This is the 'Inception' for all the thriller lovers like me.
How much do I love this book - AHH!
This was unique and brilliant.
I can't recommend this enough!!!

by Sulari Gentill
Pub Date 07 June 2022
Publisher Poisoned Pen Press"The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer" ....

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced copy
The plot? yes, well, it's complicated!
First up we have Hannah, a fictional Australian author writing a novel set in the city of Boston, USA. Hannah has a fan/beta reader by the name of Leo, he actually lives in Boston, they have not met as Hannah remains in Australia, they communicate solely by email
Next we have Freddie, who is the star of Hannah's novel, Freddie lives in Boston , there is also a Leo in Freddie's life.

Freddie seeks inspiration for her novel in the reading room of the Boston Public Library, she discreetly studies the four strangers at her table and, in the way of a fiction writer, creates new names and characters for each of them.
Little does she know that one blood curdling scream echoing through the library will connect these strangers to her and to each other in a most unusual fashion!

Meanwhile, back in Australia, Hannah continues to receive both compliments and faint criticism from Leo. Over time Leo's emails get somewhat demanding, he becomes annoyed when his advice and suggestions go unheeded, he also gets downright creepy.

In Boston Freddie is caught up in a series of events that will leave you turning those pages as fast as you can!

I really enjoyed this book except for the ending, it wrapped up a bit too quickly, I felt I was left hanging over the outcome of a certain character. Maybe it's just me and other more perceptive readers will have worked it out.

Now that I've discovered Sulari Gentill I will be looking out for her other works

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Compelling mystery throughout. The whole concept of libraries, books, writers and plots is really engaging to a book lover. Combine that with murder and murderers, it leads you on a cat and mouse trail that means you just have to keep reading.
A great book, loved it

This review will be posted with Waterstones

This book was sent to me for review electronically for review by Netgalley. "In every person's story, there is something to hide...the ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet..." Conversations with strangers...four meet and get to know each other. One is a murderer...which one? Is this story real? The concept of this novel...a story of murder written by a novelist in the book...while a real murderer reviews and gives advice...sound convoluted? It is...at times...I had to take a step back and ascertain what was real in the book and what was part of the in story of the novelist...the one in the book...not the person writing this novel. Sorry...that is the concept of this tale woven by an author that is ingenious. I have read other books similar but never one exactly like this one. I could not put it down...and don't even talk about the ending...no hints there. My suggestion is take this book...don't miss it...concentrate on reading it...don't overthink...just enjoy...Take your time...don't try to determine who did what...just be...I am eager to read other books by this novelist...

4.5 rounded up. What a thrilling, suspense-filled mystery! We follow Hannah, a popular author, through her writing process as she crafts her new novel. Though we don’t know much about the author herself, we get a partial picture of who she is from her interactions with an obsessed fan, Leo, and her writing.

Hannah is composing a story about four strangers who meet by happenstance in the midst of a mysterious murder. Bound by the peculiar circumstances through which they meet, we begin to piece together what happens in Hannah’s novel. It’s a real puzzler and is sure to keep the reader guessing. It is hard not to get lost in the story and project what is happening in Hannah’s novel to what is happening in her reality.

The only real glimpses of Hannah’s life come from a crazed fan, Leo. Whom she is corresponding with as a (presumably) unasked for consultant. In addition, we have a few emails from law enforcement and lawyers.

This story was fascinating and mind-bending in more ways than one. I loved pulling all of the seemingly disparate pieces (real and imaginary) together to try to solve the mysteries presented.

Two things that I found mildly frustrating was the lack of more robust information about our author. It was just too vague for my liking. In addition, reality’s ending left a bit to be desired in my opinion. But I thought Hannah’s novel’s ending was fantastic.

This book was a real page-turner that I will be sure to recommend to friends and family.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this title in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a book within a book. The protagonist is an Australian writer who is writing in the US. As she writes each chapter, she sends it to a colleague to review. We read the comments from the colleague. But that activity becomes a book within itself. So, in effect, we have three writers. The real author. The main character. And the author in the book being written by the author in the book. At times, it can become a bit difficult to process. But the overall affect is riveting.

The book is well-written. Some of the characters could have been a little more developed. But the dialogue was crisp and realistic. Overall, the technique made for a ripping good story.

This book ticks all the boxes, even the ones you didn’t know you wanted ticked!

Think Inception meets Agatha Christie, set in Boston and intersecting Australian / American culture and that’s where The Girl in the Library starts. It’s an astonishingly intelligent, multilayered story within a story that will literally keep you turning the pages until the very end.

By way of synopsis… the story begins with Australian author Hannah Tigone conversing with a colleague in Boston about her upcoming novel. He is providing factual elements for her story, which is set in Boston and she is feeding him the story chapter by chapter. We also get to read the story, which is about four random people who happen to be in the reading room of the Boston Public Library when a murder is committed. From here the story unravels on two (or three) levels, intersecting, twisting and generally learning you a wide eyed reading maniac until the very last line.

A stellar read that I ignored my children for, I cannot WAIT to have a hardcopy of this book on my shelf in June.

Freddie, an author from Australia, meets Cain, Whit and Marigold while writing at the Boston Public Library. She had been observing them all as possible characters when the silence in the library is shattered by a woman's scream. The scream and the ensuing lockdown allow the four to converse and become friends. When a woman's body is later found at the library, the four become interested and involved in trying to solve the murder. This book within a book is well written, with enough twists to hold a reader's attention throughout.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This was a very ambitious book and the 'Inception' feel of a story within a story was intriguing. The mystery of the woman in the library was well plotted and, as it was unravelled, you came to know and care for each of the characters. The adiditonal storyline of the fictional author and their advisor / friend became much more complicated than I had expected and, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure I understood how it ended. The 2 characters named Leo was a bit too much for my tired brain, which one was it at the end? Had the 2 storylines merged?

On the outer layer of this book are two characters: Hannah, a previously published and apparently successful series author in Australia, is writing a new novel about Winifred (“Freddie”), also an Australian novelist living in Boston on an academic fellowship. Leo, a struggling (and needy) writer acquaintance/fan of some kind, is corresponding with Hannah (we do not know her responses to his suggestions — Hannah is mostly a mystery). Leo is “assisting” by adding realistic Boston landscapes, correcting American idioms, and sending local photos of crime scenes to Hannah as he proofreads her manuscript chapter by chapter.

In the inner layer, Hannah’s main character, the fictional Winifred, is writing about the people she’s just met in the Boston Public Library — a group of three who came together after all heard a woman’s scream and later found out a murdered woman was discovered in the library. Freddie tells us upfront that one of these people is a murderer. Hannah has also inserted a fictional Leo, the one-sided narrator (name unchanged), into the story as Freddie’s neighbor.

The “real” Leo seems to think he can guess the murderer in Hannah’s novel, but if Hannah’s process mimics her protagonist Freddie’s method, it’s an ongoing “bus ride” with no definite destination (or killer) in mind. Because of Leo, we also know that Hannah’s novel is being created during the time of the Australian wildfires and the developing pandemic.

Is this a story about writing a mystery, a story about the writer character trying to solve a mystery, or a story, in the deepest layer, about the tale that the writer character is trying to compose?

One thing that always draws me into a novel is a twisty or unusual structure and Sulari Gentill’s “The Woman in the Library” definitely fits that description. I also love books about authors as main characters and a book about an author writing about another author is delightful. We almost never give thought to the author, but “The Woman in the Library” makes you hyper aware of who is writing what. Well plotted, smartly conceived and cleverly executed! 5 stars!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Marigold has jewel green eyes, “sparkling in a frame of smoky kohl and mascara”.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO However, I loved the description of nana’s colorful garden like “a box of smarties.”

