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A review by travelseatsreads
Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So you're obsessed with all things bookish & true crime? Snap, let's be friends. And, initially that's how it all innocently starts when Roach, self confessed gothy bookworm & true crime junkie meets the new Spines bookshop staff member Laura. She is also an avid reader & writes true crime poetry, surely they are destined to be besties? What begins as a wholesome attempt to make friends slowly unravels into a dark compulsive & brilliantly creepy obsession which will repeatedly make the hairs on the back of your neck stand bolt upright.
When I read the blurb I initially thought Death Of A Bookseller was going to be a twee little cosy thriller along the lines of The Thursday Murder Club (which I do love, by the way) but I was delighted to find out it was anything but. Slater has created an absolute gem which is deliciously dark & impossible to put down.
I think the real magic of DOAB is down to the two fantastically crafted protagonists who couldn't possibly be more different from each other. Roach is your classic feral girl who is obsessed with the macabre, brilliantly depraved & somehow scarily relatable. Lauren is, in the words of Roach, your stereotypical 'normie' with the perfect everything on the surface including a cloying saccharine sweetness. The dynamics of both characters clashing are portrayed perfectly & the tension bubbles from the page. It's really hard to not immediately pick a side, even if it may not be the 'correct' one. Surely I'm not the only one who not so secretly loves Roach?
Also, what I found fascinating & yet probably in theory shouldn't have really worked was the minutiae & mundanity of the everyday routine of the rundown failing bookshop. As a total bookworm there was a cosy familiarity & safeness that worked perfectly to contrast & highlight the sinister activities that were occurring behind the scenes.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on both the ebook & audiobook which inevitably meant I had the whole thing devoured within the day. The audiobook is equally as good with two perfectly fitting narrators who fully embodied each character's very unique personality.
An irresistibly dark, unputdownable, enthralling thriller!
When I read the blurb I initially thought Death Of A Bookseller was going to be a twee little cosy thriller along the lines of The Thursday Murder Club (which I do love, by the way) but I was delighted to find out it was anything but. Slater has created an absolute gem which is deliciously dark & impossible to put down.
I think the real magic of DOAB is down to the two fantastically crafted protagonists who couldn't possibly be more different from each other. Roach is your classic feral girl who is obsessed with the macabre, brilliantly depraved & somehow scarily relatable. Lauren is, in the words of Roach, your stereotypical 'normie' with the perfect everything on the surface including a cloying saccharine sweetness. The dynamics of both characters clashing are portrayed perfectly & the tension bubbles from the page. It's really hard to not immediately pick a side, even if it may not be the 'correct' one. Surely I'm not the only one who not so secretly loves Roach?
Also, what I found fascinating & yet probably in theory shouldn't have really worked was the minutiae & mundanity of the everyday routine of the rundown failing bookshop. As a total bookworm there was a cosy familiarity & safeness that worked perfectly to contrast & highlight the sinister activities that were occurring behind the scenes.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on both the ebook & audiobook which inevitably meant I had the whole thing devoured within the day. The audiobook is equally as good with two perfectly fitting narrators who fully embodied each character's very unique personality.
An irresistibly dark, unputdownable, enthralling thriller!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Mental illness