Alice Slater has done it again; this is another incredibly gripping novel that I devoured in under 24 hours.

Going in, I was nervous that I wouldn’t enjoy this as much as Death of a Bookseller, which I found instantly captivating because the voice was just so strong. For a start, I didn’t think I was interested in New Orleans as a setting. There are also SO many characters to keep track of here: there’s Daniel, the mercurial missing boy at the centre of the story; his possessive sister Caroline; their downtrodden uni friend Richard; floundering Sage and her washed-up rockstar ex Max; and finally Selina, the psychic Daniel meets in New Orleans, who flits between insecure and steely – and that’s without even getting into the side characters we meet along the way.

Somehow, despite this being borderline ensemble-cast territory, Slater gives everyone enough backstory and nuance to feel like real, complicated people. It’s ambitious as hell and works beautifully. And she also paints a fantastic, persuasive portrait of her setting, coming alive with rich descriptions of food, drink and atmosphere. Both timelines – Selina’s holiday in New Orleans and the dinner party back in London, intercut with flashbacks to explain how everyone knows Daniel – are as absorbing as each other. There were so many threads I wanted to pull on.

It’s a very different animal from Death of a Bookseller, but has a similar irresistible pull – yet again, I skipped lunch to finish it. I could have read a thousand more pages about these characters. Also love that this is coming out in July, it's such a perfect summer book.

Alice Slater has a really unique ability to write characters who fascinate you in the beginning but end up being repugnant and I LOVE it! Loved the New Orleans setting, the easter-eggs and the perspectives of all the different characters which really helped to bring eachother and Daniel to life.

A well researched novel, heavy on the detail, full of wholly unlikeable characters. I felt very hungry after reading this; the culinary descriptions were delicious.

I really enjoyed this book, the story line and the setting were amazing. I felt completely immersed in New Orleans and this twisty, unpredictable and enjoyable story. Loved it xx

Alice Slater never disappoints ! I was soooo excited to read her second novel and I loved it. The atmosphere was so muggy and sticky, it made me want to travel to New Orleans. (Unlikeable) character driven story, everyone feels so real and layered and complex. I love how Alice Slater never leans into the binary. The reader is always left with questions about good and bad and the in-between, and how every human being is capable of the best and the worst. I'm not doing it justice, just read it, thank you NetGalley for the ARC 💜🐊💚

The world building was the only thing I liked about this book.
The characters were nothing but awful to each other all the time and it got boring real fast.

I thought about quitting it so many times but I pushed through which I now regret...
I really wanted to like this one and I'm sorry I didn't.

Having read Death of a bookseller by this author and loving it I was really excited to read more by this author and this book definitely didn't disappoint. I went into this one having not read much about the plot so I was happy to just let it sweep me along. The twists and turns in the story were captivating and I enjoyed the multiple perspectives to give us all sides of the story. The different personalities of all of the characters were fun and made it a slightly soap opera esque thriller with a touch of occult (tarot).

Absolutely brilliant! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending it.

Let the Bad Times Roll by Alice Slater is a sharp, darkly funny, and emotionally resonant novel that blends biting satire with genuine heart. Slater captures the messiness of modern life with wit and insight, delivering a story that’s both entertaining and unexpectedly reflective. The voice is strong from the start—wry, honest, and refreshingly bold.

The protagonist is chaotic but compelling, navigating a series of bad decisions and worse consequences with a rawness that feels authentic. Slater balances the absurd with the emotional, giving the book a surprising amount of depth beneath the sharp humor. A few plot points meander, but the character work holds it together.

By the end, the story sticks the landing with a blend of catharsis and cleverness. Let the Bad Times Roll is a smart, edgy read with a lot to say—a solid 4-star novel for anyone who enjoys character-driven fiction with a razor-sharp bite.

I really enjoyed the previous story from Alice Slater, 'death of a bookseller' , and was looking forward to reading this but I found it hard going. I finished it because I thought this would get better. The story seemed to lack a.compass and a point. Disappointing

I enjoyed this book (and Death of a Bookseller too!) and I really like Alice Slater’s style and observation of the details of the modern world. This was a fun and twisty mystery and very evocative of New Orleans, with a very unlikeable cast of characters.

I did find some of the characters felt a bit superfluous, and wish some of the guests at the dinner party and Caroline’s fate had played more into the final solution, but ultimately a good read that I would definitely recommend.

