This is one of the best books I have read this year! It was thoroughly engaging, and once I started I found it difficult to put down. The structure of the book—with each chapter framed by emails sent to the author by a friend—is innovative and compelling. I felt as if I was reading the story alongside another person, and privy to their comments and reactions to each chapter. In addition, the emails provide a secondary narrative that starts off light and becomes much darker. I adored this framework and the opportunity to consider each chapter through this feedback and wonder about the possibilities for the plot if certain details were in fact altered. I loved the Boston setting, and the Boston Public Library as the site of the murder that draws the four principal characters together. The mystery itself is intriguing and twisty without being too complicated. Thanks to NetGallery for the ARC—I will be recommending this book to people all summer!

I was given an ALC of this book so will be reviewing and experiencing the book that way and will review still on my booksta and retailers. Thanks again for the ARC and am loving this story so far.

A slow burn story for me with a second story within a story. A unique concept!! I enjoyed the depth the author gave the characters and how their stories unfolded throughout the book.

Four people are brought together after hearing a woman scream in the library, who they later find out died. They forge a friendship but are never sure if they can trust each other.. Did one of the kill the woman in the library? How are their lives connected outside of this event? All are answered as you dive in to this book.

This was such a cute murder mystery! I loved the twists along the way that kept me engaged and trying to figure it out! This took place within a library and it was a story within a story which was so unique in my opinion. I loved that part! This book had it all -- romance, mystery, friendship, and murder and it was all cleverly done. I loved it and think its the perfect, cozy, mystery for summer.

A story within a story, The Woman in the Library does a fantastic job of interspersing letters from a fan and fellow writer with the story the letters refer to-the tale of a writer who finds herself caught up in both a friendship group and a mystery when she and three other people hear a woman scream at the library. The thing is, out of those four people, one of them is a murderer.

This is such a clever book. Gentill explores the idea of writing itself, and the different processes, influences, and styles that come into play, all while juggling a highly suspenseful mystery full of twists and turns. While Freddie, the forementioned writer, is spinning her novel around her three new friends and her perceptions of their personas, she is also being caught in a web of secrets from the past and a possible serial killer.

I would definitely recommend this book. I flew through it.

The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill, is a story within a story which I was not in the mood for. The story begins with Freddie, a writer in residence, sitting in the Boston Public Library trying to get ideas for a book of her own. Along with her in the library are three others sitting at a table when they hear a terrifying scream and wonder what it could have been. The four strangers begin talking and quickly form friendships. They then learn that the scream they’d heard was from a woman being murdered in the library, and they are each other's alibis. I find the book to be confusing.

A story within a story cleverly done amongst murder, mystery and intrigue. In this book, we are reading an author's story while simultaneously interspersed chapters are feedback on said story from a long distance critique partner.

The story within is about four strangers who meet under seemingly coincidental circumstances at the Boston Public Library when a scream is heard and later, a body is discovered. None of them are witnesses or accused of any foul play, yet they all manage to get wrapped into the investigation as more about each person is revealed through the investigation, and more incidents occur.

The Woman in the Library kept me guessing and I enjoyed how it only unveiled clues to the mystery a little a time. I especially loved having Boston as a setting as observed from a foreigner, in this case an Australian writing a novel on a scholarship in the States. It added additional perspective to have the critique partner comment on it as a native Bostonian. There are references mentioned that also add commentary to current affairs and cultural issues.

It seemed everyone is a suspect and yet, we can't figure out how or why. The intrigue kept me reading and overall entertained. I also enjoyed how much this book was about writing and processes and how much one's writing can be personal or from experience.

EXCERPT: 'So what are we going to do about Caroline Palfrey?'

'What do you mean do?

'We can't just pretend it didn't happen and carry on. Someone was killed just feet from where we were sitting. It has to change things.'

Whit carefully pulls an onion ring from a stack smothered with honey barbeque sauce and cheese. 'If anything is going to make us reveal our true identities as avenging superheroes, surely it's that.'

'There were a lot of people in Bates Hall that day, Marigold,' Cain says more gently.

'It just seems indecent not to do anything. We heard her die.' There is an earnestness in Marigold's voice.

'I'm not sure what we can possibly do,' Cain admits.

'What if they never find out who killed Caroline?' Marigold's voice trembles. 'We heard her scream. A scream is supposed to bring help, and we heard her scream.'

ABOUT 'THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY': The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

MY THOUGHTS: I love having my head messed with, and Sulari Gentill is a master of the art.

Hannah Tigone is an Australian author living in Sydney, writing about another Australian author Freddie (Winifred), recipient of a fellowship which has her living in Boston for a year. She is in the Boston Public Library trying to gather inspiration and finds herself sharing a table with three other people, whom she dubs Freud Girl, Heroic Chin and Handsome Man. And so the story begins . . .

