Reviews with content warning for Violence - Death of a Bookseller

As a reformed true crime fan, this novel was a bit on the nose. Roach bothered the shit out of me, while Laura was a perfect foil that still bothered me. All in all, I tore through this book though. Through all the gross details that had me shaking my head, I’m glad it ended the way it did.

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wowsmeows's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

"Reading is a way of life for some customers, the
kind of customers who buy more than they read, who behave as though 'bookworm' is as inherent as their blood type or their astrological sign."

Death of a Bookseller is about two characters told through their alternating POVs. There's Roach, a creepy true crime fanatic and Laura, who is unhealthily dealing with her traumatic past. The pair work together in a bookshop are are both unlikeable in their own unique ways. The book explores the idea of hating someone so much that it turns into an obsession and morphs into stalking. As the title suggests, it does delve into a lot of morbid topics with a lot of grotesque language and descriptions throughout. I'd recommend checking out content warnings for this read. However, it is a very slow read and because we have the split POV, I dont think I would personally class it as mystery or a thriller novel as we know what both characters are doing and thinking at all times.

What I I did enjoy was that it had some interesting ideas around the ethics of true crime as a genre. It really made me think about how healthy it really is to consume true crime content. I also thought the book was well written and I thought both characters had distinct personalities that shone through in the text.

I will say that I did dislike the ending and I did feel a bit frustrated by it.

I felt that the story had already been wrapped up nicely with Laura finally escaping Roach and dealing with her past, but Roach's epilogue took it all away from her again.

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beth_s98's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Honestly, this book wasn’t for me, and I only finished it partially out of spite. I hated Roach,

and while I think that’s kind of the point, I struggled to get through her chapters.

I liked Lauren, and a lot of the other characters were interesting.

I hate in the end that Lauren doesn’t get true peace, and we are left with Roach walking back into her life.

There were just so many moments that I felt were either unnecessary or just beyond plausibility. I don’t think the writing was bad, but I was not a fan of the story.

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bookishvampiratelycan's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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g_monaghan's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This was very close to being dnf'ed for me but a sense of morbid curiosity made me keep reading, no shade to the author but this book made me feel ill and grimy, i thought this was going to be a sapphic tale of obsession and whodunnit but that wasnt the case. The main character was actually vile, her personality of "I'm not like other girls" wore thin quickly and her fascination with the violent death of the person she is obsessed with was so unpleasant to read, I may have excused it if she was literally unhinged but the sad and pathetic relationship she has with that weirdo at the train station showed that she is in fact a normal boring and uninteresting person who delights in exploiting and feeding off the misery of others.
The opening starts with the main character going to a serial killer podcast and judging the other people in line for liking the 'stereotypical ones' that says it all.

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mj_86's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book made me so uncomfortable in the worst way. Roach gave me the ick.

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rkatw's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think the ruminations on true crime were really interesting.
Was sucked in immediately and finished reading in less than 24 hours. Thought the dual narrative was good, even though I definitely preferred one character over another, helped to really highlight their contrast and they key misunderstandings Roach has about Laura.
Was so tense as I reached the book's conclusion.

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abi_g_mac's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Very unsettling and tense. Switching the POV between the two characters was done really effectively, increasing the suspense throughout the book and exploring two very opposing perspectives on true crime.

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