I was so tired last night I could barely keep my eyes open, but I just HAD to finish this book!

It was such a quick, fun read that I didn't want to end! The Leo letters did through me off a little but, but I still enjoyed that part of the story too on its own.

I'm pretty sure I let out an audible gasp when I realized the murderer wasn't in fact the person I thought it was, and was actually someone completely not on my radar.

As this was my first book by this author, I'm excited to dive into her blacklist now because her writing style is so enjoyable!

How many stories can you combine in one book? Too many in this one. The premise of this storyline was promising but I think the addition of all the different characters with their different secrets got to be too much.

I wanted to like this one so much. I loved the premise, and the setting, but the execution just did not work for me. The layered story confused me, and the main plot just did not grab my attention the way a thriller should.

This book started off so promising between the title and the immediate hook - a mysterious death in the library during opening hours in the light of day - YES PLEASE! However it quickly went down hill from there and left me with a headache from all the eye-rolling. The relationships between the characters felt so forced for the sake of the plot and not believable at all. I cannot fathom these four people coming together so quickly as they did based off one event. Maybe if the author would have chosen a smaller, more controlled environment like a small university library instead of the massive Boston Public Library, I could have found the relationships and the story more plausible. I think that dark academia would have benefited this story. The Woman in the Library would have been a DNF for me if I didn’t owe a review.

3.5 stars. I liked the book but it was a tad confusing. The end was a jumbled mess and it just made me even more confused. I liked the characters and the style of going back and forth from one story to another.

Edit: the publisher sent me a finished copy with a piece of paper that helped me understand the story a bit more. But I shouldn't need that paper to understand the story and it's not like normal readers will get the paper to help them.

This was a very interesting book within a book. I figured out earlier on who the killer was. Despite that fact, I really liked seeing the draft book and the ongoing correspondence about the draft play out.

"Nothing bonds strangers better than a shared mystery."

This was an enjoyable mystery written in a unique way. The four main characters are sharing a table at the Boston Public Library when they hear a scream. They begin talking and later find that there was a body found in an adjacent room later in the day. They assume that they "witnessed" a murder, and the plot goes from there. The four characters are very unique and multi dimensional. In my opinion, even more interesting is the second plot which is of an Australian author writing this story and corresponding with a Boston resident during the pandemic as her "eyes and ears" on the setting of her novel since she cannot visit in person. The letters he writes her and the way that plot developed had me waiting impatiently for the story to circle back to them. The resolution of both plots was surprising to me. And that last line....I don't even know what to make of that!

Wow, I'm not a great NetGalley reader. Ooooops.

I finished this back in May and I very much enjoyed it. It was entertaining and very clever, and I actually really enjoyed the meta in-between chapters, which were super creepy.

If you enjoy thrillers, but can't stand the tired tropes, this is a great pick.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC ebook, which has not impacted this review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book primarily based on the title and synopsis. I loved the idea of having a crime committed in a library and someone within the close-knit group being the one who committed it. Honestly, it reminded me of the game Clue, which I loved playing growing up. I loved the idea behind the story and enjoyed the interactions between Leo at the end of some of the chapters. I loved the setting because it is somewhere I am familiar with and the author even included one of my favorite restaurants, The Friendly Toast, as a meeting place in a chapter. The writing style was interesting in the fact that the main character was an author writing a novel based on what was happening in her actual life. Beyond that, this novel lost me.

Reading this book was a struggle for me. It took me much longer to get into than I would have thought and therefore, much longer to finish. There were multiple times when I thought about not finishing it, but I knew this review had to be written and trudged on. As the book is named The Woman in the Library, I assumed the setting would primarily be the library and the story would revolve mostly around the murder that happened there. I was wrong. Only the first chapter takes place in the library, and there are only short mentions of this murder as the story progresses. I did not feel that it was the center of the novel and therefore, the title is very misleading. I also didn’t buy that these characters would automatically become engrained in each other’s lives just because of this experience. They automatically become best friends, grab lunch together, fall in love, etc. Freddie doesn’t communicate with anyone else but them from the moment they meet and that to me is just not believable. I was not attached to any of the characters and honestly, I really started to dislike most of them if not all by the ending. I wanted to throw my kindle when reading some of the emails that Leo was sending towards the end because of the racially charged things he was saying. As the story was wrapping up, I thought that one thing was going to happen and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't; however, the ending infuriated me.

