This was an easy listen and the story flowed well and started out very strong, however I didn't love the characters through out. I enjoyed the storyline it was an interesting thriller and think the narrator did a good job, looking forward to the next book by this author.

Huge thanks to hodder and staughton and netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review

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 thought the narrators did a fab job, and found them very enjoyable on my morning walks.

I felt it was an easy listen, 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 Audio and Netgalley for an advance copy in return for my honest views.

A clever, Morbidly intriguing and absolutely enthralling thriller/ fiction.

I was totally addicted from beginning to end!

Will discuss more soon 💛 4.6 stars

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!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton audio for the advance audiobook.

I’ll start by saying the premise of the book was very intriguing and yet the actual book didn’t go the way I had expected.
The book follows two main characters Roach and Laura; in alternating chapters of their lives and interactions with each other. This eventually leads to an incident and the aftermath.

I didn’t like either of the main characters and found Roach particularly gross.
They both seemed so blind to how rubbish they were as people and also that not everyone is going to like you; and that’s ok.

There was a large chunk of the book, where I was considering to stop listening as I had lost momentum with the story and just generally caring about what was going to happen.

I completed the audiobook, but it was difficult. There is also an epilogue which feels like it made me dislike Roach even more; which I didn’t think was possible but it was.
Overall, go into this with no expectations.

Roach has worked in the same book shop since she was 16 and she is now 24
Roach loves serial killers and reads up on them constantly , she is a typical loner who starts to fixate on Laura a new edition to the staff
Laura's mum was killed by a serial killer so has her own issues and doesn't seem to like Roach at all and she makes it obvious but Roach thinks she and Laura should be friends
Not a bad listen but I did get a bit confused towards the end and had to listen to the last few chapters again

Narration
Usually a double hander is male/female to cover the different sexed roles. Here it is two women who cover the two principal roles that are narrate in the first person. It works brilliantly as they are two very different character’s; Roach is grungy and sullen whereas Laura is bright and breezy, very much the modern urban young woman. Here they are given to chance to take on a role which is more akin to acting.

My thoughts
The novel starts bright and breezy as we get to know Roach and Laura and the early put downs are delivered. Roach is an oddball, partly due to her upbringing, who loves true crime and detests PSGs. PSG being her abbreviation of Pumkin Spice Girls, those young women in love with life and their own self-image, who queue up in Costa for their pumpkin spiced lattes in winter. Of course when Laura is posted to the shop Roach immediately has her down as a PSG, a very gregarious one and a poet as well. Laura also has a troubled past, a secret she is hiding, one that grabs hold of Roach’s psyche and burns a hole through it. So, light moves through to shade and then darkness, with a story bordering on disturbing and uncomfortable at times for the reader.

The storyline centres on the relationship between Roach and Laura. Initially Roach wants to be liked and accepted by Laura, who seems to get on with everyone else but regards Roach with distain (on a good day). Roach’s interest in the true crime genre disgusts Laura, with good reason as her mother was a victim of the ‘Stow Strangler a low key but local British serial killer. Poetry is her outlet for her feelings as she writes about victims. Our true crime fan, of course, distastefully tries to deduce who the murderers were. When she discovers that Laura’s mother was murdered, obsession takes over as Roach is desperate to know who the killer was and tries to insert herself into Laura’s life. Alarm bells ring as behaviour get more outrageous and disturbing. Important questions are raised, is true crime gratuitous entertainment and can exposure to too much of it lead to modified behaviour much in the way of video nasties and violent video games?

Being character based means the story ambles along more than dashes and regularly switches viewpoints. It works by building up the psychological pressure as behaviours escalate. Perhaps a little over stretched in the middle by a few pages, but that’s me being a bit picky, it certainly never becomes boring. If you’ve ever wondered what it will be like working in a book shop, a dream job for many readers (if only the pay was better…) , then would get a good feel here. The awkward customers, the staff rivalries, internal competition, and the pride in their own sections. Oh, the disappointment for poor Roach as her true crime section is broken up, all the books she ordered using fake names that of course were never collected, but read and loved by her, are place on the general shelves, you can almost feel her pain.

The story is set before the 2020 Covid lock downs but concludes after, in 2022, with a two-part epilogue. Only then does it become apparent that all that has gone on before is a catalyst for change. Both women end up going on personal journeys, making discoveries about themselves along the way and end up in very different places.

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley in exchange for a fair review. Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

This book lures you in with interesting characterisation with the main characters, Laura and Roache. I really struggled with two unlikeable characters and the plot fell flat for me at times when most of it would have needed a rewrite if there was a ring doorbell involved. It had a lot of promise and I'm sure many will love this.

A thriller/suspense book set in a bookshop, yes please!

Our main character Roach who is a bookseller is completely obsessed with true crime and serial killers. When Laura comes to help at the bookstore Roach thinks she has someone else to discuss true crime with but Laura wants to keep some distance from her
The mc is a rather strange and obsessive character who wants to find out everything about Laura but this turns into something dangerous

This deals with the culture of true crime and peoples dangerous and unwelcome obsessions with it which is a very up to date topic

The audiobook was well read while the narrator brought the book and unlikeable characters to life. The story was a bit of a slow burn but once it got going I couldn’t stop listening while the short chapters keep everything moving nicely.
I was never bored, I loved the sharp dialogue and story and finished it in two days
I really enjoyed this well thought out dark story while it kept me engaged with the mystery and suspense

I’m a sucker for anything based in a bookshop or library so I was keen to get stuck into this one.

Characters were interesting and well written, although not particularly likeable. We have Roach, the loner goth with an obsession for true crime and a pet snail. Then we have sweetness and light Laura, who on the quiet, drinks too much, has an obsession with a taken man - oh and her mum was murdered by a serial killer. If those two descriptions alone don’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.

Told over dual POV’s, it was well paced and kept you interested throughout. Some of the narratives were cringey and awkward, others creepy and downright weird - especially some of Roach’s!! The story builds up and gives you more and more as it goes along - making it really hard to stop reading.

The build up to the ending was really good and when you think you’d found out what happened, the epilogue spins it right back around. The ending was clever and I enjoyed how it all came together - trying not to give any spoilers here 😂

I did this one on audio and I really enjoyed the vibes and feelings the narrators brought to each of the girls. They easily gave them complete distinct voices and personalities - making it a really compulsive listen.

It was a quick read, that was interesting and dark. Definitely recommend for fans of a cosier, mystery thriller!

What a brilliant book!!! Once this got going I couldn’t put it down!

We get the POV’s of Laura and Roach, who work in the same bookshop but couldn’t be more different. Laura spends her time writing poetry and eating avo on toast - whereas Roach has an (unhealthy) obsession with true crime. She’s dirty and weird and she truly made my skin crawl.

Alice did an amazing job with this and I can’t wait for everyone to dive into this grubby little story when it’s out.

This book is so good! It has alternating chapters focusing on Laura and Roach. Roach is a true crime obsessive - enjoying podcasts, books etc whereas Laura writes poetry exploring dark themes but she's coming at things from a total different angle to Roach. So where Roach sees connection Laura sees someone she wants to avoid as much as possible. I didn't find either woman particularly likeable but that was something that I loved about the book. I was invested in seeing where this story went - how obsessive Roach might get and how far Laura would go to get away from her. It's set in a bookshop so it full of bookish references, and at times funny judgements and I loved that element too. I listened to this on audio and the two narrators were excellent - distinct from one another and seemed very in keeping with the characters they each were voicing. This book is brilliant, I keep thinking about it and wondering what happened next. I highly recommend this one!

There are some books that from the get go you know, you just know that are going to be absolutely brilliant. As a person who very rarely re-reads books as well, I know that this one will be one of those books that I will for sure reread at some stage in my life.

The brilliance of the wittiness of the writing is one of the reasons why I will actually push this book to anyone's hands, because it actually deserves all the hype around it.

The story is told by the POV of the two main characters - Roach and - and Laura. Instantly you're drawn into their lives and their mindset and what each one is after in life. As their stories unfolds and their lives, unwillingly collide, by being colleagues in a bookstore, their relationship unravels and takes a nasty turn, when obssession and privilege gets muddled in the mix.

