Valeries books are always good! I just finished this one and was not disappointed. Helen is fresh out of prison for killing her boyfriend in self-defense, OR WAS IT? We don't know but she is determined to create a fresh start for herself.

She has always dreamed of owning a second-hand bookstore and her dream come true when a run-down building becomes available. Soon after she opens the doors, weird things happen. Are the pizza shop owners next door trying to sabotage her? And why is her parole officer poking around constantly? And the nephew of a woman who donated some books seems to want something too. Can she trust her own sister?

When break-ins occur at both her home and the bookstore, she knows someone is out to get her and sabotage her, but who, and more importantly, WHY?

I read this quickly, its a satisfying suspense!

I always enjoy this author’s books and this, The Bookseller, is no different.
A quick read, with an original plot and an amoral cast of characters

I was so excited when I saw that Valerie Keogh had a new book out and what better title than the Bookseller! This is the story of Helen who while in prison dreamed of opening her own bookshop. Once released, her sister helped her make her dream a reality. But, what’s going on with the guys who own the pizza store? Who are these other strange characters? Is Helen’s dream of starting over needing before it got started and how far will she go to keep it all. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Helen Appleby has recently been released from prison for the manslaughter of her partner. The only thing that kept her going through her two-year incarceration was planning to fulfil her childhood ambition to open a second-hand book shop.

Helen’s dream is about to become reality, she has bought the premises, it’s been renovated and she is purchasing stock for the shop. But her plans to have a quiet life aren’t really coming to fruition. The two guys who own the pizza shop next door are acting strangely, there are some unexplained noises and incidents that occur; and her parole officer is popping by more often than Helen anticipated. There seems to be numerous things causing Helen concern and she isn’t helping herself, putting her freedom in jeopardy with a potential recall to prison for not upholding her licence conditions.

This is a slow burner of a book and I didn’t find Helen to be particularly endearing. However, this is borne out by plenty of underlying subjects that are slowly revealed and explored which make this book addictive. I did enjoy this book overall and raced through it as I wasn’t sure where the story was going. You can never go wrong with a Valerie Keogh book.

Helen has recently been released from prison and wants a second chance so she decides to open a second hand book shop. Only her wishes for a quiet life don’t go exactly to plan when it becomes clear someone wants to sabotage everything she has built. But Helen will do whatever it takes to protect her future.

A thriller set inside a book shop was a definite read for me and had an interesting premise. This was a well written mystery but was less of a thriller than I was expecting as it was quite a slow burn. It took a long while for much to happen. I wasn’t that enamoured with the main character Helen either, finding her frustrating at times. Although I had a few issues, this wasn’t a bad novel overall and ended up being a quick, easy read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Another great read from this author. There are twists and turns galore in this great read. Helen comes out of prison on licence after killing her boyfriend and she wants to fulfil her dream of opening her own second hand book shop. Things keep happening and Helen has all sorts of thoughts going through her mind as to what is happening. If you like psychological thrillers then I highly recommend this book another five star read.

The main character, Helen Appleby, had me intrigued from the beginning. Recently released from prison and going back to her former life, Helen makes reference to her “secret” that should have kept her in prison longer.

I found the book very entertaining and it kept me guessing! Just when I thought I figured out what was going on, I realized I was wrong. I enjoyed the relationship mending between Helen and her sister as well as the relationship between Helen and Jess.

The character development was good, and it made the story more enjoyable. This is the first book I have read by Valerie Keogh, but definitely won’t be the last.

If you are a fan of mystery, I would recommend this book. 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of The Bookseller by Valerie Keogh

Helen is recently released from prison. Her dream was to open a bookstore, which her sisters helps her accomplish her dreams. But Helen needs to be careful with her customers.

I overall enjoyed the book but did not like Helen very much. Pretty sure she was written that way so I tried my hardest to not be too annoyed with her.
This was my first Valerie Keogh book and will read more by her in the future.

This was my first read from Valerie Keogh. I will definitely be reading more from her! In this story, Helen has just been released from prison and is trying to have a nice, quiet life and start over. She decides to open a second hand bookstore but someone out there doesn't want her to be successful. As the story unfolds, we learn some of Helen's past and what she might be willing to do to secure her future.

This is a great psychological thriller.
During her time in prison Helen dreams of starting her life again when she’s released.
With her sister helping her get used to being out, Helen tells her she wants to find a property so she can open a bookshop.
Helen finds the perfect property but it takes a lot of work to get it looking good as it’s been empty for so long.
When Helen opens the shop she has a mixture of customers coming in and she’s pleased with how it’s going.
I won’t spoil what happens but let’s say Helen needs to be careful who she comes into contact with.
This is a great read that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this book.

3.75/5
This is the third book i’ve read by Valerie Keogh. Honestly, I expected more from the ending. Typically Valerie Keogh’s books leave me shocked. Despite the ending, this book was a very fun read.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Helen has released from prison recently.

She has a dream, that is to own a bookstore, so she buys an empty building so that she make the dream come true.

But, it seems there’s someone out there that isn’t happy, with her and wants to hurt her.

The story kept me turning the pages to see how the it would end, there was some twists along the way.

It was well written with some lovely and not so lovely characters.

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! this author is a lot of fun- this was a slow burn of a mystery. Helen, the main character felt grating to me but I was intrigued enough to carry on!

A slightly odd and unsettling main character made this book less enjoyable than I had hoped. I found it really hard to either like or empathise with Helen and the story was unbelievable. It didn't live up to the promise of the blurb.

“Helen Appleby just wants a quiet life. Recently released from prison for the manslaughter of her partner, she's trying to forget her past mistakes - all of them - to rebuild her life and move on.
When she decides to open a bookshop, she's certain this is the perfect new start. Here, amongst the quiet shelves of her shop and between the covers of her books, she can hide away from the real world and begin again. The world of books is the perfect place to find happiness - even if it is all lies. As she settles into life as an apparently timid bookseller, it seems that someone is determined to sabotage Helen's new life and ruin everything she's built.
But Helen has killed once before. And to protect her future, she could be willing to kill again...”



Full transparency, this booked annoyed the heck out of me. Helen was a character that you wanted to shake some sense into. She was a pushover who needed to put her foot down. In the end, there was no real shocking twist for me. It was a mediocre read.


Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a DRC. The Bookseller is available March 3.

Helen is looking to start her life over after she is released from prison. She is hoping that opening a book shop will be a new start for her. She wants to move on from her past. She is much like me in hoping that she can get lost between the pages of books.
Her past starts to rear its ugly head when someone starts threatening her and tries to blackmail her. Her past never really left her because she is not above killing again if she has to.
This book was more of a slow burn for me, but I did enjoy it. Thank you to #netgalley for this #arc

2.5 stars

Though the summary caught my attention, sadly, the story missed the mark for me. I was constantly waiting for the big twist or "Wow!" moment, but it never came. The writing, overall, was solid. However, I never really connected with any of the characters, and the pace was too slow. There were many moments that just seemed too unbelievable, even for fiction. The ending was perhaps the best part of the story. Though I was disappointed by this book, I would consider checking out future books by this author.

The Book Seller by Valerie Keogh is about a woman named Helen who has a dark past. She wants to sell second-hand books in her own shop and move on from her past. This one was a mysterious read. I've never read anything from this author before, but did enjoy the writing style of this book - was a fast easy read. This book made my heart happy to see that things went right for Helen who deserved a second chance.

Thanks to Boldwood Books & NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

The Bookseller by Valerie Keogh is an interesting read. The main character, Helen, has recently been released from prison for the manslaughter of her live-in boyfriend, which was a light sentence to me.

Helen has the habit of lying; she spends many hours covering up or tracking her indiscretions. All that stress that would have been avoided if she could only tell the truth. She also suspects everyone around her is out to get her, the main atmosphere of the book was that of dread.

Amazingly, Helen keeps meeting other people who support her, does she quite appreciate them? I do not know. She seems stuck back in childhood where she might have been slighted, but I say get over it and move on. As you can see Helen has some baggage to overcome.

Helen opens a bookstore with support from her family and their friends. Only with all new businesses, she must spend her last dime. She soon maxes out her credit card and dips into her checking account overdraft. Her anxiety is heartbreaking but why must she lie and tell everybody that she has plenty of money?

An unknown person breaks into her business and home more than once. It is somewhat of a mystery; who is out to get Helen? Afterall, she has quite the jaded past, dead boyfriend, and all.

My question to Helen is why can’t she remember to call a security company about the alarm system? Something so simple that will solve the break-in problems. But remember she is out of money. You start to wonder, does she create her own problems?

I loved all the characters around Helen and the way they supported her. They were patient and loving and saw her in a positive light. But then again, they were not in her head for three days like I was.

It is a long read because Helen is difficult to like. I promise you the end is worth the melancholy feeling. Keogh masterfully explains why Helen is the way that she is. I am not sure, I needed to know, but I still recommend you read it. I could tell you why, but then why would you read it?

Although I did not qualify this book for a thriller, I was on the edge all the time, Keogh took us down many plausible endings. I think in the end; I was rooting for lying Helen.

This is my first read from Keogh and even though I did not like all the subject matter, I will read more books from this author. In honor of Helen, perhaps I will pick them up in a second-hand bookstore.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the copy of the book in exchange for my opinion. All opinions are my own because I have freedom of speech. Gotta love it.

This is the first book that I have read from Valerie Keogh. I graciously received an ARC and absolutely devoured the book. Who doesn't love a good Mystery Thriller and a Bookshop/Bookseller?! I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it.