Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A dark, addictive thriller full of horrible but compelling characters.
A New Orleans-inspired dinner party in London. A group of friends connected by dark pasts. A missing person and a search for the truth. As the evening unfurls, so do histories and truths that keep us guessing about the real motives of these people until the very end.
All the good and the bad of New Orleans past and present comes alive in these pages, making me wistful for every fancy cocktail in dark bars, cup of gumbo and even drinks in plastic cups in stick-floored tourist joints. Its not just about food and drink though; its history, lore, and links to magic and the occult are threaded throughout too.
While we didn't get to spend loads of time with some characters, and there are lots of perspectives, their voices feel distinctive and the story is still clear and races on in a way that many that is not the case for many similarly structured books.
And while some of the grimy fates and happenings felt inevitable, the last question of 'what happened' kept me guessing until the end.
I haven't been these addicted to a book in ages, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a twisted thriller, even better if you like being transported to vivid settings as part of it too.
I received an advanced copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
A New Orleans-inspired dinner party in London. A group of friends connected by dark pasts. A missing person and a search for the truth. As the evening unfurls, so do histories and truths that keep us guessing about the real motives of these people until the very end.
All the good and the bad of New Orleans past and present comes alive in these pages, making me wistful for every fancy cocktail in dark bars, cup of gumbo and even drinks in plastic cups in stick-floored tourist joints. Its not just about food and drink though; its history, lore, and links to magic and the occult are threaded throughout too.
While we didn't get to spend loads of time with some characters, and there are lots of perspectives, their voices feel distinctive and the story is still clear and races on in a way that many that is not the case for many similarly structured books.
And while some of the grimy fates and happenings felt inevitable, the last question of 'what happened' kept me guessing until the end.
I haven't been these addicted to a book in ages, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a twisted thriller, even better if you like being transported to vivid settings as part of it too.
I received an advanced copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent
What fun I had with this! I devoured it in a day. It's a novel about a scammer, of course, my generation's favourite type of crime. Charismatic Daniel is missing in New Orleans; his sister Caroline throws a dinner in London and invites three of his friends, plus a psychic who claims to have spent the past two weeks with Daniel in Louisiana. Between them all, surely, they'll get to the truth of the matter. And they do, although not in the way Caroline expects. This is just so great on detail: the smells, sounds, tastes and emotions of a city that relies on marketing its history to survive; the strange combination of euphoria and creeping inauthenticity that produces. Every character is convincing, though we get much more time with Selina, the psychic, than most of the others, and I'd have liked a more even spread. (That's rare; usually in novels with five point-of-view characters I think at least three are superfluous or badly done.) The third quarter of this book is hard to read if you have traumatic financial experiences in your past, I'll warn you now. On the other hand, when the bad times start rolling—when the violence begins—I gulped it down with pure glee. Which is a morally dubious reaction, I know, but man does Slater do catharsis! This is a dream of a summer read, and deserves to be huge. Source: NetGalley, publishing 10 July 2025
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finished this a couple of days ago now but it's had very good staying power in my head and I keep thinking about it and wanting to go back to these characters.
Slater brought New Orleans to life in an amazing way for an "unreliable narrator"-type thriller, creating a dizzying whirlwind of a week filled with oysters, tarot cards, and cocktails. However, there was a repetitiveness in the language that got distracting for me: a few too many references to drinks "spiked with absinthe" and what at times felt like a race to name-drop as many beverages as possible. It was a vibe though!
The plot was deliciously twisty and I loved how she built up her character dynamics. None of them were particularly likeable, but they all felt real. Her writing craft has had a full glow up since Death of a Bookseller (which I enjoyed, don't get me wrong!) and I was on the edge of my seat the entire way through.
Many thanks to the publisher for this advance digital copy via Netgalley.
Slater brought New Orleans to life in an amazing way for an "unreliable narrator"-type thriller, creating a dizzying whirlwind of a week filled with oysters, tarot cards, and cocktails. However, there was a repetitiveness in the language that got distracting for me: a few too many references to drinks "spiked with absinthe" and what at times felt like a race to name-drop as many beverages as possible. It was a vibe though!
The plot was deliciously twisty and I loved how she built up her character dynamics. None of them were particularly likeable, but they all felt real. Her writing craft has had a full glow up since Death of a Bookseller (which I enjoyed, don't get me wrong!) and I was on the edge of my seat the entire way through.
Many thanks to the publisher for this advance digital copy via Netgalley.
After the sharp, rather distinctive debut Death of a Bookseller, I was eager to dive into Alice Slater’s second novel, Let the Bad Times Roll.
With its New Orleans setting, a missing person mystery, and a psychic thrown into the mix, the ingredients are all there for a thriller that blends sultry Southern Gothic with contemporary psychological suspense. Still, the final result didn’t quite land with the same impact as her debut.
Let the Bad Times Roll follows two timelines: the “then,” in which psychic Selina, alone and aimless in New Orleans, is drawn into a strange and intense connection with the charismatic but elusive libertine Daniel, and the “now,” in which Daniel has disappeared, and his sister Caroline gathers his nearest and dearest for a tense dinner party in London, complete with a spicy gumbo of secrets and suspicions and one unexpected guest claiming supernatural insight.