It is hard at times to remember that we're reading a novel about a novel being written. The writing is very vivid, the lines deliberately blurred. This is further complicated by the introduction of a character called Leo Johnson, a beta-reader in reality, who lives in Boston; her neighbour and co-recipient of the fellowship in her novel. Hannah sends beta-reader Leo chapters of her novel as she completes them and he emails his critique back to her.

Nothing about any of these people is as it seems, except for Hannah/Freddie, the narrator of the story.

I was completely absorbed and enthralled by The Woman in the Library, just as I was by After She Wrote Him. It's an unusual, clever, and incredibly satisfying read. A book that I will read again.

I love Gentill's (Freddie's) description of the writing process, likening it to laying bricks without a plan, allowing the walls to twist and turn on a whim. Or riding a bus where people get on and off randomly and there's always the possibility of the route being changed at the last minute for weather, or accident, parade or marathon. And of staring at the ceiling in the BPL, 'These have gazed down on writers before. Do they see one now? Or just a woman in the library with a blank page before her? Maybe I should just stop looking at the ceiling and write something.'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheWomanintheLibrary #NetGalley

I: @sularigentill @poisonedpenpress

T: @SulariGentill @PPPress

#contemporaryfiction #fivestarread #murdermystery #mystery #suspense



For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

What a great book for the summer (even though the setting is winter in Boston).

It starts out with two people exchanging emails. One is an author sharing her chapters as she writes her book, the other is a writer who giving feedback on the story. We then read through the same chapters about 4 people who meet in a library when a woman screams. The scream bonds the four young people. The story flips back from the emails to the story.

As the reader tries to figure out who murdered the woman in the library and which of the characters can be trusted, it also become apparent that the writer giving feedback may not be so innocent in his intentions.

It was such a fun story to follow along. It kept me guessing til the very end. It was also an interesting story device.

I looked forward to picking up this book whenever I had the chance.
4 -4.25 starts for me!

Initially, I was bored. I almost stopped reading - and then the story took off and sucked me in, becoming difficult to put down because I wanted to know what happened! While I did accurately figure out what was going on before it was revealed, it was still a great read.

This was... okay, I guess? The word "corny" comes to mind, but I can't quite put my finger on why. Though I've never necessarily read a book like it (mystery/thrillers aren't my general bag), much of the plot and most of the characters did feel in some way cliched and even 2D. While many who reviewed the book say they found it exciting and were unable to put it down, I just kinda wanted to get to the end as I found the whole thing a bit tiring and try-hard. It was as if the author was like, "Look, I can write a mystery, but it's a <i>highbrow</i> mystery. See how intelligent and different this is?" when it really wasn't. Even the story within a story thing I found a bit obvious and unnecessary as I had Leo figured out from about page 3. The main mystery took me until about 10% in before I clocked it, so I'm afraid much of the impact was lost on me.

Didn't hate it, certainly didn't love it or even like it all that much. It was all just a bit blah, which is sad to say as I had really high hopes. Nevertheless, thanks as always to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I accidentally posted the w4.5★
“Cain shows us his plot, an intricate flowchart created on his laptop, and explains the themes and subplots which radiate from his central premise. There’s something beautiful about the chart. It’s like a spider’s web spun to catch a story. I’m fascinated by it, and a little regretful that my work does not begin with gossamer webs.”

This has several layers of story and mystery, but the author’s own flowchart must have been a good one because I never felt lost. The story I think of, and followed, is the middle one, with Winifred (Freddie), and the three people she met at the Boston Public Library and became friends with after they heard a blood-curdling scream.

Freddie is an Aussie writer, living in Boston courtesy of a writing grant, looking for inspiration. She studies the other three people at her table in the library and tries to imagine them in a story. She dubs the outrageously good-looking fellow “Handsome Man” and the guy with the strong jaw and cleft chin “Heroic Chin”. The young woman has tattoo sleeves and is reading Freud, so she becomes “Freud Girl”.

Obviously, this mystery will revolve around who screamed and why and is there a body? But the first pages of this book, just before Freddie’s story began, there is a letter to Hannah from someone named Leo, asking what she’s writing now and speaking of his own work. It turns out that THIS, this story of would-be author Freddie and the other three is Hannah’s new novel. We are reading it as she is writing it.

Hannah is Australian but has set her novel about Freddie in Boston, where Leo lives, and he’s keen to be involved and help. (She’s an admired author, he’s hoping for help to get published.) She sends him chapters and he alerts her to the Aussie words that need changing. He also tries not only to second-guess where she’s going with the plot but also tries to influence the action.

So Hannah (with Leo) is the top level story; Freddie, Cain, Whit, and Marigold are the active, middle level (the main, for me); and then the novel that Freddie is writing is the bottom. She also has a helpful man named Leo, living in her building, and the ‘real’ Leo is flattered to be included in her novel.

Freddie is written in the first person, which makes her story sound like the real one, but Gentill is careful to intersperse chapters with letters from Hannah’s Leo, advising and being pushy and nosy about how he thinks Hannah’s story should go.

Cain is also a writer, and Freddie is curious about his flowchart technique. During an online call she sees the room behind him.

“ ‘Is that your plot?’ I ask. ‘My God, it looks like you’re sitting in a police incident room!’

He laughs and holds up his laptop so I can see that the strings run onto the ceiling where more notes are tacked to the plasterboard. The lines cross and weave around the entire room. ‘This,’ he says, ‘is what procrastination looks like.’ ”

Because they heard a body was discovered in the library, they continue to get together to discuss what they should do. The plot continues to get darker as there is an attack and another murder, and people’s pasts are revealed. Freddie is writing her own novel, using these people, but she realises she has to think so much about things that she becomes suspicious of them.

“Could they both have known her, both have loved her? Might one of them have killed her? The last thought jolts me. My characters are too connected to the real people who inspired them, and those real people are my friends. New, but already beloved, wrapped in the excited crush of friendship’s beginning, untarnished by the annoyances, disappointments, and minor betrayals which come with the passing of time.”

Gentill works her magic and weaves a fine, tense, suspenseful mystery within a mystery, with Gentill writing about Hannah writing about Freddie writing about Freud Girl and the others (she never gets around to naming her characters). Having two Leos could be confusing, but somehow isn’t. (in the acknowledgment at the end, Gentill tells us there is even another layer – a friend in Boston helped her with this, but he’s a much nicer guy than Hannah’s Leo was.)

I loved it. I miss Gentill’s wonderful Rowland Sinclair historical mystery series and hope to see Rowly again, but meanwhile I have to forgive her for taking the time to write this. Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy for review.
3 likes
rong review - sorry. I will add the real one soon.

One is immediately pulled into this book and immersed in a complicated but intriguing plot. Characters are well drawn and there is a strong temptation to sneak a peek at the ending. Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheWomanInTheLibrary for an advanced digital copy.

This mystery surprised me with its structure and its charm. I really enjoyed it and its construction doesn't weary me like many others in the contemporary space I'll recall it for the mystery lovers in my life.

Woman in the Library is a murder mystery based in Boston - a group of 4 strangers are sitting together at a table when they hear the scream of a woman. Each of the four new friends had a reason for being in the library that day, but one is a murderer.

I really enjoyed the Woman in the Library for several reasons, but the pace was especially well done. It was quick and up beat, with very little downtime to get slowed down.

I also really enjoyed the story within a story - mixed in with each chapter is a letter to the narrator with suggestions or feedback. The story within a story was a tad bit confusion at first but once it made sense, I was loving it.

As far as characters go, I absolutely loved the group. There’s one of every type in this friend group - Freddie is a foreign student and novelist, Cain is the handsome man of the group and also a writer, Marigold is a psychology major and covered in tattoos, and Whit is an athletic law student. They all brought something different to the group and I loved their dynamic.

Last, I really enjoyed the plot and how convoluted it was, in a good way. It was really detailed and there were times I thought I knew what was happening but still never did.

Dnf @ 30%
The confusing format and a cast of unlikable 20-something year old characters is making it too much of a slog.

Many have loved it but it was not for me. No book is for every reader!

Book lovers dream right here! The library setting was perfectly creepy and I loved the pacing. I liked how quickly it tied things up at the end - when you’re excited to get to the end with a thriller - that’s exactly what you need!

If you are looking for a summer blockbuster read, then this is the book to pick up. Wow is all I got to say.

Okay, maybe that isn't all I have to say - I'm sure you came here wanting to know a little more about the book than just that, right?

A story within a story isn't a common trope - at least it isn't a trope I commonly read. But Gentill uses it masterfully in this crime thriller.

Sulari Gentill is an Australian crime writer who in what I'm calling story 1 has created two characters - Hannah, an Australian crime writer, and Leo, an American author wannabe that is beta reading Hannah's book chapter by chapter. In what I'm calling story 2, Hannah creates four main characters: Winnifred (aka Freddie) is an Australian crime writer visiting the U.S. on a writing fellowship, Cain - an American novelist trying to write his second book, Whit - a Harvard law student that would rather be a journalist, and Marigold - a psychology graduate student. In the beginning, I wondered if there was going to be a story within a story within a story with story 3 being the story Freddie is writing. While we do get some glimpses of her book it isn't really detailed enough to be considered its own story.

I had a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the two stories at first, particularly as we get a bit more of the story Freddie is writing in the first few chapters. But once I did get it all straight in my head, I couldn't put the book down.

I knew there would be a twist - I mean it's a thriller, there has to be a twist. Since we only see Leo's emails to Hannah, I wondered if one of them was not real and it was going to turn out that the character was schizophrenic (like in A Beautiful Mind). Or was the twist going to happen in Hannah's story? We get much more of the story she is writing as most of each chapter is the recent chapter she sent Leo with him writing a shortish email at the end of the chapter with his notes. When the twist does hit, let me tell you, it is quite the bombshell. What the twist is isn't out of left field. No, instead Gentill blindsides you with the timing of it. The timing of it is perfect for the shock and awe factor. Truly is a masterful piece of writing to get the timing so perfect.

I was loving the book before the twist but it pushed the book to 5 stars for me. If you are wanting a book you can't put down, then get this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Tuesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/06/the-woman-in-library-by-sulari-gentill.html

A fascinating and original story that gripped me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down! The book within the book and surprise second mystery were brilliantly executed. A must read!!!

The Woman in the Library is Australian author Sulari Gentill’s second excursion into crime meta fiction (after 2017's Ned Kelly Award-winning Crossing the Lines a.k.a. After She Wrote Him), and makes for an engrossing and entertaining read. Like her most recent series release (Where There's a Will / A Testament of Character), the setting is Boston, but in this case the time period is contemporary.

The book resembles a literary matryoshka doll: it portrays an Australian writer, Hannah Tigone, writing a mystery story set in Boston, featuring as its main character another (fictional) Australian writer, Winifred "Freddie" Kincaid, who is in turn writing a fictionalised murder mystery inspired by her experiences while undertaking a literary fellowship in the city. One day, while fruitlessly seeking literary inspiration in the Boston Public Library (BPL) Reading Room, Freddie and other patrons are shocked to hear a woman's blood-curdling scream. She subsequently bonds with three other "readers" and together they seek to uncover the horrific truth behind what they witnessed, in the process becoming friends.

Hannah's presence is depicted only via her role as the invisible recipient of a series of emails forming one side of an exchange between herself and a Boston-based fan / de facto research assistant named Leo. We can only interpolate Hannah's side of the ongoing discussion, as Leo responds with feedback and cultural suggestions on successive chapters of her new novel. Over the course of the exchange, which is interleafed between chapters of Hannah's mystery narrative, Leo morphs from a somewhat gushing Beta-reader into a disturbingly volatile individual who seems to be blurring the line between fiction and reality.

Meanwhile, we're presented with the narrative - purportedly Hannah's novel - as it follows Freddie and her new friends in their amateur efforts to identify a murderer - but could the villain be closer than Freddie could possibly imagine?

Sound confusing? It's certainly an interesting and challenging premise, but I found it much easier to keep straight in my mind than Gentill's similarly multi-layered Crossing the Lines, which featured more convolutedly intertwined narratives. In The Woman in the Library there is a very clear hierarchy of stories-within-stories.

Sulari Gentill skilfully employs a range of literary devices, including foreshadowing, misdirection and the trope, familiar in "golden age" crime fiction, that every character has something to hide. The underlying mystery storyline is enthralling, but just as engrossing are the developing relationships between Freddie and her newfound circle of friends.

Gentill clearly draws upon her own experiences as a writer, in the outer two levels of the metafictional narrative. Freddie alternately struggles with writers' block and experiences periods of intense creative activity, during which she shuts herself off from the outside world. Embarking on her new story after the drama she witnesses in the Boston Public Library, she faces the challenges associated with creating a fictional work inspired by real people and events. The three writer characters depicted in the Boston narrative employ wildly different approaches to plotting, collaboration and self-discipline. Meanwhile, in the context of Leo's emails to Hannah, Gentill raises considerations around the relative importance of cultural and factual accuracy in setting a novel outside the author's sphere of familiarity. She explores the necessary but sometimes painful process of seeking and receiving feedback. She even addresses the contemporary ethical conundrum of whether or not to incorporate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic into novels purportedly set during this period. I found all of this fascinating - The Woman in the Library is so much more than another murder mystery novel - it's a window into the process of mystery writing itself.

I'd thoroughly recommend The Woman in the Library to any lover of crime-mystery-thriller fiction who's keen to read something a little different and perhaps more challenging than the mainstream offerings.

My heartfelt thanks to the author, the brilliant Sulari Gentill, publisher Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this stunning new title.