Death of a Bookseller
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Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2024
WINNER OF DEBUT OF THE YEAR at the FINGERPRINT AWARDS
WOULD YOU KILL FOR A GOOD STORY?
'A confident, sassy, pitch-black debut' CAROLINE KEPNES
'Your new obsession' ERIN KELLY
'Savage, witty and all-consuming' ABIGAIL DEAN
'A dark masterpiece. It will work its way under your skin like a splinter' CATRIONA WARD
*****
Roach - bookseller, loner and true crime fanatic- 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.
With her cute literary tote bags and sunny smile, she's everyone's favourite bookseller. But beneath the shiny veneer, Roach senses a darkness within Laura, the same darkness Roach possesses.
And as curiosity blooms into morbid obsession, Roach becomes determined to be a part of Laura's story - whether Laura wants her in it or not.
*****
'A spectacularly creepy debut ... a tense and disturbing read' GUARDIAN
'Tense, addictive and sticky underfoot' JULIA ARMFIELD
'A sharp and creepy debut thriller' DAILY MAIL
'Utterly unforgettable' CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD
'Delightfully dark' COSMOPOLITAN, Best New Books
'Engrossing, atmospheric and deliciously dark' WILL DEAN
'Uncomfortable, claustrophobic, and you won't take your eyes off the pages' BELFAST TELEGRAPH
'Impossible to put down' ELIZA CLARK
'A sinister and tense debut that will chill you to the core' PLATINUM MAGAZINE
'Relentlessly creepy and deeply compulsive' HEATHER DARWENT
Book Information
Posts
Roach, a true crime addict, would rather be listening to the latest episode of her favorite true crime podcast than assisting the boring and predictable customers at her local branch of the bookstore Spines, where she’s worked her entire adult life. But when Laura, a pretty and charismatic children’s bookseller, arrives to help rejuvenate the struggling bookstore branch, Roach recognizes in her an unexpected kindred. But Laura deters every advance Roach tries on bringing them closer together. When Roach realizes that she may have come across her very own true crime story, interest swiftly blooms into a dangerous obsession.
This book was a hit and miss for me. It oozes like a slug across concrete: slow, deliberate, leaving behind a trail of grit and something sticky you can’t quite name. Its pacing might be glacial, but the reward is in the detail. The story plunges us into the claustrophobic world of a grimy chain bookshop. Slater’s knack for immersive atmosphere is both impressive and unsettling. Where the story really gains points is in its characters. What begins with seemingly clear distinctions — light (Laura) and dark, moral and macabre (Roach) — soon decays into a far more satisfying mess of human chaos. People change, double back, unravel. There’s a haunting sense that every character is one obsession away from doing something unthinkable. In tone and intensity, it evokes the Series *You* — but instead of luxury apartments and artisanal bookstores, it’s sticky floors, chain-smoking, and emotional rot. It’s not a thriller in the high-octane sense, but rather a psychological autopsy of obsession, loneliness, and the parasitic nature of some relationships — particularly those formed over shared interests… and perhaps too many true crime podcasts. A word of caution to fellow readers: tread carefully. Trigger warnings include stalking, alcohol abuse, smoking (as habitual as breathing), and a persistent sense of grime that makes you want to scrub your hands after each chapter. But for those with a stomach for the grotesque and the beautifully bleak, this book is a treasure buried in dirt.
Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2024
WINNER OF DEBUT OF THE YEAR at the FINGERPRINT AWARDS
WOULD YOU KILL FOR A GOOD STORY?
'A confident, sassy, pitch-black debut' CAROLINE KEPNES
'Your new obsession' ERIN KELLY
'Savage, witty and all-consuming' ABIGAIL DEAN
'A dark masterpiece. It will work its way under your skin like a splinter' CATRIONA WARD
*****
Roach - bookseller, loner and true crime fanatic- 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.
With her cute literary tote bags and sunny smile, she's everyone's favourite bookseller. But beneath the shiny veneer, Roach senses a darkness within Laura, the same darkness Roach possesses.
And as curiosity blooms into morbid obsession, Roach becomes determined to be a part of Laura's story - whether Laura wants her in it or not.
*****
'A spectacularly creepy debut ... a tense and disturbing read' GUARDIAN
'Tense, addictive and sticky underfoot' JULIA ARMFIELD
'A sharp and creepy debut thriller' DAILY MAIL
'Utterly unforgettable' CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD
'Delightfully dark' COSMOPOLITAN, Best New Books
'Engrossing, atmospheric and deliciously dark' WILL DEAN
'Uncomfortable, claustrophobic, and you won't take your eyes off the pages' BELFAST TELEGRAPH
'Impossible to put down' ELIZA CLARK
'A sinister and tense debut that will chill you to the core' PLATINUM MAGAZINE
'Relentlessly creepy and deeply compulsive' HEATHER DARWENT
Book Information
Posts
Roach, a true crime addict, would rather be listening to the latest episode of her favorite true crime podcast than assisting the boring and predictable customers at her local branch of the bookstore Spines, where she’s worked her entire adult life. But when Laura, a pretty and charismatic children’s bookseller, arrives to help rejuvenate the struggling bookstore branch, Roach recognizes in her an unexpected kindred. But Laura deters every advance Roach tries on bringing them closer together. When Roach realizes that she may have come across her very own true crime story, interest swiftly blooms into a dangerous obsession.
This book was a hit and miss for me. It oozes like a slug across concrete: slow, deliberate, leaving behind a trail of grit and something sticky you can’t quite name. Its pacing might be glacial, but the reward is in the detail. The story plunges us into the claustrophobic world of a grimy chain bookshop. Slater’s knack for immersive atmosphere is both impressive and unsettling. Where the story really gains points is in its characters. What begins with seemingly clear distinctions — light (Laura) and dark, moral and macabre (Roach) — soon decays into a far more satisfying mess of human chaos. People change, double back, unravel. There’s a haunting sense that every character is one obsession away from doing something unthinkable. In tone and intensity, it evokes the Series *You* — but instead of luxury apartments and artisanal bookstores, it’s sticky floors, chain-smoking, and emotional rot. It’s not a thriller in the high-octane sense, but rather a psychological autopsy of obsession, loneliness, and the parasitic nature of some relationships — particularly those formed over shared interests… and perhaps too many true crime podcasts. A word of caution to fellow readers: tread carefully. Trigger warnings include stalking, alcohol abuse, smoking (as habitual as breathing), and a persistent sense of grime that makes you want to scrub your hands after each chapter. But for those with a stomach for the grotesque and the beautifully bleak, this book is a treasure buried in dirt.