Reviews tagging 'Death'

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater

33 reviews

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

teatunesandtales's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I couldn't put this book down, nor get it out of my head. It's gruesome and raw and I'm unnerved by the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

late_nite_reads's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Not bad. But it was too long and was a character driven narrative rather than plot driven.  The characters were spelled out clearly therefore the book became very monotonous and repetitive The themes of the book were stretched out for so long that by the epilogues I was just left feeling meh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

withlivjones's review

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

3.75

A skin-crawling, chilling book about obsession. We follow our two main characters, booksellers Laura and Roach, navigate the autumn-winter months in a struggling bookstore, as Roach’s interest in true crime causes her to be drawn to Laura with an intensity that will doom them both. 

Most of this book is very slow-paced, while Slater takes the time to explore both Roach’s and Laura’s characters in great detail. Both characters are deeply flawed in different ways, and I really enjoyed reading about them in a “I don’t like what’s going on and I’m low-key disgusted but I can’t look away” way. There were definitely some parts that dragged, and some that felt a bit repetitive, but the plot really picks up in the last third or so as Roach’s obsession with Laura causes both characters’ mental states to spiral rapidly, and from then I could not put it down! And the ending made my stomach DROP. 

I also really enjoyed reading about the ins and outs of bookselling in this book - the stuff that goes on behind the scenes in a bookshop is really interesting to me, and it seems that Slater knows her stuff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Vomit, and Stalking

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

sarahsbookss's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

barbarella85's review against another edition

dark mysterious

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

linguaphile412's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Self harm

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

readwithloz's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

monnibo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail