Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the chance to read and review The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill.

Sulari Gentill's new book is set towards the start of the pandemic. It starts off fairly wholesome. Our main character, Hannah, is writing another book (she’s a published writer) and corresponding with her pen pal and fan, Leo, and sending him chapters. Leo is also writing a novel but has been getting turned down by agents and publishers. As the pandemic sets in Hannah’s plans to visit the US get derailed, but she keeps writing the book. It’s an amateur sleuth novel (which is one of the genre’s that The Woman in the Library belongs to), while Leo keeps helping her by digging up information on the city the book is set in. Of course, as the novel progresses, we realise that there is much more going on.

Within the novel that Hannah writes we have four strangers bonded by a scream in the library. They end up becoming friends bonded by the murder and the weird stuff that happens to Freddie, the main character. We’re told by Leo who the killer is early (we can only presume that this is an email from Hannah to Leo as we never do see her emails), and it’s interesting to see the characters come to that conclusion slowly. We’re shown that Freddie really liked the killer and doesn’t want to believe it’s him; she’s the unreliable narrator but we’re also still curious to see if she’s right or not.

The woman in the library has a banging plot. Like the plot is phenomenal (I’m not revealing anymore because spoilers) and so interesting that I had to finish the book. I just wish that Sulari Gentills writing matched up. This book has so much potential but it just fell short and it’s hard to explain that to another person unless they’ve read it but I’ll try.

Hannah sends each chapter to Leo to read. Leo reads the chapter and writes a short email back on how much he loves everything and sends her helpful information on the US. Those chapters are not well written. I couldn’t fathom anyone liking Cain or Freddie or chapter-Leo, or Whit or Marigold. Leo’s love of Marigold and love for everything Hannah wrote was a little annoying. On the one hand, that could be intentional, to show that this is a writer working through things, but on the other hand, as it formed the bulk of the book, it also took away from the novel, even though that plot was great. I would have liked to have seen better chapters sent from Hannah to Leo, and smaller corrections like phrases and things.

I saw the thing with email-Leo coming. I don’t know if other readers did or did not, but I didn’t mind that. I loved that whole we have two writers bonding over their mutual love of fiction, and then that slap in your face. Again, the plot is great. But my problem is that the chapters were not good enough to hold my interest and by the end I was skimming; at that point if there was a change in the style of Hannahs writing (which Leo pointed out was getting heavy handed), I didn’t pick up on it. Had those earlier chapters been more put together I would have loved seeing this happen.

Interesting format that’s different from other mysteries I’ve read. I really enjoyed the story and the different approach to the narrative.

I liked the premise but the execution didn't really work. The 2nd narrative wasnt fleshed out and I really only know what happened because my partner also read it and sussed it out. I, however, was super confused until he explained it. The 1st narrative was also not that interesting and the explanation seemed weak. Bummer because I was excited for this one.

Thank you go Netgalley for providing a copy of this book to review.

I was really excited to delve in to this book, and i am happy to say i did not disappoint. A very engrossing whodunit, that is well written and clever.

The Woman in the Library
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
On sale: June 7, 2022

And now for something completely different. Author Sulari Gentill has concocted an unexpected format for her mystery. It's a story within a story within a story. Similar to locked room puzzles, there seem to be only four possibilities for the murderer, but are there?

FIRST SENTENCE: "Dear Hannah, What are you writing?"

QUOTE: "And so we go to the Map Room to found a friendship, and I have my first coffee with a killer."

THE STORY: Hannah Tigone, an Australian author had planned to visit Boston to write her next book. When the pandemic puts a halt to her traveling, Leo, a colleague who lives there becomes her beta reader. Every chapter ends with a letter from Leo offering advice and details about Boston and American life.

Then there's the story of the book itself. Winifred better known as "Freddie" is writing "The Woman in the Library". She has won a Marriot Scholarship to enable her to write her mystery set in Boston. Working in the Boston Public Library, she is attempting to decide the plot for her mystery when a woman screams. Four other people seated nearby begin to talk about what might have just happened and they quickly become friends. When they discover the woman has been killed, they become sleuths.

WHAT I THOUGHT: The author has written a carefully written and plotted mystery adding humor as the story unfolds with its many twists and turns. Besides the puzzle the friends seek to solve, the story is about friendship and writing (every character is writing a book). It's always fun to recognize the current references to things we know that are scattered throughout.

More than once, especially in the beginning, I found myself wondering what story I was reading, but it's worth the struggle. Although you can listen to the audio book, I would expect it could add another level of confusion.

The book also includes A Reading Group Guide and ‘A Conversation with the Author’ about how she stumbled on her plot.

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "The Woman in the Library" by Sulari Gentill from NetGalley/Europa for my honest review.

This book is WILD and an incredible mystery. It’s set in Boston, in the Boston Public Library, with at least three different layers to it. It’s a thriller that functions as well as a mystery — ie, it doesn’t just keep you on the edge of your seat, there’s actively something to figure out as well. The blurb calls this book “sharply thrilling”, and they are CORRECT. Four and a half stars, rounded up for NetGalley.

At 292 pages, this book was a quick and fast paced read. The author writes this in a “book about a book” style. I honestly would have just enjoyed the main plot/story without any outside plot (this is hard to explain without spoiling lol). I just feel like it left me wanting for more or with a different outcome. I also couldn’t really connect with the characters. I will say the author’s writing style/prose was enjoyable and I would consider reading another stand alone thriller to give the author another shot! A lot of people enjoyed this one so this might be an unpopular opinion

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an early review.

The Women in the Library has one of the more interesting structures of any mystery books I have read: a story being written within a story (about a writer whom is writing another story, a wonderful inception). Surprisingly, rather than taking away from my reading experience, I found it added an entire level of richness; I found myself able to enjoy the overarching narrative, and connect with the characters, without fixating on any anachronisms, and this was so consuming that I completely missed foreshadowing of any twists and turns that I would usually unpick while reading, so I was taken completely by surprise! If you are unable to turn off the "critical reader" part of your brain, then this one is for you!

The plot line is neat but the letters in between the chapters feel irrelevant. I wasn’t personally interested in continuing past 10%, but I think many of our readers would enjoy. It’s likely a 3 star average read, four for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

Book set in the beautiful historic Boston Public Library? Yes! Locked room mystery? Yes! Quickly falling in love with a guy you just met who you already know served time for murder? Ehhh, I'll pass. I liked the premise of the book and the overall mystery and whodunnit reveal, but I could have done without the "smart woman making very dumb decisions" trope. As a smart woman, I prefer my heroines to make smart decisions. Don't fall in love with a murder suspect. Don't open the door if you don't know who is on the other side. For the love of at least your bowels, never ever eat mystery cupcakes sent from an unknown source. SMH.

Thank you #NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to ready and review this ARC.

I got a third of the way through this and realized I didn’t care what happened. I skipped to the end to see who the murderer was and wasn’t surprised. The style is interesting but I just couldn’t get into it.

I am finished thank goodness. I was clicking the pages as fast as I could but the pages were not moving and it took me forever to finish it.

The story felt like a Scooby Doo mystery and the characters were the scooby gang. If you read this one you know where I got that from.

This book was unfortunately not it for me. I found it to be very confusing. While the idea of the plot had so much potential it did not live up to my expectations.

Riveted! Delighted to include this title in ‘Summer Reading,’ my latest round-up for Zoomer magazine’s Books section highlighting guaranteed great beach pleasers (see mini-review at link)

Sadly, I quickly gave up on this one. I could only read a few chapters and felt disinterest. I hope to try again some day because I've read good things.

The manuscript starts with four strangers in a library that hear a scream. I’m very new to mysteries/thrillers so I probably say this too often but I thought this one was unique. It’s a book within a book. The author in the book is sharing her manuscript chapter by chapter with a beta reader and that reader is given her feedback after each chapter in the form of emails. The manuscript was so interesting and the feedback from the beta reader was such a nice touch. It kept me guessing and interested until the end. I would definitely recommend it.

Perhaps I've read too many edge of your seat thrillers, but I was hoping for more from this mystery. While I enjoyed reading it and the premise was interesting, the storytelling was a bit bland and the reveal didn't pack enough punch for the buildup. I think the story within a story was an original twist that added to the mystery but at times was annoying. It wasn't a favorite for me but I can see others really enjoying it.

This book was an enjoyable mystery that had my entranced until the end. The plot was witty and I was invested in the characters from the beginning. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good mystery!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

A book within a book??? Count me in!!!
It is kind of a locked-room set in the reading room of the Boston Library. The story starts off with a loud scream and the fate of four people changes all of a sudden!
Twists and turn with every turn of the page- this is what a great thriller is made up for me!
For me this book is one of those rare and unique ones that will stay with me for a long time!
Thanks #NetGalley #Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC