Bookseller Reviews
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Chilling story!
Very readable book. We are all familiar with the clique and the outsider and the author frames the narrative between the two expertly. The book poses the... READ MORE
![Linda@{Livingston]](https://cdn.waterstones.com/app/General/No_pic_reviewer_2x.png)
Something WICKEDLY Obsessive This Way Comes!
As rich as dark chocolate and as sinister as a lurking shadow, there is something highly addictive and totally intoxicating about this wonderful debut by A... READ MORE
The kind of pitch black fiction that makes it hard to sleep at night
Slated as one of Hodder’s lead debuts for 2023, I was very excited to snag an early proof for this book, and let me tell you; roll on 2023. This is huge.
... READ MORE
A creepy slow burn thriller with bite
Death of a Bookseller closely follows two booksellers, Roach and Laura, working in a fictional Walthamstow bookshop in the autumn of 2019. Laura is the mod... READ MORE
A sinister tale of obsession and bookselling!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Roach has worked in her sleepy branch of chain bookstore Spines for so long, she's practi... READ MORE
A hideously fun story of obsession!
What a hideously fun read this was! 'DOAB' is a deliciously dark study into the underbelly of true crime and explores what happens when an obsession with ... READ MORE
Brilliant!
I think I was guaranteed to love this, given that it's set amongst the world of bookselling, and I did indeed love it! I did enjoy all the nods to working ... READ MORE
Creepy, intoxicating, dark & sticky...
Let me start off by saying, this book is INCREDIBLE. Your fingers will feel sticky with slime, you'll physically recoil, you'll be unable to put it down, a... READ MORE
Deep dark and oh so compelling
A twisted look at true crime, from two different perspectives at once. This book is perfect for those interested in True Crime, and anyone who has ever wor... READ MORE
A Novel Thriller
A novel thriller with lots of accurate bookseller details that kept me entertained throughout. We get the POVs of two booksellers, Laura who is very good a... READ MORE
A tantalising thriller!
A tantalising thriller about obsession set amongst the backdrop of a bookshop in the lead up to Christmas. As the characters pace picks up with peak tradin... READ MORE
Haunting
As a bookseller, I could not put this book down! It kept me on the edge of my seat!
A Deliciously Dark Thriller
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me an early bookseller proof of Alice Slater's debut Death Of A Bookseller.
I devoured this. I started in the... READ MORE
A delicious and thought-provoking thriller
Roach is a Bookseller at Spines, a large bookselling chain. She is obsessed with True Crime and dislikes the "normies" who read popular fiction. Then Laura... READ MORE
A must read for anyone with bookselling experience!
I wasn't sure what to make of this book and my opinion of it changed many times during reading. What carried me through this up and down experience was the... READ MORE
Unsettling, delicious and FUN!
Death of a Bookseller is a fun, unsettling, immersive and captivating story of two booksellers and their obsessive relationship.
This was a deliciously da... READ MORE
Compulsive & Haunting
This book is a perfect slice of relatability for booksellers and if you've ever wondered about the nature of the job, this book details a very accurate por... READ MORE
A chilling, twisted thriller
This delightfully sinister novel tells the story of Roach and Laura, two booksellers working at a fictional bookshop in Walthamstow and who, on the surface... READ MORE
creepy-crawled its way into my brain
Grungy Roach is quite content with her life – selling books, listening to True Crime podcasts, feeding her pet snail. That is, until Laura joins the workfo... READ MORE
Dark, twisted and tense
This is the sort of book that provokes a physical reaction. The descriptions of the smell of breath or bedlinen literally made me shudder. It was incredibl... READ MORE
If your dream is to work in a bookshop….
