Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater

Death of a Bookseller Reviews

• 
  Sujoya (theoverbookedbibliophile)

  Publication Day!
  April 25, 2023
  
  3.75⭐
  
  If you think this going to be a cute cozy mystery set in a bookshop ( I’m partial to stories set in libraries and bookshops), just take a look at that cover (which I love, by the way)!
  
  “I love serial killers.”
  
  Brogan Roach is a bookseller, employed for the last eight years with the Walthamstow branch of chain bookstore Spines, and an avid (read obsessive) true crime enthusiast. Unlike “normies” who have a superficial interest in the subject, Roach (as she is referred to) is a passionate true-crime follower – books, podcasts, documentaries – there is no crime too gruesome nor any criminal too heinous that she flinches from researching in her free time. When Laura Bunting, a fellow bookseller transfers to her branch as a part of a team headed by a new manager, Roach discovers a copy of a true crime book in her bag (which she unashamedly rifles through in Laura’s absence) and believes she has found a kindred spirit.
  
  Laura’s interest in true crime has its roots in personal tragedy. Her mother was the victim of a serial killer who was later caught and is presently incarcerated. Her poetry, which Roach is bowled over by, focuses on honoring the victims rather than glorifying the crime or the criminal behind it. But Laura’s demeanor towards Roach is cold and dismissive, bordering on unkind and cruel. Roach’s forced overtures of friendship and her obvious obsession with true –crime make Laura uncomfortable. However, Laura’s brush-offs only strengthen Roach’s resolve to establish a connection with her.
  
  Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater is a slow-burn, psychological thriller that ventures into dark territory. The narrative is shared from dual PoVs of Roach and Laura in alternating segments. The writing and the characterizations are well done and the author gives us an inside look into the day-to-day routine of running bookstores. The narrative does suffer from mild repetitiveness but not so much that you would lose interest. Roach’s thoughts and actions are cringeworthy and to be honest alarming. Laura is depicted as emotionally fragile despite her unkind demeanor toward Roach. The author gives us a window into the psyches of two very different women, exploring their motivations, obsessions, flaws and strengths as they inevitably impact one another’s lives and emotional stability. I can’t say I liked any of the main characters. Laura is far from a well-rounded individual and isn't quite as put together as she projects. I found Roach’s toxic relationship with her boyfriend very disturbing especially based on her reaction to a particularly violent episode toward the beginning of their relationship. A testimonial to Roach’s dark worldview probably? I enjoyed the literary references and found some of the discussions and debates between the employees on different genres quite interesting (though I don’t completely agree with their stance on the true-crime genre). Overall this is an impressive debut and an intense read that will leave you dazed and unsettled.
  
  Many thanks to author Alice Slater, Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
• 
  Ceecee

  Meet Roach (real name Brogan), she works in Spines, a bookshop in Walthamstow. She’s a Goth, a loner, dark if not morbid and obsessed with true crime. Oh, let’s not forget the pet snail, yes, that’s right a pet snail! Roach is quite happy (as much as she can be that is) working in the bookshop until Laura joins the staff. Laura seems bright, breezy, as sweet as the roses she smells of and the poetry she writes and looking so perky in her well considered outfits. Is her shiny exterior a veneer? Is she just a bit too well put together? At first Roach thinks she’s a ‘normie’ or a Pumpkin Spice Girl but she grows curious about her, sensing something that intrigues her which then develops into something distinctly uncomfortable. The story is told in short, sharp chapters and alternates between the two of them.
  
  I think it’s absolutely fair to say that neither character is likeable but in this case that’s what makes this debut fascinating. Both perspectives have toe curling moments but it’s especially awkward if not disturbing inside Roach’s head and as for some of her actions - oh boy!! The contrast between them is stark as Laura finds Roach embarrassing from the start and dislike positively oozes from her pores. Roach’s initial derision makes it seem they are polar opposites but as we dig deeper the realisation grows that there are similarities. The rundown bookshop in desperate need of refurbishment is a great backdrop to the developing drama and a good metaphor.
  
  The novel starts slowly but you just have to wait for it to brew from a simmer to a rapid boil and then the venom takes your breath away. This is especially true of some dialogue which has very sharp teeth! It becomes a nightmarish scenario driven by obsession with boundaries distinctly crossed, becoming a twisted fearful tale frequently backlit by the true crime element.
  
  I really like the symmetry of the ending and overall this is an immersive, dark and well written novel which the excellent cover really captures.
  
  With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penzler Publishers, Scarlet for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
• 
  Blair

  From the moment I started reading Death of a Bookseller, I was absolutely lost to the story – sucked down into it so completely I couldn’t think about anything else. Alice Slater has written a novel that sinks in its teeth and refuses to let go; I buzzed for days after finishing it.
  
