Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Woman in the Library initially caught my attention because well, it deals with a library, writers and a murder mystery. It also contains an interesting concept of a story within a story, using a frame for the rest of the story.
With that said, however, I could easily put this book down. For some reason, it just did not hold my interest. The characters were not very interesting, and the storyline moved at a slow pace.
While there were a few unexpected twists along the way, I totally knew whodunnit before the end of the book. I think getting to the end of the book was anticlimactic, and the frame story ended abruptly. That part could have been developed to be a much more interesting and integral part of the novel. It felt like the author kind of gave up or became too bogged down trying to carry both storylines all the way to the finish.
This book had potential, but for me, it didn’t quite reach it.

This was a literary thriller with a thriller and I enjoyed the fast-paced plot thoroughly. I really liked all of the characters but I felt the plot was a little jumbled getting closer to the end. I did like the plot and I couldn't put it down. I might have to read it again to get all the puzzling motives.

Thank you to Netgalley for my advanced readers copy in lieu for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book, the book within a book, how a book is written, and the fact that it takes place in Boston was a bonus. I think this book would have very wide appeal and I love that the killer was not readily apparent.

I'm so torn by this book. On one end, it kept me intrigued. On the other end, it felt like a big ole mess. I'll be honest, I still have no idea what actually happened in the end. There were just so many characters and it's written as a story within a story, and some overlapping characters, just became so jumbled. It also didn't feel like it added to the story, it more so detracted and took us out of the story.

Within the story you have an author (Hannah) writing a story, but we never hear from her. We only hear from a beta reading fan who quickly becomes... a lot. He writes to her after each chapter of her story and provides thoughts which turn very concerning. It was weird that we never hear back from the author to his messages. Add to it that he starts talking about Covid and telling her she should include it in her novel. It felt SOOO out of place.

The characters within the story of the story were tough to feel attached to. They were falling in love with one another after only a few weeks and not knowing anything about each other. And because of this they constantly overlook very serious concerns for the other characters actions, It felt very uncomfortable.

I can't say that I would recommend; it seems that a lot of readers have been very disappointed for similar reasons.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for an e-arc of this novel.. It was enjoyable. I would give it a 3 1/2 stars rounded up to a 4 star rating.

This novel is really a story within a story. I really enjoyed the main story line. The secondaray story line I think could have been left out.

The writing was good and the characters were likable. Overall, a good read.

What an interesting story! I didn't know what to think after reading the first half and by the end, well I was still a little confused. The concept of a book with a book and a mystery on top of another mystery was a good idea, but I felt that the outside story could have had a better plot. The story of the woman in the library and the murder of her was fantastic. I would read something else by this author, but not sure I would recommend to all my friends and family.

The Woman in the Library is now at the top of my 2022 list! What a perfectly written book with so much pull. I couldn't put it down. I loved the writing style, the character development, and the attention to detail. Sulari Gentill did an amazing job and just got a new fan. I cannot wait to read more from her!
I've been recommending this book to lots of friends and followers and so many are excited to read it!

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this novel honestly!

This book was very interesting to read. I enjoyed it a lot. I do like reading books about books and authors. This is the story of an author writing her book and man communicating with her through the emails. I thought aspects of it were kind of confusing, especially since a character in the book she is writing shares the name with the person writing the emails. I did like how the author distinguished between the characters in the book Hannah was writing with the characters in the book Freddie was writing in her book.

This was smart and interesting, and as an Agatha Christie fan, as well as locked room mysteries fan this was a must read for me.

There's a story within a story, You start by reading about a murder in a library of a woman. The four people that experienced the murder (being all in the same location, hearing the scream, etc etc), means one of them must be a murderer. But wait - there's a secondary plot, where we get to read these emails from an editor (or so we think) that is reading the manuscript of the murder of the woman in the library.

It got dull at certain points, and wished it was moving faster, but the secondary plot and the ending was what really made this a fun read for me. Now I need to re-read the whole book and understand how this 3D story really works, and see what clues I missed.