Death of a bookseller is a slow burn thriller in the best way. You know something is coming, you think you know what, the tension is building all the way t... READ MORE
Perfectly Encapsulates Bookselling
A book about a bookseller stalking another bookseller … I’ll make sure to keep an eye on my colleagues …
This story follows two booksellers (Laura and Ro... READ MORE
A deliciously dark debut
I really enjoyed this. I’m a sucker for anything set in a bookshop, and I so enjoyed the bookselling “in jokes”, but really it was the characters that mad... READ MORE
Prepare to meet the creepiest character you’ve ever met!
I’d give this 10 stars if I could, it was just that gripping! With a truly cringe inducing character in Roach who you love to hate driving the story down t... READ MORE
A fantastically funny insight into the behind the scenes of a Bookshop.
Thank you to the publisher and author for an advance copy of this book.
What good fun this book is. Right from the beginning it is wonderful to get to kno... READ MORE
Pure fun
Two booksellers. The first, Roache, a Monster Energy swigging goth and true crime obsessive who keeps pet snails. The second, Laura, a sparkly and efferves... READ MORE
A Fun, Nail-Biting Thriller!
This sparkling yet dark debut is to be devoured rather than savoured. Giving a fun insight into bookshop life for both booksellers and customers alike, Sla... READ MORE
Will have you rooting for snails everywhere
What a gem this book is. It's twisty and turn-y and very, very funny.
As a Bookseller I would recommend it to fans of Crime Fiction and those who like ... READ MORE
Gritty, Witty and Good Fun
I loved this! Although I did have to keep reminding myself this would never happen at work... I hope! I was enthralled by the two main characters, neither ... READ MORE
Disturbing and strange in the best way!
Death of a Bookseller was such a great read the two POVs were so interesting to see the parallels of the two main characters. As a bookseller myself i love... READ MORE
Synopsis
A bookshop. A true crime case. A deadly friendship.
Roach - bookseller, loner and true crime obsessive - is not interested in making friends. She has all the company she needs in her serial killer books, murder podcasts and her pet snail, Bleep.
That is, until Laura joins the bookshop.
Smelling of roses, with her cute literary tote bags and beautiful poetry, she's everyone's new favourite bookseller. But beneath the shiny veneer, Roach senses a darkness within Laura, the same darkness Roach possesses. As Roach's curiosity blooms into morbid obsession, it becomes clear that she is prepared to infiltrate Laura's life at any cost.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
- ISBN: 9781529385373
- Number of pages: 400
- Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 28 mm
- Weight: 280g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allDark, dank, sticky and oh so enjoyable.
Read this in a day and look forward to more from this author.
Deliciously dark and so brilliantly observed
Alice Slater clearly knows and loves her bookshops. The daily lives of booksellers are here for everyone to enjoy. Death of A Bookseller centres on two boo... READ MORE
Mystery set in WALTHAMSTOW, LONDON
2.5*
I picked this title because of the title and cover, it certainly caught my eye; and besides, which book-loving person could resister a novel with “boo... READ MORE
Lack of plot & unlikeable characters
As a bibliophile and true crime fan I was excited to read ‘Death of a Bookseller’, which seemed to be right up my street.
As is sadly usually the case wit... READ MORE
envy and obsession- recommended
A unique dark book based around obsession and envy. This is good, entertaining and will be enjoyed by many on its release. Thank you to NetGalley, the auth... READ MORE
Must be missing something...
A thriller that seems to have attracted a huge amount of pre-publication hype but sadly left me cold. Lazy appropriations of other people's books, a weak p... READ MORE
I’m still unsure what I read
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton audio for the advance audiobook.
I’ll start by saying the premise of the book was very intriguing and yet ... READ MORE
Intense, dark, creepy and full of snails!
Roach has been working in a branch of Spines bookshop forever, meticulously building up its' True Crime section, when the arrival of a new member of staff ... READ MORE
Obsessed
I honestly didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. It's surprisingly funny given the topics it explores and the pacing is just chefs kiss. Can't ... READ MORE
Really enjoyed this book
This book was a little different in subject matter and I wasn't sure how I was going to like it but I really got sucked into the story and loved it. The ch... READ MORE
Lack Luster Plot
The anticipation surrounding the launch of this book instilled hope in me, but unfortunately, it left me greatly disappointed. My dissatisfaction stemmed p... READ MORE
Spot on!
Not going to lie, I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. First of all of course the subject is VERY close to home. I could relate to every singl... READ MORE
Deliciously Dark and creepy!
When booksellers Roach and Laura meet, Roach knows they’re kindred spirits, destined to be best friends. Unfortunately, Laura, who likes to match her shoes... READ MORE
Darkly immersive
Meet Roach (real name Brogan), she works in Spines, a bookshop in Walthamstow. She’s a Goth, a loner, dark if not morbid and obsessed with true crime. Oh, ... READ MORE
Brilliant debut novel
Set in Walthamstow, Roach real name Brogan works at Spines bookstore. Roach is a Goth and is a True Crime junkie and is in charge of the true crime sectio... READ MORE
Death of a Bookseller
3.5 rounded up for sheer bonkersness.
So... Brogan, commonly known as Roach works in a bookshop in Walthamstow. She has worked there for years, since she l... READ MORE
A completely addictive story
Laura and Roach are two very different booksellers, both working at the same bookshop in London. Roach loves true crime and becomes obsessed with getting t... READ MORE
Compulsive, creepy 5* read!
This story pulled me in from the first page. Laura - everyone's friend, loved by all, friendly with everyone - except Roach - chalk and cheese. Roach is un... READ MORE
A dark story with humour
This book had me hooked between the two main characters….Laura and Roach. Both booksellers at the same bookshop. With Roach having an obsession with true c... READ MORE
Grungy young bookseller fixates on her colleague
Whose lives are most interesting, the murderers or their victims? Roach is certainly on the murders side while Laura is on the other side of the equation.... READ MORE
Excellent and original debut
An excellent debut from Alice Slater with wonderful observational detail on every page. It was creepy, dark, sad, funny and highly original. Written from t... READ MORE
A deliciously dark debut
"The path to understanding the human condition was soaked in blood and guts, it was stalked by serial killers and sadists and mass shooters, and it was lac... READ MORE
An impressive debut
As a book lover, how could I resist a book set in a bookshop? This fast-paced, dry-toned, witty, yet almost shockingly dark psychological thriller that cen... READ MORE
A slow-burning psychological thriller with dark undertones
This is a book that completely gripped me. It’s got some arguable unlikeable characters, but this only adds to its appeal in my mind, and ultimately they a... READ MORE
Addicting!
Oh, this book was horribly, brilliantly, addicting! It’s not often that a book keeps me up until 3am, because I just have to know what happens next, but th... READ MORE
So sorry
I'm sure many people will like this but it wasn't for me . I tried to connect with the characters but they didn't come to life, they were just words on a p... READ MORE
This character led psychological thriller proved an assured debut
My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Death of a Bookseller’ by Alice Slater..
This debut novel is a fascinating psychological t... READ MORE
Hugely enjoyable
Set during the run up to Christmas, Alice Slater’s hugely enjoyable novel follows Roach who’s worked in the dingy Walthamstow branch of Spines for nine yea... READ MORE
A debut novel...
Death of a Bookseller follows two very different characters. We have Roach, who is a true crime obsessive loner. Spending most of her day reading true crim... READ MORE
Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater
Roach has been a bookseller at Spines since her teens. She’s a true crime obsessive, whether that be through podcasts or the true crime section in the shop... READ MORE
An excellent dark debut
A superb thriller that becomes increasingly dark right up until the final sentence. The setting of a bookshop with frequent in-jokes and literature referen... READ MORE
A nice little fable.
I enjoyed this. It was a nice change of pace from my usual fare, which is thrillers. Completely different from what I normally choose.
Amazing Read!!
Absolutely worth the money! Easy read over a couple of days, intriguing yet satisfying. Can’t wait to read more from this author! Bought this book after a ... READ MORE
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