A murder in a beautiful library - who wouldn't want to read this book?? The Woman in the Library is one of the BEST mystery novels I've read in quite a while. I love how Gentill is able to weave a story within a story. This provides the novel with the depth that readers crave and creates some breathtaking, unbelievable twists and turns. This book causes you to second guess the characters, the plot, and even yourself at some points because you're not even sure who could be guilty. The correspondence between the main character and her friend at the end of each chapter sets the ideal tone for a mystery novel like this one. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Clue or your classic mysteries.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for an advanced copy of this book. I offer my review freely.

I would rather not talk about the plot of this book, because I'm scared of giving away too much. The way this book is written is so clever, it needs to be discovered and enjoyed first hand by the reader. Read the synopsis of you must, and then jump in with both feet!

I can say that it had my undivided attention! I loved the storyline, the pacing, the characters...

I almost took away one star, however, because the ending doesn't live up to the quality of everything that comes before. I'm still scratching my head about it. I feel like there should've been an epilogue... There's definitely something missing there.

Truthfully though, it doesn't tarnish my view of this book. It was excellent and deserves to be read!

Release date June 7, 2022.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, I have never read another book like it!
The first thing that drawn me to the book was the cover and title. I personally do like a story that involves other book-ish elements, in this case, "library" and also a book illustration on the cover!

This book is a crime fiction set in Boston, about a character named Winifred (Freddie). Freddie and three strangers were brought together by a scream in the Boston Public Library, they proceeded to try to solve the mystery of the scream. However, Freddie slowly found out that her friends were not who they said they were. But not only that, this is a story within another story.

One critic that I have about this book is that I really would love to find out Hannah Tigone's story and what happen after and before those email exchanges. Personally I don't think the book gives the readers enough to be curious about the emails, it felt like it is just there to be there. I was hoping there would be more to it.

#NetGalley


This book was an adventure!

Right from the start you know this is going to be a great mystery! A story about an author writing a book about an author writing a book about a murder, who thinks of something like that! The main story is the mystery that the first author is writing, at least that’s the one that is the focus. The use of this layering adds so much to the book. All the action in “fictional” mystery is interspersed with letters between the “ real” Australian author and her research assistant/fan who is back in the US. The way Gentill so subtly raises the issues of the pandemic and race in America in these letters is genius. What a fun ride! Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

This was another one of my most anticipated books of 2022! I love a New England set thriller and this book seemed like a fun take on one of my favorite tropes: locked-room mysteries.

Four strangers form a friendship in the Boston Public Library after they hear a loud scream, followed by reports of a murder in the library. Together they go down the rabbit hole to solve the murder.

Mind you, this isn’t your typical mystery tale. This is essentially a book within a book. Hannah is an Australian crime writer drafting this tale of four strangers meeting in the library. The book bounces between drafts of her book chapters (each struggling to nail down American slang) and correspondence with Leo, an aspiring writer living in Boston who offers her notes on her depiction of Boston. Is Leo simply a helpful fan, or are his intentions more sinister?

I loved this book! It was giving a bit of Hitchcock meets Misery. The book within a book and subplot did feel a little confusing at first, but I promise it’s worth the read. If you’re into a good ‘ol fashioned who-done-it this is definitely worth adding to your list!

Absolutely fantastic! I could not put down this book once the mystery hooked me. I was fully invested in the four main characters of the story. I could not figure out who was who, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end.

However, I really did not love the random emails between the author and her pen pal. I couldn’t understand the reasoning to include this story within the main story, except to cause confusion or even perhaps the fear? I personally didn’t care for it.

The fast pace made that for a quick read, and for that I would read this authors work again.

The book-within-a-book convention is an either/or convention - either it works or it doesn’t. Fortunately, Sulari Gentill makes it work in this intriguing if occasionally frustrating mystery novel.

The stories for both “books” are good, but not equally so. I developed a more solid connection with the characters in the book inside the book written by Hannah. They seemed real to me, although quite transparent. I pretty much pegged the killer by the second meeting of the four characters.