Menacing, Dark, Compelling..
On the heels of ‘Death of a Bookseller’ comes another menacing, dark and compelling tale. New Orleans, Selina meets Daniel, an enigmatic stranger who suddenly disappears. London, Caroline is searching for her brother Daniel and hosts a dinner party with the express purpose of questioning those who were close to him and invites a stranger - a psychic who claims to have met Daniel in New Orleans. As threads collide, truth may well out. Fiendishly executed with a deftly drawn cast of characters populating a pacy plot littered with red herrings and twists galore. Compelling and intriguing.

And again, Alice Slater knocks it out of the park! I loved this thriller primarily set in New Orleans - not least because I visited recently - and loved Slater's knowledge of the place - bars, areas, shops - you can tell she's visited and loved it.

This definitely reminded of The Talented Mr Ripley and Saltburn in tone - *THE* highest compliment! I powered through this in a couple of evenings - drawn to Caroline and Daniel - even though they were, honestly, horrible.

The book definitely kept me guessing and I devoured the last few chapters - desperate to get to the end!

I'M SUFFOCATING AND SWEATING - this book was so good. I was so pleased to get an advance copy of Alice's new book - after loving Death of a Bookseller (and recommending it to every weirdo I know...) I couldn't wait to devour more of her devilish and delicious writing.

Let the Bad Times Roll is a claustrophobic, stressful masterpiece. I was gripped from the start - every character seemed "off" somehow, and I was desperate to know why. The red herrings scattered throughout each character and their flaws and history was nothing like i've ever read. Something of a "whodunnit", and also a "oh maybe they didn't-dunnit". Gorgeous descriptions of New Orleans, and the food and drinks made me salivate all the wau through. Great twists and turns. LOVED IT.

Unsettling, thrilling, contemporary. Just what you need to set your readerly pulse going. The writing is, to be expected from Slater, excellent and instantly sweeps you along with the twisty and sinister plot. Great stuff. Thanks very much to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC.

I read Alice Slater’s first book, Death of a Bookseller, a few years ago and loved it so much it was one of my standout reads of the year so I was excited to read her next novel, Let the Bad Times Roll.

Set in London and New Orleans, the story centres on the disappearance of Daniel and begins in London where his sister, Caroline, has planned a dinner party for some of his closest friends and the mysterious tarot card reader, Selina, who met Daniel in New Orleans. Over the course of the dinner we read how Daniel met each character and move between past and present.

This book didn’t grab me as quickly as I expected but when I got about halfway through, I was fully invested in the mystery and the unreliable narrators! The structure and use of the different character’s points of view is great and really well handled, slowly revealing information about the background of each member of the group leading to a satisfying resolution.

Unsettling, intoxicating and full of gumbo.

Being from NOLA I found this a very sweet love letter to the most wonderful place on earth and I was of course taken with the beautiful descriptions of the people, places and the cusine, but I found myself a little in love with the plot.

Daniel, Caroline’s brother, Sage’s friend and … look everyone knows Daniel. But absolutely no-one knows where he is.
Caroline holds a dinner party for his friends and the psychic who he was spending time with in New Orleans before his disappearance.

The pacing of this book is exquisite, we read people meeting Daniel, we read people loving Daniel and then we read the complicated, compulsive liar that Daniel is. He’s a hopelessly wonderful villain/hero.

There’s nothing in this book that didn’t need to be and it is so carefully curated that you will read it again and again and again.

This is for fans of ugly beauty and writing that you savor.

(It was great to see Roach.)

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for this eARC in return for an honest review.

I loved Death Of A Bookseller it was fresh and anew voice with such a unsettling tense feeling all they though while this new offering is quite different in terms of plots it has the same fresh new voice feel with that eerie sense of something is going kick off big time I loved it thank you so much for the ARC

Another great read from Alice Slater! This was so fun that I read it in one sitting. Love the characters, love the vibes, love the ending!

I enjoyed Alice Slater's novel and was grateful for the opportunity to read her second book. It follows the story of Daniel and the events leading up to his disappearance, narrated from the perspectives of his sister, three friends, a psychic he encounters in New Orleans. The book captivated me throughout, and I finished it within two days, with the ending providing the twist I have come to expect from an Alice Slater novel.