I know I seem to be loving every book I read, but here's another one!

Death of a Bookseller by @alicemjaslater - who I have followed (in a none Roach way) on Twitter for many years and listened to her podcast (again I'm not like Roach).

This was amazing.

If you're expecting a cosy mystery, this is not it.

The story of two colleagues at a bookshop who, Roach is quiet and dark, in clothing, her thoughts, her drinks and loves True Crime, while Laura is bubbly outgoing, always matches at least two things she's wearing, berets to bags, lipstick to dresses and write poetry from the perspective of victims of serial killers. Roach sees this as a bond between them and desperately tries to befriend Laura, not realising that Laura's poetry is totally the opposite of the macabre fascination that Roach has.

The story is told from their two perspectives taking a chapter each. Laura is a complex character with a backstory that you can see she struggles with and is responsible for excessive drinking. Roach becomes more and more unhinged and there were parts where I was genuinely creeped out by her actions.

They both have some things in common, difficult parental relationships, unhealthy romantic relationships and ultimately a love of books.

What I found interesting was, as I've got older, I've shifted from thinking like Roach to thinking like Laura. I used to read books about serial killers and watch movies, but now I think more about the victims and their family and friends and have had to turn a few recent things off as they strayed close to romanticising the perpetrator.

Even though I was creeped out I didn't want this to end, but the ending, oh boy, is very creepy and a perfect twist. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

I can imagine this being adapted for screen, and I can't wait for it to be released on 27th April.

Thank you to Alice @HodderBooks and @HodderPublicity for letting me read the arc provided by @netgalley

An engrossing tale of two young women - one obsessed with serial killers and true and crime and the other who's mother was the victim of a serial killer. It's a page turner. The author gets both the key protagonists under your skin and leaves you wondering at every turn who to actually root for. The pace is spot on and it's gripping from the first page. Highly recommend.

I received a ARC of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I requested this book as it sounded like a premise that I'd be very much interested In. When I started reading this I was engaged almost immediately as there was a feeling of tension building from the off, unfortunately this soon disappeared as the vast majority of the book essentially became the same scene repeating over and over and over again. This coupled with endless, mind numbing talk of cigarettes/smoking in place of any character depth or development and every character in this book being extremely loathsome with no redeeming qualities, from our two main protagonists, to their boss and the love interests made it impossible to feel any connection or want to route for any of them. Nothing happens in this book, there isn't even the titular death.

In my time working for Waterstones, I have met many different types of booksellers but fortunately I haven’t encountered an obvious Roach. Although under the surface, who knows what people are actually thinking!
This was great fun to read on two levels; firstly the dark and twisted relationship between Roach and Laura was fascinating, experiencing their encounters from both perspectives gave insight into their respective personalities. And secondly I loved all the bookseller references, it was the perfect behind the scenes backdrop.
This is not cosy crime, but more of a psychological read. Perfect for fans of “You”, although I think Roach could learn a lot from Joe about the power of a facade.

Hmmm, a lot of detail on things that don’t really interest me in the first few pages. This was less intriguing than I had hoped it would be. I don’t think it’s for me.

This book kept me hooked throughout, it almost felt morbidly fascinating. I enjoyed the unlikeable characters, and that you felt both pity for them and frustration towards them. As a bookseller myself, it was interesting hearing their perspectives!

Unfortunately I really didn’t like this. It had an interesting premise, girl obsessed with serial killers meets a new woman at her bookstore whose mum was murdered by a serial killer. I didn’t like the ending at all. Roach never learned her lesson about being obsessive and stalking Laura. Laura never completely found out that Roach was stalking her and isn’t 100% sure of what happened. Even when she manages to start a new life, Roach finds her. I hated Roach as a character. I think she was supposed to come across as misunderstood and we were supposed to feel sorry for her, which I didn’t at all.

Death of a Bookseller is dark, unsettling, completely gripping, and compelling. Such an incredible debut, I can't wait to see more books from Alice Slater!

Alice is the best, this book is fab and her marketing and publicity teams are iconic (No I am not biased)

"As I smoked, a project of my own unfolded. No more poetry, no more plagiarism. I did have a story to tell, a story that would bring Laura and I together irreversibly, in a way that she could never reject or reclaim or control, our names forever linked in black ink."

Set in London in 2018 there two protagonists and perspectives: likeable, 'cool' Laura Bunting and her poetry and dislikeable 'outsider' Brogan Roach and her true crime obsession). Working together in Spines bookshop in Walthamstow, London, the reader gets to know them, their clashes and their bookseller colleagues. Both women are keeping secrets about who they really are, but Roach (and her pet turtle, Bleep) can be delusional and has an obsessive personality, turning her attention from true crime to Laura. At first Roach wants to befriend Laura and then emulate, stalk and undermine her using the alternative identity of 'Brodie', created for her equally dark new boyfriend, Sam. Roach becomes fixated on Laura's mother having been murdered ten years ago, by 'the Stow Stalker'. Laura weakens and diminishes as a result of alcohol, anxiety and paranoia and Roach is uplifted and becomes more powerful and hungry for connection with Laura and the Stow Strangler.

The combination of true crime and booksellers enticed me to request this debut novel. It's very dark in places, particularly Roach's aptronym name, demonstrated by the dirt and infestation of Laura's flat; whilst Laura's surname is also an aptronym, she can be dark top, grieving the loss of her mum, pining for ex-lover and colleague Eli and drinking to forget. The reality of the bookseller elements have not no doubt influenced by the author's experience of working in bookshops, they certainly felt real. If you like crime fiction or true crime and books about booksellers, this will be right up your street.

The title of this book really appealed to me, having been a bookseller myself and a daughter and son-in-law who have both been booksellers. We are pretty clued up on the industry. Consequently this will appeal to anyone who knows and loves books.
It has a large element of grunginess in this story, which I have to say I did not find appealing, it made me feel grubby just reading it. However the plotting and development of the story were good.
The obsession with true crime ran throughout.
It was certainly an unusual read.

Death of a Bookseller - Alice Slater

I thought the story started off really strong with some interesting characters with very quirky personalities. I was immediately intrigued with the plot and was excited to see where it took us. Even though I enjoyed the two main characters I did find that I did not really like or care for either of them, which is unusual for me to not warm to at least one person within a book.

I felt it was an easy read, and flowed well, my only dislike was the ending as I'm not sure what I was expecting but I just wanted a bit more oomph, but overall it was a very enjoyable different read. Thank you very much Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an advance copy in return for my honest views.

I think Alice Slater is going to become a new favourite author of mine and I’m so thankful I was allowed to read this prior to publication!

A very interesting concept. Dual female POV. A woman a little too interested in true crime and serial killers. Another woman who’s history has come a little too close to true crime narratives.

One seeking out true crime stories. One doing anything to escape it. A story of obsession that turns to something a lot darker.

This was a really compelling story about how obsession can develop from silent introspection to delusion where boundaries are crossed and things take a sinister turn.

Neither character is really likeable, but that’s the beauty of this story. Just when you feel like you can agree with someone, you’re thrust into the others point of view ready to completely disagree with them.

Highly recommend this book. Set to be published in April 2023!

A creepy, gripping story about obsession. The book follows Brogan/Roach and Laura who cross paths working at the same bookshop and their tormented relationship. It’s a split narrative book with each chapter swapping to the other character’s pov.

I couldn’t put this book down after I got about 1/3 of the way in, I was absolutely hooked! I went in completely blind and was so glad I did as I think this helped to bring the story to life.

I love a thriller/suspense novel and this was a fantastic one! As a debut novel too it’s really impressive. I thought the characterisation was done so well and I had such strong feelings about both protagonists.

The story and arc of the story was great too, not predictable as a lot of this genre can be and kept me guessing and engaged to the last page. It was super creepy though. Murderers and serial killers take centre stage, and I’ve finished it just before bed and feel slightly on edge.

Some critiques could be that I felt some of the topics the story covered were slightly unnecessary (without spoiling), and some plot lines weren’t fleshed out quite enough in places but on the whole this wasn’t an issue and didn’t affect the story. I also felt the first part was a little bit slow, but that quickly changed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Single White Female meets with a love for serial killers - So Good!
An unforgettable read, with lots of dark and disturbing behaviour, with great but not particularly likable characters.
The most disturbing bits for me, had to be the book sellers lack of personal hygiene! 😱
Thanks NetGalley for an advance copy 😊 Excited to meet and hear from Alice Slater at a book event in London! 🥳🤝📚

Enjoyment isn't quite the word I'd put on this reading experience. In fact, I found this made my skin crawl. And that made it really effective at what it was trying to do. It is not at all the cosy mystery the title might lead you to. It's sinister, dark, full of wicked humor and horror in equal measure. A story of obsession and death, Death of a Bookseller an unsettling reflection on the true crime genre. Totally engrossing.

I was really engrossed in this book from the first chapter. A great addition to the true crime genre. Very atmospheric, rich personable characters, twists and turns, a. bookshop as a background. A great read!

Loved this. Such a brilliant book which grips from start to finish. I was thinking about it and the characters long after I had finished reading it. Highly recommended!

Set in Walthamstow, Roach real name Brogan works at Spines bookstore. Roach is a Goth and is a True Crime junkie and is in charge of the true crime section at the store. She thinks highly of herself and doesn’t really get normal people which she calls ‘normies’. Until she meets Laura that stars at the store. When she sees a diary of Laura’s with True crime poetry she thinks that she has met someone like herself and wants to be best friends with her. But Laura’s doesn’t even acknowledge her.
Laura is on a verge of a breakdown due to not getting over her mother’s murder who was murdered. She has kept it hidden by her colleagues at the store but somehow Roach finds out which starts her obsession of Laura and wanting to find out about Laura’s mother’s death. Even going as far as stalking her.
Thank you, Hodder & Stoughton, for a copy of Death of a Bookseller from Alice Slater. I didn’t know what to expect but I loved this. I don’t usually read books because I am attracted to the book cover, but I did in this instance I did, and I was not disappointed. This is dark and twisty tale and disturbing tale about Roach who has narcissistic tendencies and a loner who had an obsession about Laura. This is a great read and brilliant debut novel 5 stars from me.

As a bibliophile and true crime fan I was excited to read ‘Death of a Bookseller’, which seemed to be right up my street.

As is sadly usually the case with titles I’m excited for, this one fell really flat for me for a few reasons including unlikeable main characters and lack of interesting plot. The narrative alternates between Roach, a creepy, true crime obsessed loner who fixates on the other character – Laura who seems to have an organised life on the surface but whose mother was killed by a serial killer when she was younger. Both characters are annoying, creepy and unlikeable. Roach’s chapters in particular were very hard to read as she lies and stalks Laura, even going as far as to frequently break into her home. I did like that the book shows the other side of the true crime genre by showing both sides and really shines a light on how damaging a true crime obsession can be for victims and their families.

The plot is very slow-moving and not much particularly happens throughout the book. Laura’s chapters mainly focus on her being annoyed at Roach at work, going out drinking and trying to sleep with her co-worker. Roach’s chapters are about her obsession with Laura but also focus on her work and going out. This makes for a bit of a tedious read and it felt very repetitive in places, particularly as I was expecting an actual murder from the title! The ending is also really unsatisfying – I would say that it’s more of a slow burn psychological obsession than a thriller.

Overall, Death of a Bookseller fell flat for me – with a lack of plot, repetitive chapters and unlikable characters. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.