Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

As per usual, I am mega late in reading this, but decided it was a decent time to start since I typically gravitate towards mysteries and thrillers more this time of year.

I do think it is always best to go into thrillers as blindly as possible, so I won't be going into the synopsis or plot at all. All I will say is this: This book was okaaaay. I don't want to rate it too low because there was parts that I didn't mind as much, but there were also parts that I definitely skimmed over and I felt like made this book drag on. I think the biggest thing that ruined it for me here was the whole "story in a story" we had going on. Which is a shame because that is something that typically works really well for me in books. This one just felt like a waste time in an already short book with bland and underdeveloped characters where that attention could have potentially been spent improving the actual book.

If you're interested in a "whodunit" type book, then maybe pick this up. It may work for you and it does have plenty of raving reviews. I just couldn't get into the extra story and I found none of the characters to be particularly likable so my investment was super low.

Unfortunately this book was not for me.

The prose was lacking and I found it a little difficult personally to follow along. The concept however was absolutely brilliant.

As a librarian, I should have loved this book. A mystery and friendship in the library? Sign me up! Somehow I never connected with any of the characters, and the flipping between the notes and plot really pulled me from the story.

A very cosy mystery - but very slow and complicaed when it could have just been a straightforward story. Modern mystery writers tend to go down the path of the more complicated the better, when it is often the simple explanations that are the most shocking.
High level of ambition, low level of execution,

In my pregnancy I shifted my reading time to baby research and was not able to review what was on my shelf. I apologize as I know the number of copies you can give out is limited and would never have intentionally ignored this copy under normal circumstances. I am rating this as 5 stars as it is not the author or publishers fault I was not able to meet this timeline, and hope that you will give me another chance in the future to review as I am back into my regular reading schedule this year after adapting to the newborn life!

This was like book inception. It was a book about a book, about a book....about a book. Although it took me a little to get into it, once this book hooked me, it really hooked up. Kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat!

I loved the premise and concept of this book and think the library setting was really well done. Parts of the book were too slow and could have been cut down a bit. But I enjoyed the characters and the resolution to the mystery surprised me and was really well done. I will definitely pick up more from this author.

Wow, hold on! There are enough twists in this story and story within a story to leave you reeling. You might think, knowing that one is the story and the other a sub-story, that Gentill might ease up on the latter giving it less time, less attention, less to cause knuckle biting. Yet, the opposite is true. The sub-story is the center of focus with well developed plot, intriguing characters, and enough suspense to keep you wrapped in a blanket in a corner hoping no one knocks at the door. You might even wonder why she bothered with the outer story through the first half of her novel. -But there is nothing wasted here, nothing extraneous. The two stories build together weaving a web that leaves you dangling with possibilities even as the main questions are resolved.

I very much enjoyed this book. Having read books by Gentill in the past, I was not at all disappointed with this story.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book!

The cover art is the first thing that grabbed my attention. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but this one caught my attention! And I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed the plot and thought the main character was relatable.

This book was not what I expected - in a good way! It was a story within a story...within a story? I think. Overall, I was entertained and intrigued.

Freddie is an author and she happens to be at the library working on her book when a scream is heard throughout the building. As a result of this scream, she bonds with three strangers who are sitting near her when the scream happens. Was their proximity during this scream planned or just a coincidence? You'll find out sooner or later.

Freddie decides to incorporate these three strangers, who have quickly become close friends, into her book. On top of that, she's falling in love with one of them. And best of all, she's quickly thrust into a murder investigation. Could her new love interest be the killer? How does she incorporate this into her book?

In addition, there's another layer to this book where the author is sharing her new manuscript with a beta reader online. He soon becomes adamant about changes she needs to make in her book - some pretty gruesome. Why is he obsessed with violence and killing?

So many questions to answer. I enjoyed the back and forth between reading Freddie's storyline and the "other" author's storyline and correspondence with her beta reader.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC of this book in return for my honest opinion.

Thank you for the free ARC as always....

This was a fun cozy mystery but I didn't draw me in the way I like my mysteries to do. I am realizing I like a more hard core mystery and this just wasn't what I wanted to read. That is no fault to book or story though and do think this book will find its readers in those who like a more cozy time when they read a mystery novel.

Really enjoyed reading this one! It was a fun mystery set in a library, which I loved. Fun might seem a weird word to use considering someone dies and there is a murderer on the loose, but I had fun reading it 😂🤷🏼‍♀️. I recommend this book to patrons all the time and bought copies for the library collection at work.

A fantastic book, I thoroughly enjoyed this! I would recommend this to any mystery fans. A quick read, but enjoyable throughout

I tried really hard for this one... I was intrigued by the premise and I usually like books about books/libraries. But for some reason this book didn't do it for me. I just felt disengaged no matter how far I went in it...

Overall I'd say that the writing lacked the structure and skill to bring everything together in a way that would engage me as a reader. I wanted to like this book so much because it checks all my boxes.

I think I'll give it another read later on and maybe give it another chance.

A Massive Thank You to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book prior to its release date.

4⭐⭐⭐⭐




- first book read from this author and did not dissapoint . it gotten be hooked from the first chapter .
i think the ending was lacking and need more answer but probably best if there is a season 2 for this and it will be answered . well recommended thriller!

+thankyou netgalley for the opportunity

❤️shaye.reads

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

The synopsis got my attention right away but the format of the book is not what I was expecting. The synopsis didn’t mention the fact that it’s basically book inception. And at some points in the book I had to look the book up to make sure I was actually reading a murder mystery and not a romance/soap opera. Some of the female characters came off a bit too desperate. And I feel like some of it was lost with the dragged out romance building. I feel like this is a nice beach read if you’re not expecting something along the lines of Simone St James like I was. If I had read this expecting a light hearted mystery I’d give it 4 stars. But since I was expecting it to be more “serious” based on the synopsis it’s getting 2 1/2 -3 stars.

The plot is actually OK, but I am less than impressed with this one. which is such a shame because a murder in a library sounds exactly like my kind of thing. This is a book within a book, kinda. Unfortunately, I wasn't engaged in the story at all.