The narration of the audiobook was so entertaining I couldn't stop listening to it, and I finished this title in a day. It was so good, and the story so addictive, I wanted to find out how everything played out in the end.

If you're a fan of true crime, toxic friendships, witty social commentary and nasty bitches, then please do yoursel a favour and READ THIS BOOK!

Thank you so much to the publisher for approving me for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

When the film Jaws was released it caused a phobia of dipping a toe in the sea. Having read this I will now feel a level of caution entering Waterstones! For clarity’s sake I should say at this point that there is no actual mention of the aforementioned bookshop in this novel it was simply the chain I envisaged the action take place in.
This book was not my usual genre and I was way out of my comfort zone. I literally chose it based on title and the words murder and bookseller were enough. The two female protagonists are connected by the subject of serial killers but from way different angles. They are both obsessed but with different people and neither seems to see the issue with this. When it comes to my murders, I’m more Marple than Bundy. I don’t understand the modern day mainstream fascination of people in real crime. This was most definitely an insight into that. The book is dark and sinister, taking place in the apparent normality of the bookshop made it even more so. Despite its blackness I enjoyed this read. In particular the premise of a pre formed group of colleagues entering/taking over an existing workplace and their affect on the status quo. This included their shared dislike for customers entering their precious domain versus their very differing views on how to run the shop; corporate versus old school.
Thank you to Netgalley the publishers and author of this book for providing me with an advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Alice Slater tells the story of two young women we all know - Laura, a poetry writing, brogue wearing, blonde bobbed Swifty, and Roach, a purple-haired, true crime obsessive. Their paths intertwine at a local branch of Spines, which feels very Waterstones to me, and we watch as their stories unfold.

The book is written from both Laura and Roach’s perspectives, and their voices are distinct - something very tricky to do. I enjoyed that the audio was narrated by two different actors too. I didn’t like either of the characters, but felt closer to Laura, maybe because she spills more emotion, maybe because I also own book-related tote bags. Either way, despite feeling closer to Laura, at no point did I skim through Roach’s chapters. Usually when books are written in this style I find myself favouring one narrator over the other, but Slater has managed to create two main characters that contribute equally to the story.
The supporting cast are well-formed, I could also smell the essential oils when reading about Shirona, and Eli was exactly the sort of cool, curly haired bookseller that I expected.

I would have loved to have heard more from the older booksellers, and I could see follow ups to this book from the perspective of other characters in a similar way to Rachel Joyce’s Harold Fry series.

I cannot wait to see what Alice Slater writes next.

God this one was absolutely delicious. It's a slow burn story of obsession, trauma and power dynamics, and I devoured every word. Set in London, Death of a Bookseller follows Laura and Roach, two women who are brought together at work in a failing bookshop. Roach - every inch the smelly goth, to borrow from my teenage years - is immediately fascinated by the rosy-cheeked, blonde-haired, perfect Laura, and this morphs into obsession when Roach gets a whiff of Laura's dark past. Laura isn't as picture-perfect as she seems, battling trauma that lurks just below the surface. Suffice to say, things escalate.

I absolutely inhaled this, and was lucky enough to be approved for the audio and ebook so I could swap between the two. Slater's writing is vivid and evocative, and I felt swept up in London's wintry streets. Her dual POVs work so well - Roach is a horrible little slimeball of a character that I nonetheless wanted to befriend; Laura is not much better but the reader still feels for her. This balancing act is pulled off with aplomb by Slater; both women are deeply unlikeable but not enough to turn the reader off. Instead, we're morbidly fascinated by them both.

SPEAKING OF MORBID FASCINATION: this year's' hot literary trend seems to be interrogating the true crime content mill; this is the third book I've come across this year that tackles this trend. Slater does a fantastic job with this topic - Roach is a true crime obsessive, convinced she is different/better than other fans, and this is her reasoning for her all-encompassing obsession with Laura. In Laura - who - spoiler alert - lost her mam at the hands of a serial killer - Slater shows the long shadow of such a crime, and how it's still affecting Laura years later. This compassionate hand adds dimension to a crime story, and it's extremely well done.

I loved this book and I think it deserves to be huge when it drops next month. I can't wait to read more of Alice's work in the future!

oooh boy did I not like either of these main characters - they are both awful people! Both "not like other girls" characters who just grated on my nerves so much - definitely had a face of disgust and eyerolls aplenty when reading this and even a few muttered curse words to the characters!

This really added to the story for me - I had nothing I wanted to happen to either character, I wasn't rooting for anyone - just along for the obsessed and bumpy ride. Found the discussion of true crime, its fans, obsession and who tells the story really fit in with the book and didn't seem like the author monologuing her opinions on X issue which is so easily done in novels.

Narration was GREAT, really added to the hatred and annoyance of both characters. I won't hesitate to try books narrated by either Emma Noakes or Victoria Blunt, if I can listen to them be characters I hate then I can't wait to listen to them narrate characters I love.

While taking a while to get close to delivering what the title promises, this is an interesting story of obsession and the different ways it can impact lives.

Following the popular, bubbly Laura who is obsessed with keeping the traumatic events of her childhood locked inside herself - despite the impact and loner, outcast Roach who's obsession with true crime means that most of her colleagues prefer to keep her at arms length, Death of a Bookseller watches as their lives collide with various uncomfortable and at times heart stopping consequences.

Finding myself often fluctuating between feeling sympathy and frustration with the characters as they undertake their journeys, the author also manages to create a real sense of the threat/danger often associated with stalking, which features heavily in this book.

Offering an alternative take on the stalker/obsessional relationship and reborn themes this was an interesting read/listen.

Set in a bookshop, true crime enthusiast and loner, Roach develops an unhealthy obsession with fellow bookshop worker, Laura. Laura is beautiful and well liked, Roach aspires to copy her looks and fashion choices. Roach goes too far and one evening of post-work drinks, Roach escorts a drunken Laura back to her apartment and takes a set of keys to come and go into her apartment any time she likes.
A disturbing and dark tale told from Roach and Laura’s view points. Both characters have the flaws and and develops onto an intriguing story. As an audiobook, the narrator was really engaging and kept my attention. Though found the title a bit misleading.

So you're obsessed with all things bookish & true crime? Snap, let's be friends. And, initially that's how it all innocently starts when Roach, self confessed gothy bookworm & true crime junkie meets the new Spines bookshop staff member Laura. She is also an avid reader & writes true crime poetry, surely they are destined to be besties? What begins as a wholesome attempt to make friends slowly unravels into a dark compulsive & brilliantly creepy obsession which will repeatedly make the hairs on the back of your neck stand bolt upright.

When I read the blurb I initially thought Death Of A Bookseller was going to be a twee little cosy thriller along the lines of The Thursday Murder Club (which I do love, by the way) but I was delighted to find out it was anything but. Slater has created an absolute gem which is deliciously dark & impossible to put down.
I think the real magic of DOAB is down to the two fantastically crafted protagonists who couldn't possibly be more different from each other. Roach is your classic feral girl who is obsessed with the macabre, brilliantly depraved & somehow scarily relatable. Lauren is, in the words of Roach, your stereotypical 'normie' with the perfect everything on the surface including a cloying saccharine sweetness. The dynamics of both characters clashing are portrayed perfectly & the tension bubbles from the page. It's really hard to not immediately pick a side, even if it may not be the 'correct' one. Surely I'm not the only one who not so secretly loves Roach?

Also, what I found fascinating & yet probably in theory shouldn't have really worked was the minutiae & mundanity of the everyday routine of the rundown failing bookshop. As a total bookworm there was a cosy familiarity & safeness that worked perfectly to contrast & highlight the sinister activities that were occurring behind the scenes.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on both the ebook & audiobook which inevitably meant I had the whole thing devoured within the day. The audiobook is equally as good with two perfectly fitting narrators who fully embodied each character's very unique personality.

An irresistibly dark, unputdownable, enthralling thriller!