The Woman in The Library was an interesting read. It was a little confusing at times figuring out who's point of view you were following, was it a book.within a book or a separate story. The letters sort of through things off for me and it didn't really keep me enthralled.

I got this as a #netgalley book and was so intrigued. I loved how the story went between present time, in letters, and the book the main character was writing. The story within a story was so fascinating and unique and something I haven’t read before. It was so well done, at times it was hard to tell what was fiction and what was reality….and it was all done within a fiction book. Just so creative and fascinating.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Sulari Gentill for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

You know when you are sitting in the library, checking out the strangers at your table, trying to concentrate on your work that you are supposed to be doing and hear a blood curdling scream rips through air. Ya, I hate it when that happens. Well, that’s what happened to Freddie, an Aussie who is trying to write her sophomore book in the Boston Library. The scream serves as the impetus for the 4 people to begin talking “Freud Girl”, “Handsome Man” and “Heroic Chin” as she labels them all start to wonder what could have happened.

Yes, it is a murder and the four of them join forces to try and solve the murder. It turns out someone knows the victim, at one point all of them are suspects and at least one love story happens along the way to solving the crime. However, Gentill doesn’t just give us a regular straightforward murder mystery. This is actually a story within a story. Hannah is an author who is writing the story of Freddie visiting Boston. Hannah has a pen pal Leo who lives in Boston who is helping her create a more realistic story by sending her details of Boston.

What a great read! I finished it in one afternoon. You highly suspect one of the four are responsible for the murder but putting it together and the creep factor around Hannah and Leo certainly keep you entertained. It is well written and has solid character development. The lines become blurred between what is real and what is the story being written. Probably best to not think about it and go with the flow. Just let it happen - I promise it’ll be worth it!

3.5/5 stars, one of the most in depth stories I’ve read

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was probably one of the strangest thriller/mystery books I've ever read, as well as one of the most confusing books about a writer I have ever had the pleasure of reading. This was certainly interesting, and had my attention for most of the book, but there was just so much going on and a few too many layers for me to be entirely in love with it.

The story is about Hannah, a writer who is corresponding with a pen pal who lives in Boston. She lives in Australia and is writing a story set in the United States, also specifically in that city. Her story is about this woman who meets these strangers in a library, after they all hear a scream and almost witness a murder, and decides to integrate them into her story, which is also a thriller about a woman who takes inspiration from people she meets in real life. Even looking at that now I am extremely confused and I'm not sure if I will ever fully get what was really happening. I think the author made this premise out to be just a bit too confusing for me to be fully invested.

While it was confusing, it was also a very intriguing premise. What unites all four of these people, a simple scream, and the knowledge that they may have been in the room next to a murder. I really enjoyed how this was set up initially, and I figured there was going to be many secrets between all of them that were going to have to be unraveled. While they did unite for the book, I don't think there was actually much keeping them together, when they're should have been. Their desire to "unravel the mystery" sort of fell out of focus as the story went on. This would have made sense and been a fine area to go down if the characters had any other personality traits outside their connection to the murder, but it really did not feel that way.

There were moments where the personalities they could have had shown through in the narrative, but overall it really didn't feel, like even the main character, had super large personality traits that made them multi-dimensional. Which is part of the problem, as the whole story is super multi layered and dimensional, so the characters should have been the same. Freddie the main character in the little story was so, I don't even know, just out of it. She never felt truly like the main character and I for sure needed more development for her. I also needed more from Cain, and Marigold and Whit though I think Cain was the most fleshed out.

While there were aspects of the story that didn't work for me, and I overall think it's a bit too convoluted on what is actually happening, it was still an interesting story. The characters should have been improved on, but I will be looking out for other books from this author as it was still a very good concept. I didn't see the ending coming either, and again while it felt a bit convoluted, there is definite potential there for better books in the future from this author.

[TW: murder, sexual encounters (mentioned), mugging, stealing, harassment and threatening, sexual assault, attempted rape, death of a parent, blood and violence]

A nesting doll of mystery plot lines.

I loved the unique way this book told multiple unrelated yet related stories.

The main focus of the book is on Freddie, an exchange student studying in Boston on a writers scholarship, and the three friends she meets in the Boston Public Library.

Freddie is an aspiring author looking for inspiration when three interesting individuals sit down at the same table. In enters Freud Girl, Heroic Chin and Handom Man. This begins the second story, being the ongoing project Freddie is inspired to write staring her new acquaintances and the chilling scream they hear in real life, which echos through out the silent halls of the historic library.

The third story being told is discovered when the reader sees that the chapters about Freddie & Co are actually the manuscript of an author who is corrisponding via email with an associate.

Soon the reader is hit with the knowledge that the murder mystery within Freddie's world is not going to be solved easily. And the goings on outside of the manuscript is a wonderful example of live mirrors art (or vice versa?).

Although it's challenging to explain to people (I have several times) this story is fun and easy to follow between plot lines.