  Roach has worked at a beleaguered branch of Spines, a chain of bookshops, since she was a teenager. Solitary and obsessed with true crime (specifically the killers rather than the victims, whose stories she generally finds boring), Roach scoffs at ‘normies’ and spends much of her time listening to podcasts about famous murders. When a new team are brought in to reverse the shop’s fortunes, she meets a very different type of bookseller: the wholesome, stylish, friendly Laura. Fixating on the fact that Laura also reads about serial killers and writes poetry with dark themes, Roach starts fantasising about a friendship. But the two women’s clashing views about the ethics surrounding true crime turn Laura against her... something Roach is very reluctant to accept.
  
  The narrative switches between the perspectives of the two main characters – a surprise to me, as from the blurb I’d assumed Roach would tell the whole story. At first, I was sceptical: could Laura’s viewpoint possibly be as interesting as Roach’s cynical, scathing voice? Would the story become lopsided? But Laura’s chapters bring a depth and complexity to her character that ultimately unlocks the power of the story.
  
  Sometimes Roach sounds like such an insufferable not-like-other-girls, sometimes Laura sounds like a tryhard London literary type – there are points where both of them will make you roll your eyes. Yet as dark as Roach’s story gets, it’s hard not to extend compassion to her, because the narrative is always extending compassion to her too. It’s the same thing with Laura: she’s often an absolute mess, and we see how her behaviour parallels Roach’s in ways she’d no doubt be reluctant to admit – but we get why. If at first it seems clear that Roach is the dark and Laura the light, somewhere along the line both characters are painted such similar shades of grey that they blend and bleed into each other.
  
  Something I also want to mention, that might easily get lost amid the irresistible momentum of the plot, is the power of the settings. I particularly loved Roach and Laura’s workplace, the bookshop itself. I could truly feel the atmosphere of the place: both cosy and decrepit. The story unfolds in the run-up to Christmas, and the writing absolutely nails the magic and the horror of being wrapped up in non-stop work at that time of year. (It’s also so good on the specifics of working in retail that it unlocked memories I hadn’t thought about for over a decade.)
  
  My literary recipe for Death of a Bookseller would involve: the razor-sharp character studies and themes of obsession and envy in
  Looker and
  Kiss Me First; the heady atmosphere of
  The Poison Tree; the deliciously nasty underbelly of
  Boy Parts and
  Eileen; and the spiralling, unstable mood of
  Animals or
  Problems – especially as the story reaches its climax and the protagonists seem bound for disaster.
  
  This is, naturally, a bookseller’s book. But it’s also for anyone who considers themselves a reader; likes true crime; anyone who hates it, or is disdainful towards it; anyone who has ever worked in a shop, or in customer service. And it’s also stealthily a book about grief. Like its characters, Death of a Bookseller contains more layers and subtleties you might first assume. This is a thrilling story of obsession with a dark, sticky soul – and it’s also so much more.
  
  I received an advance review copy of Death of a Bookseller from the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton.
• 
  Dona

  Thank you to the author Alice Slater, publishers Scarlet and W. W. Norton, and Edelweiss, for an advance digital copy of DEATH OF A BOOK SELLER.
  
  This book held me like fists around my lungs and didn't let go until the very end, which I did not see coming, by the way. Bodie Roach is a bookseller (someone who works in a bookstore) in London, not in love with her job, or her place living with her mom, whom she could also take or leave, or her job, except that it allows her to order and read books without ever paying. And she really only likes one kind of book-- true crime books, double points if they're about serial killers.
  
  When Laura joins the book store staff, she knows right away that something is off about Roach. But Roach can tell something is off about the pretty, perfect Laura as well. These two are destined to be besties.
  
  I didn't know what to expect from this book going in, and honestly not knowing anything makes this book ten times better. That's why I skimped so much on my story blurb. This is a well executed plot, that burns slow. Be patient while it unfolds. Slater wants you to chew yours nails to the quick, waiting for the next turn in the story.
  
  I think Slater's execution of Brodie as a character is so well done. Again, I don't want to give too many details here so I don't ruin the book, but she is terrifying and pitiful, a brilliant antagonist force. Character work in general here is very fine.
  
  Rating: 🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌 / 5 slimy snails
  Recommend? Yes!
  Finished: February 9 2023
  Read this book if you like:
  🔪 Mystery thrillers
  📚 Bookish stories
  🩶 Morally grey characters
  📰 True crime
  👤 Psychological thrillers
• 
  Melki

  Though the title implies this is a grab-a-cup-of-tea-and-plunk-a-cat-on-your-lap cozy mystery . . . there's nothing cozy, or even mysterious about this book.
  
  Roach hates "normies" - golden, smiling women who love pumpkin spice lattes. She's heavily into true crime, both books and podcasts, and once followed "school shooters like rock stars."
  
  Laura, even her name exudes sighs of happiness, and sun-drenched blondness - a Pumpkin Spice Girl if there ever was one, now works at the same chain bookstore as Roach.
  
  When Roach spots a copy of
  I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer in Laura's bag, she thinks she's found something of a soulmate in her fellow employee. Laura, it turns out, is actually disgusted by true crime, and is not overly fond of Roach.
  
  "I feel like she's circling me. She's always there, always watching me, always trying to get my attention." she says.
  
  But, Roach is convinced they should be friends, and is puzzled by Laura's lack of interest, saying, "She thinks she's better than me. We have so much in common, loads and loads, but she doesn't give a shit."
  
  Even if you didn't know the title, you can see that this isn't going to end well . . .
  
  What an absorbing page-turner, with a twisty, Single White Female vibe! Highly recommended to anyone looking for an engrossing thriller.
  
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton, who also supplied a physical ARC.
• 
  inciminci

  I'm back at reading more mysteries, so here I chose this gorgeous cover, I love the colors very much.
  
  Londoner true crime addict and bookseller Roach believes she found her counterpart in life when Laura starts working at the same bookstore, and she becomes quickly obsessed when she finds out that Laura’s mother was killed by a serial killer. She believes it is fate, that this is her own personal true crime case. But Laura wants nothing to do with the younger woman and keeps her distance. Does she have something to hide or is Roach a deranged stalker after all?
  
  A slow and repetitive thriller who, unfortunately, does not thrill much. What kept me reading was my initial sympathy for Roach and her ways, even though she lost my understanding later on. I appreciate the reflection on the morality of reading or writing true crime and the discussions revolving around it. As a person who doesn’t enjoy or read that genre I was unaware of controversies like making entertainment out of someone’s pain or that it’s apparently often about cases in which women are victims and there are sickos who get off on that. I’m still not interested in the genre and this was maybe a nice pastime but not much more.
  
  2.5 maybe.
• 
  Roman Clodia

  I had been looking forward to this as a fast holiday read but it's so slow and repetitive that I eventually just gave up and read the last couple of chapters and the epilogues - and didn't feel I missed much. The tired format of switcharound chapters from Roach and Laura each speaking in the 1st person did conceal some interesting material on the true crime genre but ultimately this felt more derivative than I wanted. From the typical
  You-style stalking, with gestures towards
  Patricia Highsmith's obsession with snails, I struggled to find anything here to keep my attention.
• 
  Alwynne

  Alice Slater’s compelling debut is a brooding tale of obsession told from the alternating perspectives of two women, Roach and Laura thrown together through their jobs at a struggling bookshop in Walthamstow, an up-and-coming area of London. Both are drawn to true crime but for vastly different reasons. Roach is a veteran fan of true crime, much of her spare time taken up by podcasts, shows and books that delve into the practices and processes of serial killers from Ted Bundy to the Manson family. Laura’s drawn to similar narratives but for her it’s all about the victims, something that’s rooted in a traumatic incident from her childhood. Isolated and socially awkward, Roach outwardly despises the normies all around her but something about Laura makes her yearn for connection, while Laura’s repelled by Roach and her associations with the seamy and the salacious, as well as her shabby, down-at-heel appearance. Then a chance event gives Roach the perfect opportunity to get closer to Laura, in ways Laura could never have imagined.
  
  Slater’s intelligent, slow-burning novel reminded me of work by writers like Louise Welsh and Caroline Kepnes - there’s more than a trace of Kepnes’s Joe in the character of Roach, albeit without Joe’s surface charm. Although Slater delights in setting up links that she gradually demolishes or transforms into unexpected variations on the classic red herring. Her narrative is atmospheric, carefully grounded in her background as a long-time Walthamstow local and former Waterstones’ bookseller - her portrayal of the daily organisation, the petty rivalries and resentments bubbling behind the scenes, in the fictional Spines bookshop are meticulously detailed, convincing and surprisingly fascinating. Her story also builds on extensive research into the true crime genre and its fandom, all of which inform the character of Roach who likes to ‘creepy crawl’ like the Mansons, and, like Patricia Highsmith, is closely bonded with a pet snail. The outwardly polished Laura with her bookworm tote bags and love of literary fiction is less obviously attracted to images of death and violence, although their lure are revealed in her attempts at writing, her poetry performances composed from mash-ups of “found” words and snippets gleaned from the pages of true crime.
  
  Slater’s prose is well-crafted, as you might expect from a graduate of East Anglia’s prestigious writing programme. Her story is character rather than plot driven, leisurely paced, it could benefit from a little trimming. But I liked the way that she managed to work within the conventions of this subgenre of psychological crime and simultaneously subvert them. At first, I was worried that Roach was too obviously founded on dangerous stereotypes: the friendless, social misfit who most likely harbours psychopathic tendencies, surrounded by battered paperbacks bursting with tales of bloody, sadistic murders. It’s a popular notion of the true crime reader, who’re mostly women, despite evidence its followers tend to be more invested in survival than slaughter, often desperate for an outlet for overwhelming cultural anxieties and fears. It’s a perception that’s had harmful consequences like the dubious conviction of Damien Echols whose choice of clothes and fascination with Aleister Crowley were key tools for his prosecutors; it also neglects the genre’s more positive influence, the popularity of stories about Ruth Ellis and Derek Bentley, a major contribution to the shift in social attitudes that led to the abolition of the death penalty in England, Scotland and Wales. But fortunately, although she doesn’t entirely abandon it, Slater does depart from the standard script, building in a series of unanticipated twists and turns which force a reassessment of her central characters - although I can see her choice of ending being a divisive one.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley and to publisher Hodder & Stoughton
  
  Rating: 3.5
• 
  Mara

  3.5 stars - I cannot get into too many details because of spoilers, but this ended up not being my kind of trope combo. That said, this was a well executed dark character study examining the twisted nature of jealousy and competition between women, and had a lot to say about true crime's cultural impact. A very promising debut!
• 
  Jannelies (on hiatus after eye surgery)

  A somewhat slow but irresistible story about two women who represent the black and white (or the good and bad maybe?) of people.
  
  Bogdan/Brodie Roach, who grew up in a pub where her mother has more interest in the punters than in her daughter, is clingy, moody, dark and generally unhappy. She starts working as a bookseller when she’s only sixteen and there is no other path, let alone a whole world, for her. She’s completely focussed on true-crime, especially on serial killers.
  Laura Bunting, she with the festive family name, is the woman who is very dedicated to her work, only wears colour-coordinated clothing and doesn’t realize she has more in common with Roach than she thinks. Laura’s mother was murdered by a serial killer, a fact that she mostly wants to keep a secret. But keeping secrets for Roach is difficult, because Roach is always snooping.
  We read their story from both POV’s, and the similarity between their stories becomes gradually known. Another similarity is the fact that they both drink. A lot. An awful lot. Why in heavens’ name would you spend almost every evening after work getting drunk with your colleagues? Every character in this story – because there are more people working in Spines, the store where the story is set – is on his/her way to become a full fledged alcoholic. If you cannot call them that already.
  Everything that happens in this story is set off by booze, booze and more booze. It seems none of the people who work in Spines is having one original thought without getting very drunk first. Which is a pity because there is a lot going on here. We get to know Roach and Laura pretty well and although they are both not very nice persons, you cannot help but feel for them sometimes.
  
  I think I’m not the only reviewer here who loves bookstores but it’s not always fun working in one. It’s not so much about the books, it’s about selling books and making a profit. I liked the parts where Laura and her colleagues moan about the customers and all the hard work that has to be done to keep the store running. Although I’ve never heard of a bookstore where you have to work during the night to get it stocked. Certainly not where I come from.
  
  It's a creepy story in places and the end is fitting. I loved the writing but sometimes I got a bit nauseous from reading about the huge amounts of alcohol that’s consumed.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this review copy.
  
• 
  Kate

  On paper, this should have been an ideal read for me - morally ambiguous characters, dual narratives, the world of book selling. I stopped the story about a third of the way through because both women were so unlikeable and I was repulsed by each of their narratives - how stuck up and selfish Laura was, how weird and cringy Roach was. Adding to that, it was really repetitive. I got the dynamic between them and why Roach was enthralled with Laura, and why Laura was repelled by Roach…but it felt like they had the same interaction time and time again. It made me feel depressed. I skipped to the end of the book, read the epilogues and felt like I hadn’t really missed anything by skipping two thirds of the book. The last chapter is good but not worth slogging through the book to get to it. It’s not a book I could recommend to my fellow fans of thrillers or book themed reads. Thank you to the author, her publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Kara

  I don't know what to say about this book. I have so many conflicting thoughts. For starters, I wonder why anyone would give it more than 1 star.
  
  TW: SA
  
  When I first saw this book, I was excited. I was so thankful I got the arc from Netgalley! Like WOW, this book sounded so good. And the cover? Chefs kiss. Truly pulled me in. The synopsis explains that there is a girl named Roach (interesting name) who is into true crime (love a good mystery) and meets a girl named Laura and she feels intrigued by her. She soon realizes there is more to Laura than meets the eye... DUN DUN DUNNNNN
  
  The synopsis is a lie.
  
  The first few pages of the book really details out who our main character is. She is judgmental. She puts other women down. She is whiny. She thinks she is superior to everyone around her. And she is simple minded, a child really. I could not stand the main character and I was incredibly upset with the author for trying to make us not like the victim of the story.
  
  Roach becomes so obsessed with Laura that she steals her poetry, her rapey boyfriend tries to publish it, and then she LIES and pretends she didn't blatantly plagerise. When I tell you that this was the worst book ever written ever... that's an understatement.
  
