This book has been on my reading radar since I spotted it on Netgalley months ago. Although I wasn’t fortunate enough to get an Advance Read Copy, I was thrilled to see this on Exclusive Books’ #EBRecommends list. Always featuring the best and newest in the reading world!
Can we take a moment to appreciate this eye-catching cover?
Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater is a dark and twisted debut that examines the fascination and morality of true crime enthusiasts. The book follows two booksellers, Roach and Laura, who have very different motives for being interested in the genre. Roach is a true crime addict who consumes books, podcasts, and documentaries about the most horrific and infamous crimes. Laura is a poet who has a personal link to a serial killer.
“It was a high-profile case and . . . I just hate that my trauma is tied to this horrible story, and I can’t talk about one without talking about the other. I hate that her name will forever be associated with the man who killed her, and I hate that the world only remembers her as a chapter in the story of his life.”
When they work together at a failing bookstore branch, Roach tries to befriend Laura, but Laura keeps her away. Roach becomes more and more intrigued by Laura’s story, and soon crosses the line between interest and harassment.
“Surely this was the moment she’d realise that we were on the same page, that we had loads in common. We both wrote poetry, loved true crime. We even drank the same hipster brand of seltzer.”
The book is told from the alternating viewpoints of Roach and Laura, who are both unreliable and unlikable narrators. Roach is a goth, a loner, and a misanthrope who has a toxic relationship with her boyfriend and a pet snail. She is also delusional, manipulative, and intrusive.
“She’s a strange girl,’ Sharona says, nodding. ‘Just a bit lonely, I think. Desperate to find someone to cling to, however inappropriate.”
Laura is a pretty and charismatic children’s bookseller who seems to have it all together, but she is emotionally unstable, secretive, and bitter. She also has a dark side that she hides from everyone.
“Laura Bunting. Her name was garden parties, and Wimbledon, and royal weddings. It was chintzy tea rooms, Blitz spirit, and bric-a-brac for sale in bright church halls. It was coconut shies and bake sales and guess-the-weight-of-the-fucking-cake.”
The book is well-written and atmospheric, with sharp dialogue and literary references. The author gives us an insight into the world of bookselling and book collecting, as well as the psychology and morality of true crime fandom.
“I know that sounds bad,’ I say. ‘But the whole point of my poetry was to commemorate the people who are often forgotten by true crime narratives, and then I have this true crime nut all over it, desperate to know who the murderers are, like it’s a fun puzzle to piece together.”
The book raises questions about how we handle stories that don’t belong to us, how we cope with trauma and grief, and how we define ourselves and our relationships. The book is slow-burning and suspenseful.
Ethical questions about the captivation with true crime – respect, confidentiality and dignity of victims and their family. Also, does our fascination with the macabre cross moral boundaries?
I haven’t had this many mixed feelings about a book in a while. I enjoyed the dark humour, the angle of a true crime obsessive, getting insight into the “book world”, the twisty plot, the atmospheric mood. And, the illustrations of Bleep at the bottom of some pages! But I did expect a bit “more” – I got a bit irritated and disillusioned by how unlikeable and immature Rachel and Roach turned out to be (I have always been bad with first impressions), and the writing became a bit repetitive.
Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater is an original and well-crafted debut that will appeal to fans of dark and morbid stories. As a “true crime fan” and devout listener of true crime podcasts, the ethical questions raised stayed with me for a while!
With thanks to Exclusive Books for the opportunity to read this book.
The Details
From Exclusive Books
PUBLISHED BY: Hodder & Stoughton
EAN: 9781529385335
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: April 2023
About The Author
Alice Slater https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/alice-slater/
