I remember being horrified when I learned of the Zav Girl controversy. In case you missed it, in the summer of 2023, a true crime YouTuber by the name of Zav Girl posted autopsy photos of an 11-year-old murder victim named Gannon Stauch on her Patreon. Stauch had been brutally murdered by his stepmother in 2020. Zav Girl’s posts were rightfully met with backlash – not only did she distribute gruesome photographs, but she put them behind a paywall. This suggesed that she hoped to profit from the murder of a literal child.
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The Zav Girl story was at the forefront of my mind as I read Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater. True crime is a very popular genre right now, and the Zav Girl controversy had me asking: is it possible to ethically cover true crime? This is the very question that Slater asks in her book.
Summary
Meet the protagonists of Death of a Bookseller, Laura and Roach.
Laura is a woman who has experienced trauma in her life and is experiencing intense grief. She generally copes by drinking excessively and obsessing over an emotionally unavailable man.
Roach (that’s her last name) is obsessed with true crime. She’s a goth, a loner, and sees herself as “not like other girls.” Roach believes that many other true crime fans are in it for the wrong reasons. So she makes a habit of putting them down, by calling them things like “normies.”
When Roach and Laura meet at the bookstore they both work at, Roach is immediately drawn to Laura. Laura, on the other hand, is repulsed by Roach.
What follows is some disturbing, stalkerish behavior.
Thoughts
Death of a Bookseller is told from alternating points of view. It’s interesting to point out that the chapters told from Roach’s point of view are told in first person, past tense. Laura’s chapters are told from first person, present tense. I thought this was an interesting way of showing the trajectory of Laura and Roach.
I’ll be the first to admit that Death of a Bookseller isn’t really a plot-driven book. What I found enjoyable about Slater’s book was the dynamic between the two main characters. Neither Laura nor Roach are particularly likable characters. They’re certainly not the sort of people I’d want to be friends with in real life. But I also liked watching how they interacted and viewed each other on the page.
So is there a way to ethically discuss true crime? Laura and Roach each have their own answers to that question. By the end of Death of a Bookseller, I’m not sure I agree with either one of them. I suspect the “right” answer – if you can call it that – lies somewhere between each of their prospects.
Who is Death of a Bookseller For?
If you are the sort of person who needs your protagonist(s) to be likable, Death of a Bookseller is not for you.
People who might like Death of a Bookseller include people who enjoy unlikeable characters, character-driven plots, and/or discussions of the ethics of true crime.
Trigger Warning
Death of a Bookseller contains descriptions of stalking, violence, blood, death of a parent, and alcoholism.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
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