4.5/5 (rounded up)

The Woman in the Library may be my first time reading Sulari Gentill but it certainly won't be my last and I can't believe I hadn't heard of her prior to this book. This is definitely one of those times where I can see myself doing a reread and loving it even more the second time around since it was so unique and clever. The meat of this book is a book that an author named Winifred (Freddie) Kincaid is in the process of writing by using the people around her in the Boston Library as inspiration. At the same time, this book about Freddie is actually being written by an author named Hannah living in Australia who we get to know through emails from her fellow writer Leo. Leo is in Boston and feeding her information and details so she can better write her own book set there that Freddie is writing. This book within a book concept was incredibly interesting, but I know it confused a lot of readers though thankfully not me.

I was actually fairly surprised I didn't get confused since I was listening to the audiobook which only has 1 narrator, Katherine Littrell. In my opinion, Littrell did an amazing job narrating this all by her lonesome and even though I ended up buying a copy of the book, I found that I didn't even need to look at it. I do think it was good to have a physical copy though since it is easy to do a quick look back as needed, instead of trying to do it in the eBook. I think there are a lot of things that could get into spoiler territory here so I don't want to go too in-depth with either of the plots in The Woman in the Library, but I will say that I thought both were expertly plotted and I was shocked by how both Freddie and Hannah's stories ended. So, who should read this? For one, people who don't think they are going to get confused by the plot since that does seem to be a pain point for quite a few readers. It also has a bit of an ambiguous end that confused me a little, so I would recommend not reading unless you are okay with that as well.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book had an amazing idea behind it, a novel inside the novel. Unfortunately, it did not work out for me. I was left confused about why and what's the point, I wanted more of a background of real Leo and the author, why they met and how they met and why was he so obsessed. This is the case where the book could have used an additional 50 or so pages to provide more depth to the characters.
I really liked Boston descriptions and how it was broken down between real and fictional places, that was very smart and fun to read.
Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a gifted copy of the book.

A great read! This was an excellent thriller!! I was not familiar with this author, but Sulari Gentill is certainly on my radar.

Many other reviewers have compared to "Inception". Couldn't agree more. Twists and turns, nothing is as it seems and like Agatha Christie, you never quite know who to trust.

Want a thriller...pick it up.

This is a fun no el with a framing device that I found novel and engaging. I'd be very interested in more from this author, an excellent read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman in the Library was such an interesting premise. A murder mystery involving a story within a story was such a clever and unconventional approach. I will say that it took me a bit to get into this book and that may have had something to do with getting accustomed to the writing style but once I did I really enjoyed it!

The plot was interesting and the writing was great!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Nothing brings people together like a scream in the middle of the library. Follow four newly acquainted friends as they try to discover the events that unfolded right under their noses and the chaos that follows them night and day.

This is a book within a book and I LOVED it! It's a fast-paced, gripping thriller that you don't want to put down! I was thoroughly entertained throughout.

An author sits in the ornate and lush Boston Public Library working on her next mystery when a scream comes from deeper in the library. She and other in the room rush to find out what has happened and then end of spending time together. In a fast-paced and exciting introduction to several characters, our narrator tells us that this is how she first sits down to have coffee with a murderer. A second author has been corresponding with the narrator through letters. This author has been struggling with writer's block. And while they are happy to help with any and all writing projects, they find their own creativity stymied at every turn. As the plot moves forward, though, the reader begins to sense that not all is what it seems. It begins to become unclear if both authors are real. One author might actually be the written character and plot of the other. But which way does the fiction flow? Does the author even know? They mystery becomes deeper and more psychologically clouded the deeper the story goes. Gentill's use of epistolary in this mystery gives the entire story a unique feeling of viewing from a distance while still becoming immersed in the plot.. An old-fashioned air folds around all the writing though the mystery is very new.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I say that this book was amazing, that doesn’t even cover half of it. Truly unique, “The Woman in the Library” follows a group of unlikely people banded together while murders and attacks are happening around them with the big question: What is the connection? Who is behind all of this?

After each chapter of the book, there is a letter written to the “author” of the book from a beta reader. This storyline within the story was such a chilling, exhilarating added bonus to this book.

All in all, I genuinely enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

From the first chapter this book caught my attention. I didn't love the switch between book and letter to pen pal at the beginning, but there is a point to it. The description were amusing. Loved having a bit of insight on a writer's process. Interesting characters and great writting.
Looking forward to read anything else from Sulari Gentill.

I had really high hopes for this book. I enjoyed the multiple storylines but my connection to the characters never materialized, and that was disappointing. The concept was fascinating but the overall execution was lacking.