Slater excels at mood and atmosphere. The New Orleans scenes are lush and claustrophobic, full of sticky heat, hangovers, and that uncanny feeling that something isn’t quite right. The London chapters have their own tension, with the dinner party turning slowly but surely into something more sinister. But despite all this setup, the plot sometimes feels like it’s spinning its wheels. The suspense is there but stretches thin in places, and the pacing dips just when you’re hoping for a sharp turn or reveal.
That said, it’s still a satisfying read, just more of a slow simmer than a sharp shock. Perfect for lazy summer afternoons or poolside reading, where the slightly drawn out tension feels more like a feature than a flaw. Just maybe steer clear if you’re packing for The Big Easy anytime soon.
Fans of slow-burn mysteries with a touch of the uncanny will likely find enough here to keep turning the pages. Overall, Let the Bad Times Roll is a moody, slightly meandering thriller with a unique setup. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley.
With its New Orleans setting, a missing person mystery, and a psychic thrown into the mix, the ingredients are all there for a thriller that blends sultry Southern Gothic with contemporary psychological suspense. Still, the final result didn’t quite land with the same impact as her debut.
Let the Bad Times Roll follows two timelines: the “then,” in which psychic Selina, alone and aimless in New Orleans, is drawn into a strange and intense connection with the charismatic but elusive libertine Daniel, and the “now,” in which Daniel has disappeared, and his sister Caroline gathers his nearest and dearest for a tense dinner party in London, complete with a spicy gumbo of secrets and suspicions and one unexpected guest claiming supernatural insight.
Slater excels at mood and atmosphere. The New Orleans scenes are lush and claustrophobic, full of sticky heat, hangovers, and that uncanny feeling that something isn’t quite right. The London chapters have their own tension, with the dinner party turning slowly but surely into something more sinister. But despite all this setup, the plot sometimes feels like it’s spinning its wheels. The suspense is there but stretches thin in places, and the pacing dips just when you’re hoping for a sharp turn or reveal.
That said, it’s still a satisfying read, just more of a slow simmer than a sharp shock. Perfect for lazy summer afternoons or poolside reading, where the slightly drawn out tension feels more like a feature than a flaw. Just maybe steer clear if you’re packing for The Big Easy anytime soon.
Fans of slow-burn mysteries with a touch of the uncanny will likely find enough here to keep turning the pages. Overall, Let the Bad Times Roll is a moody, slightly meandering thriller with a unique setup. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ by Alice Slater tells the story of the friends and family of Daniel, a charismatic young man who vanished into thin air on a trip to New Orleans. His sister Caroline summons select acquaintances - and a mysterious tarot card reader - for a themed dinner party where more than just fond memories will be shared…
I really enjoyed Slater’s first novel, ‘The Death of a Bookseller’, and the same dark wit that made it so wonderful was on display here too. The narrative shifts to and from the balmy Louisiana heat were captivating, and the Bayou setting was immersive. The characters were unique, with innocence, manipulation, protectiveness and toxicity on display, but unfortunately I didn’t find any of them that intriguing… the group was not particularly likeable but also didn’t grip me with that “love to hate them” feeling. I really enjoyed the exploration of the supernatural arts - tarot, ouija boards, etc.
Ultimately, this gets three stars from me - I’d definitely look out for this author in the future, but wasn’t as drawn in by the characters in this one.
I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
**Let the Bad Times Roll**
I want to thank Hodder, Stough, and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of *Let the Bad Times Roll* by Alice Slater.
Having enjoyed Alice's previous book, *Death of a Bookseller*, I was eager to dive into this new release as soon as I received it.
The format and narrative style of this book differ from Alice's earlier work. We follow Caroline, whose brother, Daniel, has gone missing and hasn't been heard from in weeks. To find answers, she hosts a dinner party with the specific purpose of questioning those who were close to him. Among the guests is a stranger—a psychic who claims to have met Daniel in New Orleans. As the various storylines intertwine, the truth may finally emerge.
It took me until about halfway through the book to fully engage with the story. I appreciated gaining the perspectives of the different characters and learning about their connections to Daniel. The book kept me captivated throughout, and I finished it within two days. The ending provided the twist I've come to expect from an Alice Slater novel.
#LetTheBadTimesRoll #AliceSlater #BookReview #Thriller #Mystery #NetGalley #ReadingCommunity #DeathOfABookseller #BookRecommendations #PsychicMystery #LiteraryFiction
I want to thank Hodder, Stough, and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of *Let the Bad Times Roll* by Alice Slater.
Having enjoyed Alice's previous book, *Death of a Bookseller*, I was eager to dive into this new release as soon as I received it.
The format and narrative style of this book differ from Alice's earlier work. We follow Caroline, whose brother, Daniel, has gone missing and hasn't been heard from in weeks. To find answers, she hosts a dinner party with the specific purpose of questioning those who were close to him. Among the guests is a stranger—a psychic who claims to have met Daniel in New Orleans. As the various storylines intertwine, the truth may finally emerge.
It took me until about halfway through the book to fully engage with the story. I appreciated gaining the perspectives of the different characters and learning about their connections to Daniel. The book kept me captivated throughout, and I finished it within two days. The ending provided the twist I've come to expect from an Alice Slater novel.
#LetTheBadTimesRoll #AliceSlater #BookReview #Thriller #Mystery #NetGalley #ReadingCommunity #DeathOfABookseller #BookRecommendations #PsychicMystery #LiteraryFiction
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes