the same branch of Spines in Walthamstow. Roach is fascinated (obsessed might be a better word) with true crime/serial killers and Laura, due to her past, can’t stand it. However for Roach this is the medium that she is convinced will draw them together and make them besties for life - if only Laura could see it. The problem is the harder Roach tries to befriend her colleague, the further she drives her away right up to the very last page of the book! This was a fun, creepy read and I really enjoyed it. Roach definitely borders on the macabre but I’m sure there are many like her out there in the world but maybe she takes her fascination just a little too far at times.

This was so compelling. Never has a book gotten so under my skin before. The tension ramped so high, i was on the edge of my seat at times.

Highly comical book that had me laughing so many times throughout. I was hooked from the first page. Highly recommend

Having heard so many wonderful reviews about this book I was really excited to read it.
Unfortunately the main character Roach literally made my skin crawl and I couldn't warm to her or her situation at all.
I was left with a very uncomfortable feeling having finished this book and craved a bath and a fluffy teddy after.

I loved this book. What an incredible debut, I couldn't put it down.

Alice's "horrible little book" was horribly good! The characters felt genuine, well rounded and utterly believable, it was a real mix of sloppy humanity, dark humour and obsession!

Roach & Laura are both working at the same bookshop when Roach, a steadfast true crime fan, discovers that Laura's mother was murdered by a serial killer, before long Roach has become so obsessed with Laura it borders on insanity, well lets face it, there are some acts that are seriously questionable and one of these bookseller's will be dead before the story ends......, I was hooked from start to finish....please release another book soon Alice!

This had a much darker & moodier vibe than I expected, with equally interesting but unlikeable characters. It’s a slow-burn thriller that one needs to be patient with, but in the end it pays off and the dual-POV works well - read if you love dark humour, true crime and unlikeable protagonists!

From the first couple of pages I was throughly gripped by A Diary of a Bookseller, which is exactly what you look for when picking up a thriller. The story centres around Roach, a true crime fanatic and Laura, a woman who’s mother happened to have been murdered by a serial killer. Both Roach and Laura are booksellers and the story is told from both their points of view.

I was hooked from beginning to end, even though I disliked both main characters. This definitely brought a fresh perspective to a genre that can be very repetitive.

I started this with gusto but life took over and had to put it aside. Unfortunately months later I've picked this up and have had to DNF at around 42%. It just doesn't seem to be going anywhere and I can't get invested in the characters. There's loads of quotes about it being pitch black and dark (one quote mentions it being as dark as Satan's basement). It's not dark at all. Difficult to recommend to anyone given I am DNFing but I am obviously in the minority here as it seems to have been well received by everyone else.

The most addictive book I've read this year! A brilliant horrible little book, perfect for fans of books about books and true crime.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 4*
Writing skill : 4*
Plot: 3*
Pace: 4*
Characters: 2*
Cover: 5*

I left this far too long to read, it was a massive hit on instagram most of the year, and I had an ARC. Another I let pass me by before picking it up. The cover of this book is genius, an absolute stellar selling point. If I'd have rated this 5* overall Id have gone out to get a physical copy to add to my collection, but it didn't quite hit the mark.
The story is told from the POV of our two MCs Laura and Roach. I believe we were supposed to like Laura, and dislike Roach, but I found it was the opposite for me. That being said I didn't root particularly for either and really didn't care which one of them was the bookseller in the title.
The pace was quick however, I like short snappy chapters, but not a lot happened. Chunks of time were skipped and I was left wondering what had happened between the two events/chapters.
The writing was fantastic though, and I could picture the scenes and scenarios with not a lot of effort. There were times I was pent up with so much anxiety with the plot, it really made me marvel Slaters writing ability.
Any books with bookshops and booksellers as the main topic is always going to be a win for me.

This was a really interesting and unique take on a mystery/thriller and it being set in a bookshop immediately piqued my interest.
I'm definitely someone who is drawn to true crime and I liked the commentary that this had on that particular genre.
There were some unlikeable characters but I did find myself engaged the whole way through.
I also really liked the writing style.
I will be keeping an eye out for what Alice Slater does next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers for sending me an ARC of both the audiobook and ebook version of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here's the review.

Roach is a goth who works in a London bookshop and is obsessed with true crime. All goes well until Laura starts working there. I won't give much away but the premise of the story is that it's a dark mystery thriller with a few twists and turns in the tale that leaves you wanting more.

Five stars. Would recommend.

It has such an interesting and unique plot with excellent pacing which kept me super engaged throughout. It is incredibly emotional, raw and beautiful. I absolutely love this genre and this was no exception, i will definitely be reading more from this wonderful author

This book was disgusting and I LOVED IT! What a brilliant debut. I’m absolutely going to be reading everything else Alice Slater writes!

A dark masterpiece that had me breathless and on the edge of my seat. A fantastic read that I couldn't put down

Creepy, clever, dark and unsettling. It's impossible not to get caught up in this tale of true crime and a suburban bookshop