Death of a Bookseller

A disaffected bookseller develops a dangerous obsession in this dark and twisty debut.

Roach 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. A serious true crime junkie, Roach looks down her nose at the pumpkin-spice-latte-drinking casual fans who only became interested in the genre once it got trendy. 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 spirit.

Despite their common interest in true crime, Laura keeps her distance from Roach, resisting the other woman’s overtures of friendship. Undeterred, Roach learns everything she can about her new colleague, eventually uncovering Laura’s traumatic family history. When Roach realizes that she may have come across her very own true crime story, interest swiftly blooms into a dangerous obsession.

A darkly funny suspense novel, Death of a Bookseller raises ethical questions about the fervor for true crime and how we handle stories that don’t belong to us.

A dark masterpiece of grief and obsession. It will work its way under your skin like a splinter and stay there.”
—Catriona Ward

Tense, addictive, and sticky underfoot.”
—Julia Armfield

Utterly engrossing, atmospheric, and deliciously dark. Hugely compelling.”
—Will Dean

Written with dark wit and verve, this mischievous novel is clever, entertaining, and unsettling, with a gasp-inducing climax that beautifully (and wickedly) intertwines the two unforgettable anti-heroines. Each sentence is a dagger, sharpened to perfection; Slater’s deliciously morbid debut will haunt you.”
—Caitlin Barasch, author of A Novel Obsession

Alice Slater triumphs in Death of a Bookseller, the story of two frenemies who share an antagonistic obsession with true crime. I love a book that features messy women making very bad choices, and this novel delivers the delicious juice in a surprising, twisty narrative that has you guessing until its unpredictable end.”
—Chelsea G. Summers, author of A Certain Hunger

Slater delivers a twisty exploration of society’s fascination with the macabre.”
—Publishers Weekly

Very dark, character-driven, slow-burn suspense … Slater explores the ethics surrounding our obsession with true crime and questions how we should handle other people’s stories. This highly original, whip-smart first novel will have crime lovers second-guessing their next read.”
—Booklist

Alice Slater is a writer, editor and podcaster based in London. She co-hosts the What Page Are You On? podcast with Bethany Rutter. Death of a Bookseller is her first novel.