The characters and writing style were so interesting and I can't stop (trying to) tell people about this book. A great thriller/mystery.

A mystery within a mystery? This book blew me away. The Woman in the Library is a gripping thriller about an author writing a mystery story, while corresponding with a fan. I needed to take a Dramamine with all of these twists and turns. I have never read a book by this author before, but I will definitely check out more of her books.
If you are looking for a thriller that is nothing like you have read before, this book is for you. It’s a perfect beach read. I want to thank the author, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

What could be better than books about books?😍

||That's what it's about: Freddie is writing her book in the library when a marrow-shaking scream rings out. The next morning, the body of a young woman is discovered. Connected by the scream, a fast-growing friendship develops between Freddie and three strangers from the library. But already in the first chapter it becomes clear that one of them is the murderer.||

What I found cool: Each chapter is commented by Leo, Hannah's beta reader, because Freddie only exists in a book and is actually not real at all.
I've never read a concept like that before and I have to say it was really good. A definite recommendation from me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I liked how the Freddie was writing a story within this story. I had a hard time at first deciphering who was who, eventually figured it out. Which made for a great read lots of twists and psychological suspense. The way the author brought the characters together and slowly built their relationships helped to understand how each of them met in the reading room and how their lives intersected. Very good book, was drawn in from the beginning.

I liked this idea of a story within a story. And through bits of the book, I was actually invested in both story lines.. But the book had some issues for me - throughout the entire book people and things just randomly started appearing; like magic. I felt at those moments the author could have resolved issues through the writing but wasn’t sure how so to circumvent the issue something or someone just “appeared”. Also, I wasn’t sure why Leo’s letters were included.
Having been provided a electronic copy of the ARC, I feel I grossly missed something big that happed in the ending with Leo. Maybe the readers who finish an actual book will have a completely different experience with that part of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the story within a story. It's a plot device I enjoy, I also liked the plot and pacing. This was good. I just didn't really connect with any of the characters and half of them I actually didn't like at all.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ebook ARC of this story. Originally, it sound like a story I'd really enjoy- a murder that started in a library and one of the four main characters is the murder... And there were definitely parts that I enjoyed. But I found that since it was a story within a story within a story, I was getting confused at times and was left wanting more. Things seemed unfinished- there are several answers I'm still looking for and the ending to all the different parts felt rushed.

I so wanted to love this book. I love mysteries, and as a librarian, I also love books that feature libraries. But this one just didn't work for me. Four strangers meet and bond over a scream they heard in a library. A woman is found murdered and one of the four is the culprit. That alone is my kind of mystery, but then there is a totally unrelated story line that adds nothing. It is a distraction, along with the incredibly annoying personalities of the main suspects.
This book had such great potential but fell short in execution.

I really enjoyed the writing format of this book. A little different than anything else I've read.
Some of it got legitimately intense as time progressed and knowledge increased.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I’m sad it took me so long to make it a priority, but I’m so glad I read it!

This was NOT what I was expecting, but I kind of loved it for that reason? Such a fun and different type of thriller, and I've never read a book within a book before. Really terrific on audio, too!

This was a great thriller and I loved that it was set at the Boston Public Library, right down the street from me! I thought the premise of this book was unique and not in a typical thriller setting. The characters were dynamic and I felt captivated throughout the whole story and was kept on my toes!

Hannah, an Aussie writer in Boston on a fellowship, is working in the Boston Public Library when a woman's scream breaks the quiet. Detained by the police she and the other three at the table engage in conversation.. This chance meeting leads to friendship.. As they ponder the first death other disturbing events occur. Everyone has a story...everyone has secrets and the four begin to doubt.each other I was captivated by this innovative unconventional novel. with a mystery within a mystery. As the subplot of the emails from Hannah's beta reader grow darker the tension mounts. Close attention is needed to keep the real story and the protagonist's work in progress defined.. The characters are well realized and diverse.in their backgrounds and personality. There were unexpected reveals and plot twists aplenty which could well make this a one-sitting, engaging read. An excellent crime novel that will stay in my memory for a long time and will recommend to others.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. What an imaginative plot: a book within a book. The increasing menace was brilliant. Highly, highly recommend!

This book how a slow start for me but once into it the plot and character development was top notch. The design of the book and flow of dialogue was well done. The reader is kept on the edge of the seat until the bitter end. I look forward to new writing from this author.

I loved the fact that this book was multiple stories wrapped up in one. It made it such a good read!

Guessing motives and the ending throughout the book is what keeps a reader motivated to try and solve the mystery before the author discloses it.

The ending was unexpected and has me wanting to read more from Sulari Gentill!!

Whit, Marigold, Cain and Freddie meet by chance - sitting in a library when a woman's scream rings out - only to be found dead. But who killed her?

This book was like a story of a story, about someone writing a story.

Confused? Nah don't be - get started and you'll find you can follow along easier than you'd think!

4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.