Reviews with content warning for Murder - Death of a Bookseller

I don’t know if the repetitive scenes were meant to build tension but I wanted to pull my hair out by the end every time I read about Roach drinking Dark Fruits or Laura putting together an outfit. I just didn’t like the characters enough to enjoy this, and there were “deleted scenes” at the end of my copy but I thought no way am I reading these when those that made the cut dragged on quite long enough

Content Warnings

story_of_kim's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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liss_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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whatthebook69's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

Content Warnings

liamliayaum's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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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melusinedln's review against another edition

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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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addie's review against another edition

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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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lou_mac's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Well, this was a page turner. I'm a sucker for switching points of view, and also a sucker for an unreliable narrator...and this gives me both!

I loved the commentary on true crime, the twists and turns of the story and the constant uncomfortable-nuss of it all. This is a thriller, with a twist and would really recommend it to anyone who likes that genre!

There are some things which sit uneasy - I at no point found Roach sympathetic, but at points with descriptions of her relationships I didn't know if I was meant to?

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