  The writer glorified a sick girl who manipulates everyone around her. The writer made this character seem misunderstood whe she wasn't at all. The writer also made the victim look crazy and like she deserved to be murdered! Let me make this very clear: NO ONE DESERVES TO BE MURDERED. Also, very early in the book, Roach meets a guy who casually rapes her and then she's just fine with it? She lost her virginity to this guy and then he asks her all of these disgusting innappropriate questions and she just tells him what he wants to hear. They are both derranged but he needed to be arrested for simply breathing in the general direction of the human population. He was possibly the worst book boyfriend I have ever read ever.
  
  At the end of the book, Roach gets away with everything. Nothing happens to her. And Laura? The victim? She is seen as the person who went crazy and caused all this drama. That everything was always in her head. I have never hated a book from beggining, middle, end, as much as I did this one.
  
  I really didn't want to write this review because I don't want anyone to read this book. I figured if no one talked about it, then maybe no one would read it. But there are so many positive reviews on Goodreads that I felt like I needed to make sure people understood, THIS IS A BAD BOOK.
• 
  Léa

  Death of a Bookseller is a fun, unsettling, immersive and captivating story of two booksellers and their obsessive relationship.
  
  This was a deliciously dark crime novel intertwining true crime with bookselling. I personally think that this executed bookselling PERFECTLY and it was such a joy to read a book that spoke about it so well and accurately, as well as hilariously. Along side this, the discussions of true crime and the obsessiveness of some that consume it was incredibly fascinating and seeing how it completely took a tole on Roach and every aspect of her career and life, was something I had never read before and would now, be intrigued to branch more into.
  
  Alice Slater also does such an incredible job at balancing the serious and imperative with the humorous commentary. The book in its entirety is both unsettling, focusing on true crime, real cases, statistics and conversations on Roach's fascination with serial killers, as-well as hilarious and full of bookselling jokes and knowledge. It made for both a deeply humorous yet deeply compelling read! The PERFECT amount of fun!
  
  The fact that this is also a debut!!! Makes me so excited to see what Alice Slater does next! I would highly highly recommend!
• 
  Natasha Leighton

  Morbidly atmospheric yet thoroughly mesmerising, Alice Slater’s debut cleverly delves into the world of True Crime, and the problematic exploitation of real crime (and the deaths of real people) for entertainment.
  
  Told from the perspectives of two very different but equally unlikable characters, Death of A Bookseller is a suspenseful tale of toxic relationships, and obsession that follows the lives of two booksellers at a struggling bookstore in Walthamstow.
  
  Purple haired and fascinated by virtually anything macabre, serial-killer fanatic Roach is quite possibly one of the (very few) characters to ever make me feel soo uncomfortable.
  
  With an uncanny ability to say the wrong thing (and genuinely just creep everyone out with her laser like fixation on death) Roach is a bit of a loner, which she seems perfectly happy about until Laura joins the branch, a model employee who manages to charm everyone around her. Including Roach, who, after hearing one of Laura’s poems at a mic night (in which she aims to honour the victims of violent crime instead of dehumanising them) believes she has found a kindred spirit and becomes obsessed with the idea of their friendship.
  
  But Laura (our other POV) and the object of Roach’s obsession has no interest in being friends with her. Having suffered from the trauma of losing her mother at the hands of a serial killer, Laura is physically repulsed by Roach’s fascination with serial killers and avoids all overtures of friendship.
  
  I did find her perspective far more palatable to digest, but she’s by no means good or likeable either. She can be selfish, jealous and incredibly petty at times (particularly when it came to co-worker Eli and his relationship with girlfriend Lydia) but her ability to project herself as a happy, almost perfect person despite the messy, emotional wreckage of her private life was incredibly intriguing.
  
  And the unease with which they circle one another coupled with their conflicting opinions on True Crime really injected a sinister layer of tension that had me on edge wondering what would happen next.
  
  It is a bit of a slow-burn, but the creeping uncertainty that pervades every inch of both Laura and Roach’s POV really brought a sense of depth and realism to their characters, and the cat and mouse game that unfolds between them. For a while there I wasn’t sure how things would end but I couldn’t look away from the cringey disaster that began hurtling towards us as both their lives (and obsessions) began spiralling out of control.
  
  I loved the grittiness of Alice Slater’s writing and true rich imagery that such mundane everyday tasks manage conjure and I definitely enjoyed the glimpse into life as a bookseller. Also, I would’ve loved to have seen more of Bleep (Roach’s pet snail) though I did enjoy the snail trail chapter openers that follow along with the story.
  
  The ending was also really good and I enjoyed the open-endedness which allows us to come up with our own interpretations. Though if you prefer your thrillers with more finality and closure then you may come away a little disappointed.
  
  Overall a dark, intense and incredibly compulsive read that needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated but if you enjoy dark, character driven psychological thrillers then I definitely recommend picking this up! (but do check the TWs first.)
  
  Also a huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the incredible physical proof.
• 
  Chris

  Thank you Hodder and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
  This was well written and I enjoyed reading it, but I wouldn’t call it a thriller, as the title suggests. Being a bookseller myself, I liked reading about the bookselling business and it was absolutely recognisable. The work, the colleagues, the customers, the extremely busy period just before Christmas… I don’t know if it’s really true that British booksellers work all nighters just to be able to shelve all the incoming books; I’m just glad that that’s not the case here in the Netherlands!
  I don’t read many crime novels, but when I do I want them to be thrilling and exciting, and even though there’s some pretty heavy stalking and obsession going on, I’m afraid to say it didn’t make me sit at the edge of my chair. And spoiler alert:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  nobody gets killed.
• 
  Trisha

  oooh, I loved this one! I love that I hated it as much as I loved it! It's the story of Roach and Laura and their paths crossing - as book sellers. Both work at a bookstore. Laura is light to Roach's goth dark. But neither of their lives are as dark or as light as they appear.
  
  I love how uncomfortable this book made me. Roach's obsession with serial killers. When looked at it through Laura's eyes, it's unsettling. Even though I do like True Crime, I'm more in the vein of using as an educational guide to stay alive, not the fascination with the murderer themselves. I'm much more drawn to missing - but I loved the uncomfortable struggle of Roach's POV and her spiraling.
  
  Laura was equally not my favorite character. She was hard to like. Her life was spiraling, too, and she did take some of the parts of her life for granted, how easy they were, even though her life wasn't easy.
  
  Oh there were just so many good parts to this. The twists and turns and the mystery of what happened. You're told very early one of them is dead, it's just the details you want and that, in the discomfort with Roach and her love of murder, makes the reader a little fidgety because - are we better than Roach as we follow along this death of a bookseller murder mystery? It's so fun, that grapple of moral issue and I loved every moment of thinking over it again and again wondering if I was someone Laura would also judge.
  
  It's also just a great story, one that I equally cringed at as much as I hurried through the pages to read more. I also did part of this as an audio book and the narrators were amazing. I'll definitely look for more from this author!
• 
  Sneha Pathak (reader_girl_reader)

  The first thing about Death of a Bookseller is that it defies most expectations that the title might generate. The book sounds like it would be a cozy-esque traditional thriller featuring bookshops and booksellers, but it isn't. It features a bookshop, Spines, and its staff members, mainly Laura and Roach.
  
  Both Laura and Roach can be associated with true-crime, but in two very different ways. Roach is a fanatic of the genre and is into blood, death and gore - the more extreme, the better. Laura, on the other hand, isn't a fan of the genre for reasons that are revealed as the novel progresses. Roach becomes obsessed with Laura when she sees her with a true-crime book, and in her mins plays multiple scenerios where they are friends. And as obsessions go, this one too progresses to some far extremes.
  
  Narrated in alternate chapters from the pov of Roach and Laura, this give an insight into how their minds work and what makes them, them. Neither of them are very likeable characters, and they both make some (or many) questionable decisions, some of them are immoral as well as illegal. And yet, the tension generated by this odd relationship between the two keeps the book moving at a brisk pace and makes for an interesting read. And that ending! Well, I just kept on thinking what would have happened just after the sentence which ended the book. Surely, that's the mark of a good read?
• 
  K.J. Charles

  This is the hyped book of the summer, plus it's a 'thriller about horrible people' which I was binging, so I grabbed it, but it did not work for me. Switches between viewpoints of Roach, a genuinely horrible creation (sticky stalky true crime obsessive into serial killers) and Laura, a mildly tiresome middle-class poetry-writing type whose mother was murdered by a serial killer.
  
  Partly I just didn't enjoy being in Roach's head. She's a great creation in the spirit of The Wasp Factory, The Magus etc--a really unpleasant person made up of whining, unjustified smugness, and self justification--but I think I prefer looking at horrible people rather than inhabiting them, at least over long stretches. And also, by 30% we hadn't really got anywhere in plot terms: Roach is becoming more stalky and Laura doesn't like her, repeat. I DNFd because I just didn't want to spend time in this world without a propulsive plot. /shrugs./ YMMV and probably will.
  
  If you like being plunged into horrible people's heads, you'll love it. I don't know if true crime
  aficionados will lap this up or be highly offended by the dissection of the moral issues involved; either would be funny.
• 
  Ellen

  Death of a Bookseller closely follows two booksellers, Roach and Laura, working in a fictional Walthamstow bookshop in the autumn of 2019. Laura is the model employee; if she were a drink she'd be a rose chai latte; she maintains an impeccably curated Keep Calm and Carry On sort of image. She's a princess of corporate bookselling with a past she keeps at arm's length. Roach, on the other hand, is a grimy true crime fanatic, more prone to guzzling cans of Monster and Strongbow Dark Fruits while religiously listening to her gruesome podcasts. When Laura arrives to help revive the struggling bookshop branch, Roach feels they have a connection, and won't stop pursuing the friendship despite Laura's unwillingness to engage. While Roach is hungry for the darkness, Laura is sickened by it, and takes a frosty approach to Roach's advances.
  
  This book is really driven by the two central characters and ensemble of booksellers that surround them. Alice Slater sets the backdrop of the bookshop and drizzly London nights perfectly; the mundane easily slides into more sinister territory; I won't spoil anything but this thriller starts slow and keeps you hooked as it begins it's creepy-af crescendo! A lot of the chapters are short and we're always bouncing between Roach and Laura's points of view, which makes reading 'just one more chapter' so much more tempting. Give yourself time to get pulled in by this book - a weekend away or a free evening, because once its got you, you will want to swig it down just to see what's left at the bottom.
  
  I'm stashing this in the 'solid recommendation' corner of my bookselling brain because its loads of fun and just the right amount of unsettling. A perfect autumn read that those with an interest in the modern phenomenon of true crime and its complexities will devour. There are plenty of shocking and downright gross moments! If you enjoyed the obsessive edge and intense female friendships in Calla Henkel's Other People's Clothes, or the wit and darkness of Eliza Clark's Boy Parts, you're sure to get on well with this book.
  
  Huge thanks to Alice and the Hodder team for my early proof!
• 
  Stacey (prettybooks)

  This is my kind of thriller. I had a love-hate relationship with the two protagonists and adored the tiny little specifics about book selling and publishing. But I'm not a fan of snails.
• 
  Chelsea | thrillerbookbabe

  Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Alice Slater for this book that comes out on April 25. I don’t even know what to say about this book. It was truly the ultimate game of cat and mouse, that left me feeling nervous and icky and intrigued. This book was about Laura and Roach, two book sellers whose lives are intersecting at the store they both work at. Roach has been there for years, and only cares about true crime podcasts and keeping away from “normal people”. Laura is new, and her bright and bubbly personality is the complete opposite of Roach.
  
  Roach feels a kindred spirit in Laura after she sees her reading true crime, and becomes obsessed with her. The obsession deepens when she finds out Laura has a dark family history and she becomes single minded in pursuit of Laura’s friendship. But Laura isn’t just the cotton candy girl Roach thought, and has some dark secrets underneath.
  
  Thoughts: This book was extremely twisted. It was full of layers, starting with being a fun story about a bookshop and the people that work there. Laura was a unique and complex character, with so much going on and an interesting backstory. Roach was also very unique, but more one note, with that note being creepy. She gave me shivers, especially as her thoughts grew deeper and darker. Neither was likable and both perspectives were hard to read for completely different reasons.
  
  Ultimately this book was about a stalker and her obsession with death and murder. It seemed like a peek into the mind of someone mentally unstable, and I’m not quite sure how I felt about it yet. This book said a lot about the consumption of true crime and the way we treat other people’s stories. It was looking at the way we can look at true crime as entertainment, and perspectives from both the consumer and the victim. I loved the writing, and the book left me feeling completely unsettled. 4 stars.
  
• 
  Jamie Loves Books

  2 Stars ⭐️
  
  I'm really sad to say that this just didn't hit the mark for me and fell flat.
  
  It started off strong and I was enjoying the first 25% of the book. The multiple povs are interesting and Roach was an interesting character. She first came off likeable and Laura was just a terrible person.
  
  However it quickly began repetitive with the two povs. We' get s pov of Roach being obsessed and acting more creepy/cringey, then Laura acting mean and vindictive to Roach at the book store or out drinking, and then Laura gets drunk and someone has to take her home. Then scenario just kept repeating itself over and over. The fun I was having quickly dissipated.
  
  This book seems to be wanting to also take stance about true crime podcasts, books, podcasts. It's either in Laura's POV talking about why it's bad and how she can't respect roach/anyone weird who's interested in it. Then in Roach's pov it's used as a tool to make us think she is weird, creepy, and why she's obsessed.
  
  The writing style of this book was well done and it is generally well written. I will be keeping an eye out for future work by Alice Slater.
  
  Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishing for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.
• 
  Rachel Louise Atkin

  4.5 stars.
  
  I loved this book so much. I feel like I had some emotional attachment to it because the book is about bookshops, bookselling, identity and writing - I took it with me on a weekend to Oxford and it has just really clicked with me being in a bookish little city and it will forever remind me of that trip. I adored being in Spines with Roach and Laura, jumping into each of their heads to find out what the other one was up to and just escaping life for a while to live in their slimy little lives. The setting of London was so atmospheric and I found the book hard to put down most of the time because I was so drawn in to what was happening.
  
  Death of a Bookseller has some light thriller tropes but what I really love is how it plays with the true crime genre and the idea of 'literaryness'. It's definitely a book for people who like books which I really appreciated. Slater's writing I found jarring at first but soon settled into her vivid and transporting descriptions.
  
  Honestly such an amazing and brilliant book which I feel like I connected to on a really personal level. Alice you knocked this out of the park and I just want to read the whole thing over again.
• 
  Kate

  On paper, this should have been an ideal read for me - morally ambiguous characters, dual narratives, the world of book selling. I stopped the story about a third of the way through because both women were so unlikeable and I was repulsed by each of their narratives - how stuck up and selfish Laura was, how weird and cringy Roach was. Adding to that, it was really repetitive. I got the dynamic between them and why Roach was enthralled with Laura, and why Laura was repelled by Roach…but it felt like they had the same interaction time and time again. It made me feel depressed. I skipped to the end of the book, read the epilogues and felt like I hadn’t really missed anything by skipping two thirds of the book. The last chapter is good but not worth slogging through the book to get to it. It’s not a book I could recommend to my fellow fans of thrillers or book themed reads. Thank you to the author, her publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Fizah(Books tales by me)

  THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
  Roach has been a bookseller for 8 years and is obsessed with true crime and serial killers. She's a weirdo who takes pleasure in looking down on all of the other normal people. The bookshop is not making enough so the parent company assigned Laura to reform the shop. Laura is the complete opposite of Roach. In no time she becomes the favourite of the customers and her ability to sell books is unprecedented. Laura has a traumatic past and she writes poetry about it. Roach is obsessed with Laura and wants to know everything about her. Laura is more than uncomfortable with Roach's actions and obsessiveness. The entire story is about Roach's ugly obsession.
  
  The story is entirely different from what I've read before. The starting was slow and it took me a few days to get into the world, after that it was hard to not read the book. Character development was so solid. All characters were grey or dark. Laura's character was not likeable in any sense, she had enough flaws. I just hate it when authors portray a character as alcoholic in mystery books so seems unreliable and it fuels the length of the story. While reading Roach's POV, I just felt so disgusted to even enter her mind. Her character made me so angry and her audacity was mind-blowing. I don't remember how many times I cursed her out loud. 
  
  The ending was so open and I was desperately craving closure. I didn't read the entire book to get a cliffhanger. This was a dark and disturbing story. 
  
  PS. I watch You and enjoy the character of Joe and he doesn't make me angry but this Cockroach just made my blood boil.
• 
  Caitlyn DeRouin

  i kept waiting for this book to become interesting, or for something to happen. nothing ever really happened and it wasn't that interesting. some interesting discussions on true crime though!
• 
  calliope

  Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
  
  I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it certainly wasn't what I ended up reading.
  
  Death of a Bookseller is a critique of true crime that explores grief, trauma, and obsession--among other topics--from the perspectives of two very different coworkers in a small Londonian bookshop.
  
  Slater has a knack for creating unlikeable characters, one of whom is a main narrator, Roach. As much as I hated Roach, I had to admire, in a way, how her (albeit depraved and unhinged) character was represented. She actively repulsed me with the way she thought and acted. She reminded me of a serial killer, with the way she adapted to other people's behavior and learned their habits. And yet sometimes, I still sympathized with her--even against my will. Was she realistic? Maybe not, Was she likable? Definitely not. But she certainly evoked strong emotion in me, which is more than most characters can claim.
  
  Laura Bunting, the other main narrator, was definitely more sympathetic but perhaps not as well fleshed-out as I would've preferred. I did like how she raised the issue of how true crime is connected to and profits off (female) grief and trauma. Until now, I hadn't really been aware of it, seeing that I'm not a consumer of true crime. I'm not sure--I feel like something was missing from her portrayal that disconnected me from her a bit. That disconnection was furthered by the fact that there were jarring tense shifts between her and Roach's POVs--Roach was in past tense but Laura was in present tense. I'm sure there's a reason the author chose it to be that way, but for me, it wasn't justified.
  
  The plot itself somewhat decreased my enjoyment of the book. I feel like it was quite repetitive, with the same events occurring over and over again. Combined with slow pacing, I often had to force myself to pick it up and keep reading. I enjoyed seeing the inner workings of a bookstore, which the author is clearly familiar with. Looking at the book as a whole, I find myself wishing for a bit more when it came to quality and a bit less when it came to quantity. 2.5 stars.
• 
  Gabriela Pop

  4.5/5
  Not my usual genre of choice, but I'm a fan of Alice's podcast, so I thought I'd give anything coming out of her clever brain a go, and I was certainly not disappointed. Slater delivers a Highsmith-esque story about morbid all consumin obsession, set within the otherwise cosy confines of a dying bookshop, whose setting feels so familiar and lifelike to me. Slater also examines our complicated relation to true crime as a genre and the real stories behind it.
  I thought the audiobook narration landed itself particularly well to this story, because it made sure that the two protagonists had such distinct voices and really helped you understand so quickly who each of them was based on delivery alone.
  I devoured this with each chance I got and I never wanted to stop reading.