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Death of a Bookseller: the instant Sunday Times bestseller! The debut suspense thriller of 2023 that you don't want to miss!

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And as curiosity blooms into morbid obsession, Roach becomes determined to be a part of Laura’s story – whether Laura wants her in it or not. 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.

It wasn't bad, I liked it enough to get to the end, but I wouldn't suggest it to a friend and for certain it will not be among the books I will read a second time. 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. Slater gave the reader a real power here in diving deep into each character's thought process and showing how they felt about each other. This was such a clever writing style because it alienated us further from Roach and began to do the same for Laura as we saw her character shift and change until she and Roach didn't feel so different after all. I felt physically uncomfortable at times reading from Roach's perspective whereas I just gradually started to dislike Laura. Is there a more anticipated 2023 book in literary circles than this one? And it’s a debut! A powerful debut at that.Oh, this book was horribly, brilliantly, addicting! It’s not often that a book keeps me up until 3am, because I just have to know what happens next, but this book had me in it’s clutches, reading on with mounting horror as the story unravelled.

There's a lot to fear in this world, but when something goes bump in the night, it isn't ghosts that haunt me." Both Laura and Roach were so well roundly written and I loved reading from both of their perspectives.

Featured Reviews

Very dark, character-driven, slow-burn suspense … Slater explores the ethics surrounding our obsession with true crime and questions how we should handle other people's stories. This highly original, whip-smart first novel will have crime lovers second-guessing their next read." Booklist Roach will do anything to be friends with Laura, but for the wrongest reasons in this world. She will even go far enough to stealing her poems and changing her words, and when their shifts will be changed she will decide to take her house keys so that she is always "free to come and go as she pleases". I admit, it was nothing like I was expecting. I was expecting it to be a murder mystery, or crime novel. But it’s not really. It was so layered. It’s got this power about it, but also this humour, it’s creepy and unsettling and beautiful to read.

As with others, I found the occult theme a bit off putting, but I can only assume that this too, along with the insights into police and justice procedures, and the seamier side of the book trade, may be a lesser known aspect of the time that Farmer had personal experience of. I found the whole serial killer obsession fascinating. It’s a bit controversial to admit you are interested in them, but given the amount of books, movies and TV shows inspired about them, there are clearly more of us with a fascination than we might admit. I loved the idea of this book, a mystery set amongst rare book dealers, but it wasn't as engaging as I had hoped. 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. The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.”—Xaden Riorson

We chat with Alice Slater about her fierce, grimy debut Death of a Bookseller and the legacy of true crime in fiction and beyond

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.

Named a summer book to watch by The Washington Post, Boston Globe, USA Today, Oprah, Paste, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Nerd DailyThe development of the two main characters - Roach and Laura - was fabulous. Roach is obviously meant to be the weird one, the one we should be wary of. But at first, I didn’t see her like that. Yes she was odd and weird and obsessive and creepy, but I was finding myself liking her. Whereas I didn’t like Laura at first. I felt she was this Miss know-it-all and instantly rated. However, as it went along Roach became more uncomfortable and Laura became familiar. Roach began to cross many lines and you’re conflicted as to whether you can root for her or not. But in the end, I felt I couldn’t support her. Whilst I still enjoyed her uniqueness, I found it hard to justify what she was doing. Excellent development on both parts. 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.

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