Contemporary mysteries are not my usual genre of choice, but this book was fantastic! It was so engaging and pulled me in from the start. The very end was a touch too ambiguous for me (what does it mean that [redacted] shows up?) and I don’t do well with that, so I’m knocking off a star, but otherwise truly brilliant

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

It's been too long since I read a thriller, and #TheWomanInTheLibrary sounded fantastic! I mean...a book about someone writing a book ...about a book? Almost #Inception level! And then there's a murder!
I loved reading this story. There's the main mystery and then the frame story, plus some disconcerting details about the book within the book within the book. A locked room mystery in reverse as it calls itself, the book casts doubt on all protagonists. I was slightly disappointed at the end that I didn't guess the killer- I had concocted a small conspiracy with a strong reason and it didn't come to pass 😅

If you are looking for an Agatha Christie type who-done-it, "The Woman in the Window" is a great option. I usually don't gravitate towards reading thrillers or mysteries, because my imagination tends to run away from me. Ultimately, I end up not being able to sleep, which is why I avoid them. However, the premises of this book felt more like a light hearted thriller so I gave it a go. It never got scary or too intense. I will say, without any spoilers, it is a mystery within a mystery. If you are listening to the audiobook that can be confusing at first, but if you go in knowing that it may be more enjoyable in the beginning, rather than being confused.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill was a great read. I found that I was constantly changing my mind as to who had committed the crimes. The subplot of emails from “Leo” was interesting. Whenever I thought I know the killer, “Leo” would mention some interesting tidbit which kept my guessing as to the real murderer. This epistolary type of fiction gives the reader certain information outside the text of the novel and added to the adventure of the story. I liked all the characters and did not want any of them to be the murderer. The author continually supplied facts/information that always appeared to point to Cain as the murderer. Cain is always able to explain away the questions. Is he lying? Is he being framed? Great novel which I enjoyed very much.

This read was unlike anything else I’ve read this year and I loved it. A mystery within a mystery, more twists than a spiral staircase and three - or is it four? - obviously guilty suspects. This novel grabbed my on page one and never let me go. If you love mysteries, read this. If you’re curious about a writer’s process, read this. If you want a compulsively readable, no-idea-who-did-it book you need to get this now. Highly recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC; all opinions expressed are my own.

Winifred is working on her novel under a fellowship when she (kind of) witnesses a murder at the Boston Public Library. The three other people who were with her at the time quickly become new friends as they all become involved in the case.

But that is actually the story. The story that is being written by Australian author, Hannah, who is corresponding with American Bostonian, Leo, who is advising her on her manuscript.

This is one of the most unique plots I have ever read - you are actually reading two different mystery/suspense stories that somehow diverge together. This was a fun read with a creepy ending!

I’m a sucker for a good mystery/thriller read. The premise of this book is simple: a woman’s scream breaks the silence in the Boston Public Library reading room leading a random group of strangers to become friends. One of these individuals is not who they seem. You, the reader, are tasked with uncovering the killer’s identity from the first chapter. Finding the answer and parsing reality from fiction is no simple task.

The unusual format really had me second guessing myself more than a few times. I enjoyed the writing style and look forward to reading more by this author.

I received this as an ARC from Poison Pen Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has two storylines which is pretty unique. The way the author wove her tale was pretty amazing. It kept you guessing with all the twists and turns. The ending seemed a bit rushed hence the four stars. Overall a great read.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley for a digital copy of the book.

This book was so fun! It was suspenseful, it was a story that's never been told before. It had me flipping through the pages, eager to figure out who did it! Loved it.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3/5 stars

The books starts out with Leo, who lives in Boston, writing to Hannah, in Australia, offering suggestions on her novel. These letters are throughout the book. It took awhile for me to figure out that the book was the novel Hannah is writing and Leo is offering advice on. This was confusing at first.

Four strangers are in the Boston public library, all immersed in their own business, when a woman screams out. Afterwards the four strangers become friends and try to solve the mystery of why the woman who screamed was killed. If this was just the story and you left out the letter parts, I think I would have like it better. The twists it took and ohh, was it this person, no wait, is it this person. had me guessing

I was pleasantly surprised by this gem from Sulari Gentill. The Woman in the Library is a dual timeline mystery. Four people meet in the Boston Public Library after they were sitting at the same table when they hear a woman scream, later a body found, and a mystery started. The second timeline is an author in Australia writing to a man in the United States about her latest manuscript. It is more character driven than action packed (not my thing), so know that going in. That is one of the things I liked about the story.

I highly suggest reading this one as opposed to listening on audio (which I did not do, but I have seen folks struggle with keeping track of what is going on with audio).

What a fun and thrilling read. This is a novel set within the correspondence of two authors. The main protagonist, Freddie, is from Australia as is her author. However, the book is set in Boston and opens in the main reading room of the Boston public library. Freddie, is also an author so glimpses of her own novel and writing process are seen throughout the book.

When The Woman in the Library Begins Freddie is pondering the three people seated with her naming them, Handsome Guy, Freud Girl, and Heroic Chin when they hear a scream. They are ordered to clear the room so that the library can be searched and end up having coffee together. From that point they become fast friends and murder suspects.

Meanwhile, the author of this plot Hannah is stuck in Australia due to the Covid 19 lockdowns and corresponding with an author in Boston named Leo. Leo sends her information on everything from restaurants to crime scenes.

Highly recommend for people who love locked room mysteries even though this is a reverse.

Although I was ultimately able to guess the murderer, The Woman in the Library is a compelling part locked room mystery, part story within a story that Packs plenty of surprises.

Freddie is an Australian writing fellow living in Boston when she is inexplicably pushed into an unlikely friendship with three other strangers she meets in a library. The reader also learns that Freddie is the product of another author’s imagination, one who is caught up in an email exchange with a die-hard fan whose obsession with the mystery continually deepens.

A great, well-written summer beach read and a welcome change from a typical mystery novel framework. The naivity of the main character played well with the whodunnit as even she seemed to be stumped as to who was behind the murder and subsequent stalkings. The ending left a great set-up for more novels, both with the author within the story and her own fictitious mystery. Can’t wait to see what Gentill writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sulari Gentill, and Sourcebooks for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Harriet is trying to find some well needed inspiration by writing in the Boston Public Library. Sitting with three others, Cain, White and Marigold, they are startled by a woman screaming. Soon they find themselves, immersed in an unusual friendship as they are forced to stay in the library, whilst the identity of the murderer is uncovered.
I enjoyed the alternating chapters which explore each of the four characters, whilst the book is told from Harriet’s point of view. Their stories within the story, did a times detract from the main story, which was in essence, a clever and witty murder mystery.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm so grateful to Netgalley for the chance to review this stunning work of contemporary fiction! A best selling novelist from Australia , writing about an Australian living in the U.S. on a writing scholarship, so fun! The framing device of an author sending chapters to a pen-pal for review was genius. Initially the letters from her pen-pal took me out of the main story, but halfway through I was hooked and the framing device made sense. The classic library murder mystery felt like a modern work of Agatha Christie's. While the framing device and discussions about the book while I was still reading it was unique.
Not a book to be taken overly analyzed, but an enjoyable and suspenseful read! It's perfect for book club discussions! I'm almost certain I'll give it another read in the near future.

Really innovative murder mystery with a look into the writer’s mind. Our author MC corresponds with a fellow writer while working through a new book. As she plays out the story on paper, another story enfolds in their correspondence. It’s a delightfully clever meta experience and a perfectly twisty murder plot! Highly enjoyable!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but what I did NOT expect was a book within a book within a book. The story is narrated by Freddie, who you soon find out is a fictional character written by someone named Hannah. And Hannah is receiving messages from someone named Leo after each chapter of her book. Leo is convinced he knows who the killer is (and I was convinced it was someone else) and I was completely wrong. No spoilers about whether Leo was.

I’ve read countless books in my life, and none were quite like this. Thus, the 5 star rating. The story itself is more like a 3-4 for me, but the format is incredibly unique and fresh.

This odd, endearing and weirdly tricky book is a meta meditation on the traditional detective story. Playing off of Agatha Christie’s The Body in the Library, author Sulari Gentill yanks this classic into the present. In Christie’s Body the corpse of an apparently unknown young woman appears in the library of a private home. In Gentill’s update, four young people are sitting near each other in the Boston Public library. The main character, Freddie (or Winifred), a mystery writer, is working on a new book and she’s observed the others sitting near her, giving them nicknames as she slots them into a possible book. Freud girl, Heroic Chin and Handsome Man have all invaded her imagination, when their real iterations hear a blood-curdling scream.

The scream unites the four, and when no one can find a body in the library, they disperse – but of course a body is discovered later. The four form a loose group to try to understand what happened to the dead girl and how she got that way. The story is particularly meta as the story of Freddie and her friends – who are actually named Marigold, Whit and Cain - is a book being written by a “real” woman named Hannah. She is writing her novel in Australia and sending chapters to a beta-reader named Leo in Boston who offers critiques as well as putting her on the right path as far as American expressions and Boston locations go.

This was, for me, a framing device for what I found to be the “real” story of Freddie and her friends. Even as Freddie, who is living in Boston on a grant (which comes complete with a swanky apartment) is working on a book about Freud girl et al., she is drawn into the real life mystery of the dead girl with these people, a.k.a. characters, who have become her friends.

In true golden age style, Gentill has created an extremely tiny suspect pool. The killer could really only be one of three people, and she deftly keeps the reader guessing throughout the story. The four of them become fully developed and interesting characters who hold your attention, as do their developing relationships and tensions. While creating a tricky mystery, she also gives the readers characters that are real enough to make the reader truly feel affection for them. This, of course, gives the book some real depth and heft.

The surrounding layers – Hannah’s increasingly disturbing exchanges with Leo, the technical aspects of writing a novel as discussed by several of the characters – are merely the frame for the jewel of a story that Gentill has presented to the reader. Freddie’s increasingly almost foolish detective work illustrates her increasing desperation to discover the killer’s identity, adding to the suspense of this well written novel. If novels as ingenious as this one continue to be written, there is so much to look forward to as far as the mystery genre goes.

This was a clever way of writing this story as it sort of had to stories going on.
I really enjoyed this mystery as well as the emails describing life in Boston in 2020
I would definately read more from this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A mystery set in the Boston Public Library almost a locked room mystery but not quite. I love the characters and the pace was great. The letters in the book telling another story within the story was fun. Nothing really creepy but a fun read all in all.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for and advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.