This book takes some concentration to read because there are a lot of plot strings to keep sorted. I think the book-inside-a-book thing will frustrate some readers. Those who stick with it, though, will come out on the other side knowing they’ve read a clever, well-planned story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

This book ticked all the boxes for me. The intriguing start with a murder in the Boston Public Library that launches the friendships of 4 characters, the character building that then takes place, the larger Boston setting--and of course, the innovative set up of a book within a story within a book. I loved the main characters and couldn't wait to get back to their stories. I found myself constantly shifting my predictions of who the bad guy would be. Overall, a fun, addicting read.

The only reason I didn't go to 5 stars on this is that there were a few jagged corners that I would have loved to see smoothed out. I really liked the interludes between chapters where we watched uber-fan Leo slowly reveal himself. However, I felt like that relationship was never fleshed out enough--I wanted to know from the first chapter what his and Freddie's relationship was and how their correspondence began. I felt like there was more to be learned about Freddie's little sister. And while I liked the meta-nature of this whole thing, including the very end, I found that I still had some niggling questions for which I was hoping for more resolution. But . . . these are minor quirks, probably all mine. I highly recommend this one to mystery lovers and book lovers.

A totally unique approach to a mystery novel, The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill is really a book within a book. At the outset, the reader is introduced to Freddie, an author who has won the opportunity to live in Boston and write a new novel. As the book opens, Freddie goes to the Boston Public Library where she meets Marigold, Whit, and Cain and begins writing her book using these four people as inspiration for her novel’s characters.

At the end of the chapter, there is an email from Leo which reveals that Freddie is actually a character who is part of a mystery novel being written by Hannah, an Australian writing the book from abroad since the pandemic prevents her from traveling to the United States to perform any research. Leo’s emails are made up of bits and pieces of information regarding specifics about Boston or about American colloquialisms which are designed to help Hannah write in a more accurate way regarding location and conversation. These emails also help remind the reader that the primary mystery has a fictional character named Freddie who is identified as the story’s author, while in reality the entire story is being written by Hannah, an author who is living in Australia.

Moving forward, the mystery being penned by Freddie becomes more involved and the four people who met in the library become involved in trying to solve the murder. As their investigation continues, questions regarding each one’s innocence become more apparent as Freddie tries to decide if one of them is the actual murderer. There are attacks on first one then another of the characters, and Freddie’s attention is drawn from one to another of these characters as she tries to determine the murderer’s identity.

As Freddie becomes more involved with the other character’s lives, events become more serious with the addition of another murder and suspicion that seems to attach itself first to one, then another of the characters. Meanwhile, Leo’s emails are posted at the end of each chapter and, in addition to providing information to Freddie regarding American terms for locations, clothing, etc. become more demanding.

As Leo’s emails become more insistent and, in some cases, more sinister, the possibility of a second mystery begins to blossom in the reader’s mind. Is he genuine in his assistance or does he have a hidden agenda. Hannah receives a letter from the FBI warning her of a “Leo” who is sending her emails and may be stalking her. Are they referring to the same Leo who’s emails have been an integral part of the first book? Or is that Leo a fictional character like Freddie and the other murder suspects?

The pacing of the book is steady and at an excellent speed to keep the reader engaged in continuing through the book. Gentill has created characters with good depth who are distinctly drawn and easy for the reader to keep separate. The approach is so unique, and the story so engaging, the reader may easily find themselves reading “just one more chapter” long past when they have made a commitment to put the book down for the night. The end of the book, while satisfying, may leave the reader thinking about it even after they have put the book away, perhaps hoping there will be a sequel so questions regarding the future of some or all of the characters can be answered.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy for review. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.

Had trouble getting into this one, though it could have been the mood I was in while reading it. I found it hard to care about the characters and the mystery surrounding them. I felt that I didn’t care where the story went.