I have read rave reviews from some about this book, but for me, it fell very short. I personally would not recommend this book.

This is a quirky whodunit type of novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I also adored the beginning. When four strangers are sitting together at a table in the library when they hear a blood-curdling scream. The four strangers form a quick friendship while the security is discovering what happened and the woman's body was found. Now, they form a kinsman type of deal to find out what is actually happening.
Now, these four characters aren't actual people they are characters in an author named Hannah's book, and the book is Mailed to a man named Leo chapter by chapter to sort it out and to give feedback. I loved that Leo's feedback is involved in the novel after the chapters. I loved that. I also loved that this book was soo much more than a mystery/thriller type of book, the genre lines are really kinda blurred but it's so neat! I couldn't put this book down! I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an adventure and a good whodunit type of story! Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this one!
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The Woman in the Library is an innovative murder mystery novel that twines together two different stories. The bulk of the plot concerns a group of four strangers turned friends who meet in the library when they hear a woman scream. It's later discovered that she was murdered... and the culprit may end up being one of them. This story is also interspersed with short letters written from a man named Leo to a woman named Hannah, who it turns out is the author of the fictional novel that makes up the bulk of this book. What a fantastic way to tell two different stories at once. This was quite suspenseful, with a lot of twists and turns. I was engrossed.

This book is a story hidden inside a story, definitely giving me Inception vibes as sometimes I couldn't figure out which storyline we were following! Definitely a unique, unconventional and twisty book that involves a murder in a library. Typically, a murder within a library would be my dream plot, but I found that this book was a little difficult to follow and the plot ended up falling flat for me.

thanks netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review

The Woman In The Library by Sulari Gentill

I found the plot of this book was well-written, with many twists and thrilling to read. I didn’t care for the switching of telling the story and the letters between Hannah and Leo. Two Leo’s in the story? Confusing.

Although I enjoyed the main story of this book it got quite confusing at times if I didn’t really pay attention. There is a story within a story within a story. It is about an author writing about an author and each of their stories have some parallel characters. Once I got the hang of the format of the book it was easier to read. The main “who dun it?” aspect was entertaining and I wasn’t able to figure out the killer til the end.

Unfortunately, this was not an enjoyable reading experience for me. I was really leaning more to a 2⭐️, but thought that was unfair to the book. I started reading it right before I got COVID and the part I had gotten to pre COVID (when Mrs. Weinbaum came to stitch Cain up), I would rate at a solid 3 with hopes of an upward trajectory.

After that I got frustrated with all the characters. And, I felt like I was way ahead of the story Winifred was writing and the criticism/commentary Leo was giving. And there were times when it felt the story was disjointed, but I chalk that up to a couple of fever dreams.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review


The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill is a clever novel that starts with a letter from Leo to an Australian mystery writer. We then find ourselves in a library, a book lover's oasis, broken by a mysterious scream that catches the inhabitants off guard. The plot is divided in this story within the story. I could not put this down and often read into the night. I recommend those of you who like mysteries pick it up.

I really enjoyed “The Woman in the Library.” The way the book switched between the story and the letters was interesting and kept me interested the entire time. I look forward to reading more by this author.

The Woman In The Library centres around a group of four friends that have a chance meeting that changes their fates.

What I liked most about this book was the unconventional concept of ending every chapter with a letter/mail. Further, it was very suspenseful and had me on my toes until the end.

However, it did have a few rather slow passages that I found were not entirely necessary to the plot.

I can highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars.
I just finished reading these two books in one, the first main story was kind of a mediocre Scooby-Doo YA mystery thriller with the only difference was that we didn't end up with a disguised criminal. The second one, to sum up, was an adult short epistolary mystery thriller about a racist psychopath obsessed by a writer's book, I can't say more in order not to spoil it for the others.

The story in a story thing was interesting but the main plot was a big meh, it didn't felt special for a thriller genre. I could say that there are better things to read than this book.

One star was just for the cover which was a big waste on this book.

Good premise, but found the structure confusing to follow at times. Lived in Boston for many years so I loved the setting. Overall, it felt like some plot elements and characters could have been developed more. Nevertheless, it was a fun read that I have already ordered for my library. Curious to hear what my mystery readers will think. Thanks for the opportunity to review!