Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater

24 reviews

lroseb's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

heather_a_thomas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, and Alcohol

melusinedln's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I loved the setting of this thriller : most of the novel takes place in a bookshop. The first 100 pages were fun to read, but the book became boring, slow-paced and repetitive until around page 330, right before the end. The end also feels slightly disappointing, as it feels like nothing has really evolved for the characters since the beginning. However, the writing style was pleasing to read and I liked the themes and the criticism of true crime and its community.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Vomit and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty

addie's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Murder and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

itsbumley's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

sierraclimbs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

I don’t have a ton of feelings about this book upon reflection. 
I enjoyed reading it & I think it is an interesting commentary on true crime & the culture that surrounds it. 
I’m excited to discuss it with my bookclub because I think it will bring up a lot of interesting conversations. 
The thing I found the most interesting is maybe a bit of a spoiler but,

I found it interesting that if you isolate Laura’s perspective from Roach’s, it never seems like Roach is doing anything that sinister… if it was just a book about Laura, you would think she is an unreliable narrator

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

This book is meant to make you uncomfortable. I wouldn’t say it glorifies anything, at least not without contradicting it in the next chapter.

elgin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism

Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Stalking, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

g_monaghan's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Body horror

perksofbeingemily's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

isb_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Wow. Just wow. This book was an unnerving, grotesque, intriguing, mind-effing wonder. I felt so deeply connected to the characters that it was easy to slip into the dark world Alice Slater has created here. Obsession is a powerful thing, and this book will not soon leave my mind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail