The was an interesting premise, with a book inside a book. I would've liked to get a better sense of all the characters. The answer to the whodunit was not a huge surprise, but the motive was implausible. Good beach read.

Aussie writer Winifred “Freddie” is in Boston on a scholarship decided to take her writing to the Boston Public Library for inspiration. While sitting at a table with three strangers there’s a woman’s terrified scream. Security comes up to them and tells them not to move until they have located the scream and resolved what ever issue has arose. The four strangers strike up a conversation and it’s not long before they are fast friends. When a body is discovered the four of them set out to find out exactly what happened. It becomes really important to find that killer especially when it seems that the murderer thinks the four of them might have witnessed something and decides to come for them.

Whoa, ok first off this is like a book within a book and I’m here for it. There’s two separate storylines here and I think it works really well. I also find it quite original. This one is full of suspense, twists, and surprises that you won’t see coming. This kind of gave me Agatha Christie vibes and y’all know I love AC vibes. My first read by the author and it definitely won’t be my last one. Thanks to Netgalley for an arc to review for my honest opinion.

Oh how I love metafiction and The Woman in the Library pulls off three layers of meta expertly! The author recognizes the intelligence of the reader and progresses the intricate, but not confusing, story at quick pace. There is significant tension in the first and second layers so the reader stays actively engaged and worried for the characters and characters of the characters. So often, thrillers rely on tired, overused tropes to create suspense, so I commend Gentill on her ingenuity in creating a new tactic for the thriller genre. No doubt it will likely be copied by others as it is genius! I particularly loved how the multiple storylines intertwine and inadvertently muddle the perception of the characters, steering the reader in a direction that adds to the suspense. A must read for anyone tired of the same old thriller tropes and looking for a creative and engaging read!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advance copy.

This author is so talented and gave a us a book worth reading. Pay attention, this mystery is layered and intertwined with another story and an additional story within itself. All this adds to the mystery and keeps the reader hooked on this journey to find out who dunnit! I was commited from the beginning, it was a bit slow, but the reward was worth it all. A must read for 2022.

Perfectly twisty and clever. A story within a story in a story. Not always easy to follow but a fun read nonetheless with an Indian structure. The beginning was slow but makes more sense later in the book and by midway, I needed to know what was going on, really.

The Woman In The Library by Sulari Gentill is making waves, showing up in all the upcoming thriller lists, and rightfully so, as this thriller had me spinning in crazy circles trying to keep tracks running in the story.

The Woman In The Library is ' a book, about a book, about a book'…I should probably write another’ about a book in there, It is that convoluted but the plot is definitely not a conundrum of mess which is hard to follow. Sulari Gentill is writing the story of an author called Hannah Tigone, who coz of the pandemic is in Australia unable to travel. So we have got the thread with Hannah who is an author writing the story of a woman called Winifred or Freddie as she is called who is again a mystery author. Thus Sulari Gentill brilliantly establishes 2 threads running in the story and then we begin thread #3, with Freddie writing a story based on her experience meeting 3 people in the library in the reading room of the Boston Library. Finally adding to the pulse-pounding action is the email correspondence from Leo Johnson, the beta reader for Hannah who becomes the eyes and ears for her scouting for locations and correcting the commonly used colloquialisms that may not come naturally for an Australian author.

Leo’s emails to Hannah begin in a benign fashion, the profusion of love and respect for a well-estabihsed author very well evident, but soon the tone changes into something dark, criticizing, and forceful in rewriting the story to his vision. Meanwhile, Freddie faces the dilemma of having bonded with the 3 other people upon a “scream” and then facing the danger of a murderer amidst them.

A crackling mystery that keeps the readers on their toes, I loved Sulari Gentill’s lacework braiding together layers upon layers towards a dizzying race to the finish line. It was also refreshing how Gentill explores the different types of techniques used by the authors, we have Freddie thru Hannah who writes things from a blank mind, letting the story speak for itself, we have Cain who follows the methodical plotting of the story complete with flow charts and diagrams. There is also the discussion about all stories are in one way or another about relationships and particularly romance; irrespective of the genre it is tied to, something that I have always believed to be true. Highly intelligent and cleverly crafted, The Woman in The Library will mess up with your head but YOU ARE GONNA LOVE THIS MESS.

Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published on my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Book Bub, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I LOVED this one, I loved the story within a story. At times I felt so lost but it all made sense in the end! 4 stars!

4ish stars

This was a weird, interesting, multi-layered story within a story (within another story? wild). I requested and received this one so long ago that I’d kind of forgotten what it was supposed to be about, so I went into it not really knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by much of it; good choice, past version of me! It was definitely a fun book.

I want to start off by saying that I received complimentary ebook copy. In return for my honest thoughts and my review. I have to say that I enjoyed the characters and the world that the author created. A book about a story within a story amazing. I never read a book that has a story within a story before. I couldn’t put this book down. Can’t wait for the release of this book. Definitely will be ordering my own ebook copy. I would of like to know what happened to the character who was emailing Hannah the author left me hanging on what happened to that character. I would have also like to know how things went with Cain and Freddie.
I was on edge while reading I was trying to figure how and who was behind murders and why. I believe I am like Freddie always wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt. I highly recommend this book it releases June 7, 2022. Thank you to publisher and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read such amazing book.
About Book:
Four strangers who happened to be at the library when they all hear a woman scream. Later to learn that she was murdered. These four strangers learn that somehow things are connected. Freddie try’s to understand what’s going. These four strangers become friends really quickly. Even some love interest. Again highly recommend this book. All my reviews will be posted to goodreads and bookbub. My review will be posted on amazon on release date.

3.5, rounded to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. This was my first time reading this author. What was different to me about this book was the story inside a story plus email correspondence giving constructive feedback on the fiction story. Boy, I hope I got that all right! Freddie is an author, in Australia, who is writing a fiction novel about a murder in Boston. She has an assistant, Leo, who is her eyes and ears in Boston to help her get all the details right. The four strangers who dominate the story are interesting, each carrying their own stories,lies and secrets. It is a book that must be paid attention to, or I'm afraid the reader could get hopelessly lost. This was not a fast read for me, but I was curious to find out who the killer was. The author is good at misdirection, but there were some clues that were inconsistent and/or hard to believe.
#NetGalley

the general setting of the book sounded great. the plot line was not bad, it kept me wanting to read, to know what was going to happen next. however i think the narrative style of this isn't the best and it actually takes away form the story. it could've been a good, good book,

Really enjoyed this book, the setting and the mystery was great and can't recommend this enough. If you want a bookish exciting read then pick this book up.

A story within a story as well as a murder mystery? Sounds like a fun time. For some odd reason, I couldn’t quite get Agatha Christie’s “Cards on a Table” from my mind as I was reading. Maybe there’s slight similarities, I digress. Will say this book wasn’t as fun as I expected, it was an okay time. the writing style is light and easy enough for anyone to sail through in a few hours and the mystery intriguing enough to keep your attention. Didn’t quite get that ending however.

I looooooooved the first 90% of this book. Flew through it. Can't remember the last time I read a book this fast.
And then I realized I only had 10% left and I was like oh no. There is no way that's enough time to wrap this up well.
And I was right. The conclusion of both of the storylines really disappointed me, which was tragic because this was a rare book where I loved them both. I thought the entire concept of this story was BRILLIANT, and I just wanted so much more to be done with it.
I literally read through the entire reader's guide in the back because I was hoping it was secretly a fake reader's guide with more content.
That being said,,, I know endings are really important in a thriller, but I still loved this one. If the concept sounds good to you, I think you'll still enjoy it and it's worth a read. The 2020 setting adds some very interesting depth to the story, without being pandemic-y. You'll see what I mean.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this amazing e-arc.
4 stars
This was one of my most anticipated reads for this month and let's say it did not disappoint. I didn't know the author before reading this, but I can't wait to check out more of their work in the future.

I enjoyed this book! It was different from what I expected but in a good way! I enjoyed the format. It was a story within a story. I liked the visuals and description of the library. It's a cool concept. A murderer in a library. It became darker as it went on and was a good show burn. Sometimes it felt a little forced and I didn't feel as connected to the characters. The difference in dialect also threw me off sometimes. But overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it to other mystery/thriller readers.

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

I struggled with the format of the narrative. I found the emails between the chapters distracting and a bit confusing. I understood that they added another layer of tension to the book, but they also interrupted the flow of the mystery.

The main mystery itself was intriguing, although I wish there was more to the ending. This could be a solid pick for fans of unique, intellectual mysteries!

What a fantastic read! This is a one of a kind, must read, cannot put down story. Oh and there's a story within the story. This creative writing just blew me away. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will just say go and preorder this now!
Pub Date is June 07, 2022.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a very confusing book but very good. It’s like a story within a story. Four become friends at the Boston Public Library when they hear a woman scream. Eventually a woman is found murdered and they discover that one of them might be the murderer but do t know how because they were together when the scream happened. Cain, Whit, Marigold and Winifred, (Freddie) become good friends in the midst of a crisis. One is a journalist, two are writers one is a student.. Freddie is a novelist with main characters of Handsome Man, Heroic Chin and Freud Girl based on the three friends in the library. Leo Johnston, who is a beta reader Hannah Tigon an Australian who because of the pandemic and closed countries can’t travel to the IS for research for her novels progress.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an ARC of this hook.

I seriously could not put this book down. I did not know what to expect from this book, but the twists kept coming and I needed to know what was happening! It was a bit Inception-esque with a mystery book inside a mystery book. It is a fun and exciting spin on the mystery novel.