I really enjoyed reading this fun book within a book thriller/mystery by Sulari Gentill. It captivates you right from the first chapter with the scream in the library. This book is written in the style of an Australian woman writing a mystery novel set in Boston with each chapter ending with an email from her American friend/colleague who is reading the manuscript chapter by chapter and critiquing and giving her tips on how to make her novel more authentic. I liked the idea that this in itself ended up being its own mystery although I wish we had gotten more of a backstory on it towards the end. There were a few things that annoyed me at times, for example the use of miscommunication to progress the story (which is one of my least fav tropes & pet peeves in a novel) and the characters sometimes made very stupid & unbelievable moves or in general were not needed (ie the character of Mrs Weinbaum felt one-dimensional & was just used to progress one single plot point hence why we got 3 pages dedicated solely to her although I feel like we could have gone without) but overall this was an interesting and fast paced enough book that you can read in one sitting. I wish Gentill all the best and look forward to what other mysteries she has upcoming.

I give this a 3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Thank you netgalley & Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me this ARC for an honest review.

THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill is an intricately plotted and intriguing murder mystery story within a suspense story. This standalone is by a new to me author and I am very happy I took a chance on reading it.

The mystery has four strangers sitting at the same table in the Boston Public Library when there is suddenly a blood curdling scream from another room. Winifred “Freddie” Kincaid is an Australian aspiring writer in the U.S. on a scholarship, Cain McLeod (Handsome Man) is a published author, Marigold Anastas (Freud Girl) is studying psychology at Harvard, and Whit Metters (Heroic Chin) is a failing law student who wants to be a journalist. Winifred is the narrator in this murder mystery.

At the end of each chapter of the mystery, a letter is written to Hannah, who is the published author writing the murder mystery in Australia from her fellow aspiring writer, fan, beta reader, Leo who lives in Boston and is giving her information on sites for her book and other suggested corrections. What could go wrong?
Layer upon layer in both the murder mystery and the suspense story are very well written and pulled me into each and it was difficult to put this book down. I feel both stories are clever with plenty of twists and surprises, especially the mystery, but I did anticipate where the suspense plot was heading. The characters are interesting and kept me guessing.

I recommend this mystery in a suspense for a unique and entertaining read.

A great read by this author. I definitely recommend checking this one out!
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the mystery and twists and turns. I will definitely read more from this author. Can’t wait to see what they do next!

A decent book, but not amazing. I know a lot of people enjoyed the pace and it will keep you in it. There were distracting elements and it just didn’t seem to pull together as neatly as I wanted. You may push through simply because you want to know who did it.

Four strangers sit next to each other in the Reading Room of the Boston Public Library when they hear a woman's scream - and then, later in the day, a corpse is found and they become witnesses.

You feel sadly quite disconnected to the characters which creates a distance between you, the reader, and the people you are reading about. The only character that felt sort of realistic and well developed was the Bostonian beta reader only until he gets involved with the other three main characters.

The reading experience of this one for me was just okay.

I really enjoyed this book and it's different than what I have read before. You get to read the book that the author in the book is writing and its crazy. At times I forgot that I was reading the book of the character. This isn't like anything that I have read. I totally recommend this, and you should give the audio book a chance too.

I dnf’d at like 40%. The meta-meta aspect of it was too much, too complicated. And then I didn’t care. For those, though, who like super unreliable narrators, they will love this one.

I thought this was an intriguing premise. Although The Woman in the Library is not a cozy mystery, for some reason it reminded me of an Agatha Christie story. It seemed like there was a lot going on in both the book's layers at times, which is obviously part of the whole narrative! Are there Plot twists? Yes, as expected of any thriller. The characters are sufficiently interesting.
Yet, I thought it was good, but I wouldn't say I was really smitten.

The premise of this book pulled me right in. A murder mystery set in an iconic library - yes please! Plus I loved that the writing seemed intelligent and well-crafted...at the outset. Despite the initial promise, I found myself dragging through this novel, and was annoyed by several elements. There were some randomly inaccurate statements made by the American advisor to the Australian writer, and I found the main characters unlikeable and lacking chemistry. Ultimately, the reveal at the end was not worth it, and this one was just OK for me. Nonetheless, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

A twisty turny whodunit with a twist or two or three, in a story within a story. I wanted more library, but otherwise no complaints! (Good on audio, too).

Christ on a purple pony! This book kept me guessing all the way to the end.
The character developments were great, the plot has soooo many twists and the ending was perfect!

Haven't read something like this in a long time.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good mystery/thriller!


Thank you #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for giving me the opportunity to read this!

I sadly was unable to finish this book because I struggled so much to connect to the story, characters, and kept putting this down. I was extremely disinterested in all content and tried this in ebook and audio but had to officially DNF it.

I absolutely *LOVE* stories where the plot involves books, reading, libraries, bookselling, etc -- it's immediately going to make me want to pick the book up when I know it has that about it. The title of this one drew me in for that reason right away, and I'll admit I went in almost completely blind, not knowing anything about the story itself.

This turned out to be a whodunnit sort of murder mystery, where the place the death occurs happens to be set in a library. Although it wasn't quite as involved with reading or books as I thought from the title, the story does use a really clever story-within-a-story framing device that I thoroughly enjoyed and wasn't expecting at all. While, at first, it was a little hard to keep each plot / story straight, it became easier as things went along & I rushed to that ending - wow.

Loved it!

Overall I enjoyed the read. The mystery of a murder in a library and the journey of the main character discovering one of her friends did it. I was lost at first with the emails and couldn’t understand why they were included as a secondary story. That progression seemed slow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Four people are sitting in the reading room of the Boston Public Library when a scream breaks the silence and a woman turns up dead. This had the potential for a great murder mystery but ultimately I did not end up connecting to the characters the way I would have wanted to and I thought the overall plot was relatively easy to guess. The very end left me a bit confused with her neighbor showing up in the elevator, just because he thought she might need him. It felt as if there was something that I had missed earlier in the book.

I did thoroughly enjoy the story within a story aspect of the book. In fact, I was usually much more interested in the emails between Hannah, Leo, and eventually the police.

I love books about books/libraries/book stores, and a thriller! Though a little slow at times this book had some very fast paced cant put down moments. It leaves you needing to know more about the characters.

A story within a story, strangers brought together, a whodunit. However, it was lackluster and too wordy. The letters to Hannah were a distraction and pulled me out of story. It had good potential, just fell story. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 2 Stars

This book was a real mess with your mind kind of meta story, and I really really liked it. Sulari Gentill is a very smart writer who created a story within a story that was compelling and immersive and really gave you something to talk about. We book clubbed this one and it was ripe for discussion. While I'm not always a fan of an ending that keeps things iffy- this was an effective way to end the story and give the reader the experience that the story goes on even after the reader has finished the last page.
I interviewed Sulari and she is phenomenal to speak with and very insightful voice on writing and creativity.

In the Boston Public Library, 4 strangers here a scream. They become friends and come under suspicion.
Also, this a manuscript being commented on by a raving fan.
I absolutely loved this book! The writing was clear and engrossing, the meta narrative bits were creepy and I loved how the framing gave the main story more depth.