I was definitely intrigued by Daniel who is the literal doppelganger for someone I know, even down to the relationship with his sister so the first half of the book rolled along enjoyably.. The descriptions of New Orleans, the food, drink and environment told me the author has spent time there and felt real. For me the story is too repetitive (though I did like the different timelines) and sadly the characters are either irredeemably awful or one-dimensional and boring.. That said I know that it will sell well a perfect summer read. for sure, just not for me sorry.

I liked this better than Death of a Bookseller and plot wise it went down very easily. A little Secret History, a little Interview with a Vampire, a little Gone Girl. Could have lived without the cliche food descriptions personally but I spent a perfectly entertaining and diverting summer afternoon with this and that’s all I ask for from a thriller really.

This is a great book from Alice Slater. It's just so good. Extremely clever writing. I just couldn't put it down and have reccomended it to my book group.

I absolutely loved this! It's very different than Death of a Bookseller but retains the same sense of colour and quirkiness. The characters in this are brilliant. So vivid! They all feel like people we know or can relate to. The settings, particularly New Orleans, are rich and tangible. The plot itself is really engaging and deeply layered. What I loved most is the language - it's gorgeous, alive with descriptions that make the reader pause to savour them. A fast read, only because you will not be able to resist going back to it every moment you can.

After the sharp, rather distinctive debut Death of a Bookseller, I was eager to dive into Alice Slater’s second novel, Let the Bad Times Roll.

With its New Orleans setting, a missing person mystery, and a psychic thrown into the mix, the ingredients are all there for a thriller that blends sultry Southern Gothic with contemporary psychological suspense. Still, the final result didn’t quite land with the same impact as her debut.

Let the Bad Times Roll follows two timelines: the “then,” in which psychic Selina, alone and aimless in New Orleans, is drawn into a strange and intense connection with the charismatic but elusive libertine Daniel, and the “now,” in which Daniel has disappeared, and his sister Caroline gathers his nearest and dearest for a tense dinner party in London, complete with a spicy gumbo of secrets and suspicions and one unexpected guest claiming supernatural insight.

Slater excels at mood and atmosphere. The New Orleans scenes are lush and claustrophobic, full of sticky heat, hangovers, and that uncanny feeling that something isn’t quite right. The London chapters have their own tension, with the dinner party turning slowly but surely into something more sinister. But despite all this setup, the plot sometimes feels like it’s spinning its wheels. The suspense is there but stretches thin in places, and the pacing dips just when you’re hoping for a sharp turn or reveal.

That said, it’s still a satisfying read, just more of a slow simmer than a sharp shock. Perfect for lazy summer afternoons or poolside reading, where the slightly drawn out tension feels more like a feature than a flaw. Just maybe steer clear if you’re packing for The Big Easy anytime soon.

Fans of slow-burn mysteries with a touch of the uncanny will likely find enough here to keep turning the pages. Overall, Let the Bad Times Roll is a moody, slightly meandering thriller with a unique setup. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

3.5 stars (rounded to 4)

Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley.

After loving death of a bookseller so much I had such high hopes for this one, and although it was a page turner, I just didn't gel with it in the same way - maybe that's because I am a literal bookseller though. I did, however, enjoy the world of the Deep South: the voodoo, the mad cocktails and the spirituality of the town, but my god, all the people at the dinner party were just horrible and I wanted to give them all a small slap.

Having said all this, I can understand that this has a customer, and many people will lap this up and I'm going to happily sell lots of it!

Another banger from the ridiculously gifted author of Death of A Bookseller. This is a book that celebrates appetite, with mouth-watering descriptions of food and drink on every page, and a love letter to New Orleans in all its sweaty, spooky glory.

A unique take on a missing persons tale. Told through multiple points of view, it was fun to read and gave a greater depth to each character. This was definitely just as good as Alice’s debut novel and will no doubt become another hit.

At the very start of this, with a lot of focus on the food being cooked, I started to think this wasn’t the book for me (I think I’m scarred by Heartburn which I found hugely overhyped). However, I continued past the first chapter and I was hooked! I absolutely loved this, I had no idea which characters could be believed or trusted, had no idea what was happening and disliked nearly everyone! I stayed up reading far too late each night, wandering around New Orleans with Daniel and Selina. Would definitely recommend!

‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ by Alice Slater tells the story of the friends and family of Daniel, a charismatic young man who vanished into thin air on a trip to New Orleans. His sister Caroline summons select acquaintances - and a mysterious tarot card reader - for a themed dinner party where more than just fond memories will be shared…

I really enjoyed Slater’s first novel, ‘The Death of a Bookseller’, and the same dark wit that made it so wonderful was on display here too. The narrative shifts to and from the balmy Louisiana heat were captivating, and the Bayou setting was immersive. The characters were unique, with innocence, manipulation, protectiveness and toxicity on display, but unfortunately I didn’t find any of them that intriguing… the group was not particularly likeable but also didn’t grip me with that “love to hate them” feeling. I really enjoyed the exploration of the supernatural arts - tarot, ouija boards, etc.

Ultimately, this gets three stars from me - I’d definitely look out for this author in the future, but wasn’t as drawn in by the characters in this one.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Oh my! What a banger of a second book!
Alice Slater has surpassed herself - Let The Bad Times Roll is a masterpiece.
I loved all the different perspectives and markedly different characters. The humour is on point as always. Alice never misses a step. Bravo!!
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read it,

This was, quite simply, deliciously and perfectly evil. The most fun I’ve had with a thriller in a long time.

The writing surrounding food was divine, the twists were shocking, and I couldn’t tell who I hated the most! Each character in here was a spectacular little nightmare.

Alice has a brain made for dark and f*cked up stories—I’d follow her anywhere.

Let the Bad Times Roll**

I want to thank Hodder, Stough, and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of *Let the Bad Times Roll* by Alice Slater.

Having enjoyed Alice's previous book, *Death of a Bookseller*, I was eager to dive into this new release as soon as I received it.

The format and narrative style of this book differ from Alice's earlier work. We follow Caroline, whose brother, Daniel, has gone missing and hasn't been heard from in weeks. To find answers, she hosts a dinner party with the specific purpose of questioning those who were close to him. Among the guests is a stranger—a psychic who claims to have met Daniel in New Orleans. As the various storylines intertwine, the truth may finally emerge.

It took me until about halfway through the book to fully engage with the story. I appreciated gaining the perspectives of the different characters and learning about their connections to Daniel. The book kept me captivated throughout, and I finished it within two days. The ending provided the twist I've come to expect from an Alice Slater novel.

ALICE SLATER DOES IT AGAIN. A total sophomore smash, I gobbled it up in 24 hours. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

So good I read it twice.

Full disclosure, I know Alice and I’m a huge fan of hers, her writing and her podcast. Death of a Bookseller is one of my favourite books so I was so excited about what she was going to do next, and even more so when I heard about the setting and plot.

I’m not a huge rereader but I have read Death of a Bookseller a few times, and as soon as I finished my first read of this I thought “I can’t wait to reread this.” And every time I went to write my review I kept thinking, I think I want to reread it first. So yes I’ve read this twice in the space of a month.

I love Alice’s mix of tenses which she also does in Death of a Bookseller. The current day chapters are in third person, and Selina’s time in New Orleans is in first person. She’s so good at writing unlikable characters especially in first person.

I wouldn’t say the book is a mystery or a thriller specifically, but the second read has some delicious foreshadowing and moments which become more clear on the second read.

I absolutely love the character of Daniel. You can completely see how people fall in love with him and his charm. Caroline is prickly and difficult. Even on my second read I couldn’t get a sense of her, but I think that’s the point.

I completely loved the setting. I went to New Orleans once about 12 years ago and this made me desperate to go back.

The different character perspectives give so much texture and I love how much of Alice comes through in Richard’s films and Max’s music and her subtle criticism of Sage’s politics and mysticism.

I would have been so surprised if Alice had let me down with book two, but this might be even better than her debut.

I can’t wait for the world to read this. Another absolute banger from Alice Slater!

Let the Bad Times Roll is an absolute page-turner—I tore through it in a day and happily would’ve read more! Alice Slater shifts gears from Death of a Bookseller but keeps that same magnetic pull. This is messier, moodier, and more sprawling, yet just as compulsively readable.

The cast is huge—six central characters across two timelines—but Slater juggles them with impressive control. Each one feels textured and alive, whether it’s Daniel, the enigmatic boy at the centre of the storm, or Selina, the psychic he meets in a humid, gorgeously rendered New Orleans. And the settings shine: from tense, wine-soaked London dinner parties to the sensory overload of Louisiana streets, every scene hums with atmosphere.

There’s a lot going on—grief, obsession, power dynamics—but Slater makes it all feel effortless. If Bookseller hooked you with voice, this one gets you with sheer momentum and emotional depth. It’s sharp, lush, and perfect for a summer binge.

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