We're seeing this plot told through Laura and Roach's narratives, two very different characters who go through quite the journey together. Laura initially seems to have it all together with her matching beret and shoes, her organised book collection and her cheery attitude. Whereas Roach is bitter and judgy, she exudes an air of arrogance like she's better than everyone else purely because she is not like them - except really she's exactly like them, she just can't see it. The two characters start off contrasting each other perfectly, and gradually their relationship becomes more knotted and complicated. Alice Slater’s compelling debut is a brooding tale of obsession told from the alternating perspectives of two women, Roach and Laura thrown together through their jobs at a struggling bookshop in Walthamstow, an up-and-coming area of London. Both are drawn to true crime but for vastly different reasons. Roach is a veteran fan of true crime, much of her spare time taken up by podcasts, shows and books that delve into the practices and processes of serial killers from Ted Bundy to the Manson family. Laura’s drawn to similar narratives but for her it’s all about the victims, something that’s rooted in a traumatic incident from her childhood. Isolated and socially awkward, Roach outwardly despises the normies all around her but something about Laura makes her yearn for connection, while Laura’s repelled by Roach and her associations with the seamy and the salacious, as well as her shabby, down-at-heel appearance. Then a chance event gives Roach the perfect opportunity to get closer to Laura, in ways Laura could never have imagined. Purple haired and fascinated by virtually anything macabre, serial-killer fanatic Roach is quite possibly one of the (very few) characters to ever make me feel soo uncomfortable. 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 this book had me in it’s clutches, reading on with mounting horror as the story unravelled. Alice Slater also does such an incredible job at balancing the serious and imperative with the humorous commentary. The book in its entirety is both unsettling, focusing on true crime, real cases, statistics and conversations on Roach's fascination with serial killers, as-well as hilarious and full of bookselling jokes and knowledge. It made for both a deeply humorous yet deeply compelling read! The PERFECT amount of fun!

Slater’s darkly comic debut follows the increasingly uneasy relations between two co-workers who have very different investments in true crime. The world of the antiquarian book trade was fascinating and a complete revelation to me. Being written and set in the 1950s also added to the appeal of this book. The historical details were fascinating and I enjoyed spending a few hours there. The language and behaviour of the characters was of its time and was at once more formal and polite – but also ruthless and cut-throat. The mystery was well written and I found myself unable to decide who to trust. I was hooked.The author worked for a time as a policeman so the details of police procedures and office politics seem convincing. Unfortunately, as a write Bernard Farmer is plodding and clumsy. He explains, he summarizes, he tells us what to think. This book has been praised for its plotting, but I found many of the twists and turns wildly improbable, especially when supernatural elements come to be involved. The climactic scene of confession is just ridiculous.

You won’t want to put it down once you start so make sure you have a free day. If you’re like me, it’ll stay with you even after you’ve finished. I felt Alice’s exploration of grief, and depression and mental health is an excellent piece of writing. Sensitive but raw. With an uncanny ability to say the wrong thing (and genuinely just creep everyone out with her laser like fixation on death) Roach is a bit of a loner, which she seems perfectly happy about until Laura joins the branch, a model employee who manages to charm everyone around her. Including Roach, who, after hearing one of Laura’s poems at a mic night (in which she aims to honour the victims of violent crime instead of dehumanising them) believes she has found a kindred spirit and becomes obsessed with the idea of their friendship. I thought this was so clever and a really enjoyable read. Both main characters were fully formed and you felt yourself empathising with both and equally wanting to shake them at times! I feel like she's circling me. She's always there, always watching me, always trying to get my attention." she says.

First published in 1956 it’s no surprise that some would find it ‘dated’. I happen to love ‘dated’, the language especially. But when did I ever agree with the majority on books? It’s an oddity, certainly – not the greatest prose and the plot is rather loose and rambly, and there’s a weird thread running through it where sensible and rational people all seem to find the idea of raising the devil and demons not just possible, but quite likely. But for all that, I found that once I got used to the rather plain writing style I enjoyed it, and as it progressed towards the end, I got fully caught up in the story and found the tension building nicely.

I love bookselling,” Slater says. “But I wasn’t just trying to write a love letter to bookselling, I also wanted to show the corporate side of it… I feel like independent bookshops tend to be the territory for fiction, so I just wanted to try something a little closer to my experience.” I don't know what to say about this book. I have so many conflicting thoughts. For starters, I wonder why anyone would give it more than 1 star.Dark, a bit creepy (not in the looking over your shoulder way though) and totally addictive. Full of magnificent characters - none wholly likeable but fascinating all the same. These people smoke and drink so much I don't know how they manage to get up for work in the bookshop the next day. But they do - in all their stubbled, sweaty-underarmed, greasy-fingered glory. Is there a more anticipated 2023 book in literary circles than this one? And it’s a debut! A powerful debut at that. Roach feels Laura is as interested in the morbid and macabre as she is even though Laura’s contempt for Roach is obvious but she is determined to know everything about her life regardless of the consequences.

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, let’s not forget the pet snail, yes, that’s right a pet snail! Roach is quite happy (as much as she can be that is) working in the bookshop until Laura joins the staff. Laura seems bright, breezy, as sweet as the roses she smells of and the poetry she writes and looking so perky in her well considered outfits. Is her shiny exterior a veneer? Is she just a bit too well put together? At first Roach thinks she’s a ‘normie’ or a Pumpkin Spice Girl but she grows curious about her, sensing something that intrigues her which then develops into something distinctly uncomfortable. The story is told in short, sharp chapters and alternates between the two of them. The plot itself is fine, though with that weird occult thread that is a bit jarring at points. Happily, however, the villain is human, as is the motive. I don’t think it’s fair-play, but the race against time aspect makes it feel like a cross between a mystery and a thriller, so that didn’t bother me. Overall, it’s not of the quality of the best mystery novels in either writing or plotting, but Wigan is an appealing character, the look at the book trade gives it an added interest and its very oddity gives it a kind of unique charm. Well worthy of its place in the BL’s Crime Classics series, and recommended as something a little different from the usual run. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up. Partly I just didn't enjoy being in Roach's head. She's a great creation in the spirit of The Wasp Factory, The Magus etc--a really unpleasant person made up of whining, unjustified smugness, and self justification--but I think I prefer looking at horrible people rather than inhabiting them, at least over long stretches. And also, by 30% we hadn't really got anywhere in plot terms: Roach is becoming more stalky and Laura doesn't like her, repeat. I DNFd because I just didn't want to spend time in this world without a propulsive plot. /shrugs./ YMMV and probably will.a villain who confesses to a murder because if he doesn't confess the devil will be summoned and the devil will turn his mother into a rat ... hey come on ! The book is set in the 50's and not in the middle ages, who can believe such threats? There's a lot to fear in this world, but when something goes bump in the night, it isn't ghosts that haunt me." This group is for For Books' Sake readers to come together to talk about books they love (or hate), air their views and share their recommendations. This is a very enjoyable debut thriller. The story is told through dual POV. While both characters are inherently unlikeable, they are well written and impossible to forget.