Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater

38 reviews

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.

lottieingham's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Death, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

beth_s98's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Honestly, this book wasn’t for me, and I only finished it partially out of spite. I hated Roach,

and while I think that’s kind of the point, I struggled to get through her chapters.

I liked Lauren, and a lot of the other characters were interesting.

I hate in the end that Lauren doesn’t get true peace, and we are left with Roach walking back into her life.

There were just so many moments that I felt were either unnecessary or just beyond plausibility. I don’t think the writing was bad, but I was not a fan of the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Mass/school shootings

alnicholl77's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, and Alcohol

bookishvampiratelycan's review

dark 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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, and Alcohol

mj_86'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

2.75

This book made me so uncomfortable in the worst way. Roach gave me the ick. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, and Alcohol

wrackspurtt's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Blood and Vomit

perksofbeingemily's review

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

michellekm'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol

thebookcident's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't often read crime/ thrillers, but I really enjoyed this one. The switching POV helped give me a needed break from each character and added to the tension. I think Slater had done a great job of creating two distinct voices for each character, that each leaves the reader feeling a certain way. Both of the protagonists are heavily flawed and I would say unlikeable, which I quite liked. I don't need to like a character to want to read them. 
I found lots of visually evoking imagery was used that rinsed my pallet from the darker themes in this novel. 
Also, Slater really captures the feeling of being a retail working over the Xmas period PERFECTLY. 😅
Would recommend as a summer read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol