Reviews with content warning for Blood - Death of a Bookseller

Thank you to the author and publisher for sending me a proof copy of this book!

Death of a Bookseller is out at the end of April 2023!!

Really enjoyed this like the true gross girlie I am. It follows Roach and Laura, two binge-drinking booksellers with strong (and opposing) opinions on the true crime genre, though their similarities end there. Roach becomes as obsessed with Laura as she is about true crime, convinced there is a deep dark connection between the two of them. Laura, meanwhile, detests Roach’s attention and finds her love of serial killers disturbing and problematic.

We watch both characters circle the drain of self-destruction as dangerous obsessions threaten to turn deadly.

Really loved the writing style of this, Roach and Laura’s POVs each felt so distinct and they were very well-developed characters. I do think the POVs switched a bit too often for my liking though. Neither woman is likeable, but in entirely different ways.

While some scenes started to feel a bit tedious (there are only so many drinking sessions I can be bothered to read about), I found the plot very gripping throughout. The author’s love of bookselling (yet criticisms of the industry) shone through and I loved the discussions on related topics.

I do have a couple of criticisms that I have placed under the spoiler below, but to conclude I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it!

My only main downside is that I wasn’t particularly satisfied by the ending. I was hoping for a death – though yes there is the point of Laura Bunting ‘dying’ to become Laura Cordovan but I feel she should have at least stopped being a bookseller to complete the metaphor. A pet peeve of mine is that I hate epilogues of ‘several years later’ though I did massively love the last few lines of the book.

Content Warnings

what_heather_loves's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

"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 and morbid '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 mould, dirt and snail and slug 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.

Content Warnings

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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 for 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 the I definitely recommend picking this up!

Also a huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Steven Cooper for the incredible physical proof.

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