This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. It was not at all what I was expecting, and I’m excited to talk about it!

The Woman in the Library is a story within a story. In one part of the story, it follows Hannah, an Australian mystery writer who is in the process of writing her latest novel. Her book takes place in Boston and she is sending chapters of her book to Leo, a man from Boston, so that he can tell her whether the book accurately represents Americans and the Boston area. These sections of the book are told almost entirely through the feedback that Leo emails to Hannah. But the majority of The Woman in the Library actually covers the mystery novel that Hannah is writing. Hannah’s book follows a woman named Winifred who bonds with three strangers when they all hear a woman’s scream in the Boston Public Library. They later discover that the scream came from a woman who was later found murdered. Shortly after the discovery of her body, they each start to be threatened, attacked, and stalked by an unknown person. The group of friends decide to come together to solve the mystery of who murdered the woman in the library, and who could be out to get them.

I really liked the story that followed Winifred and the three people she met in the library. I thought every character was lovable and interesting, and I was rooting for all of them. I was invested in all of their relationships with each other, and in Winifred’s relationship with her friendly neighbor, Leo. The fact that I cared about the characters made this book an easy, enjoyable read. I never felt like I had to force myself to get through any part of this story. It was also just a good, solid, well thought out mystery. It had clues that were nicely lain out, a perfect amount of red herrings, and a good reveal at the end.

Unfortunately I really really disliked like the part of the book that follows Hannah and Leo. I thought it was unnecessary and didn’t have enough information or a satisfying conclusion. It was a shell of a story that didn’t really contribute to the overall book in my opinion. I’m not really able to say much about Hannah and Leo’s story without spoiling the book, but I’ll just say that Leo’s letters change as the book progresses, and we watch as Hannah and Leo’s dynamic shifts. Eventually I just wanted to skip through Leo’s letters so I could get back to Winifred’s story. I was only able to enjoy this book as much as I did because fortunately the Hannah/Leo plot line didn’t take up much of the book.

If you’re looking for a good mystery novel I definitely recommend this one! I know I only gave it 3 stars, but it’s pretty close to being a 4 star book for me. I just hated the way the Hannah/Leo story was handled so much that I had to remove a star. Like I said, it doesn’t take up much of the story, so I don’t think you should be deterred from reading this book just because of it. Again, I enjoyed this book, and I do recommend it!

I am honestly having a terrible time getting into the book. I have put it down multiple times and read things in between. I think I may need to pick this up at another time. The switching between the letters and the story keep tripping me up.

4.5 stars. A very fun and unique mystery. A book within a book within a book that is a reverse locked room mystery (see if you can figure that one out). This one was very well plotted with great character development. I really did not know how this one would end until the very end. The very last line leaves me thinking, and I would totally love to discuss this one with someone. If you are a mystery lover, then definitely pick this one up!

3.5 stars. The Woman in the Library is a pretty unique take on a closed-door mystery, of sorts. It focuses on Hannah, a mystery writer, working from home in Australia because the pandemic prevented her from traveling to Boston for her research. Hannah’s work-in-progress is about Freddie (Winifred Kincaid), who works along with three other persons she meets one evening in the Boston Public Library to solve the mystery of who killed Caroline Palfrey in the library. One of these four is the murderer. Interspersed throughout this mystery is correspondence from Leo, a huge fan of Hannah’s, who lives in Boston and who becomes Hannah’s “eyes and ears” in Boston since her trip had to be postponed.

This is a very cleverly written novel, and it definitely has its share of twists which will keep you reading. However, the interjection of the Leo-Hannah correspondence (the “story within the story”) really did not work for me and seemed to take away from the mystery at hand. I nonetheless applaud the author's creativity in using this unique format. All in all, I did enjoy this read.

This was such a fun murder mystery read! There were so many points where I thought I knew who the killer was but then something would happen that would make me think it was someone else. Also the “story within a story” aspect was a cool addition to it. I recommend this if you’re looking for something pretty fast paced and attention grabbing

First let me shout out a big thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Second I don't understand the mixed reviews. I loved the book. I have never read anything by this author, but when I read it was about a murder in a library, I had to read it and was so excited to get a free copy!

I found it so exciting. I loved how the murder plot flowed so seemlessly. The story within the story was a big plus. The characters, setting, and plot were superb. Recommend. Five stars!

This book is for a younger crowd, the four characters are way too liberal for me, or my enjoyment. The pov of the main character will deal with motivation, or causes of behavior, then why doesn't our heroine deal with the psychological problems of the girl with all the body ink? What caused a sweet, well brought up young lady to destroy every inch of skin with ink? Surely that is as important as one of the male main characters problem of rebelling against his well off family of lawyers, they all have issues, which makes us human, the only problem is, you can't identify one as having unresolved emotional issues and not the others. The murder was interesting, I just wished the characters had been likeable.
I recommend for liberal young people. Thank you #Netgalley
carolintallahassee

The Woman in the Library was a really exciting read! It had just about everything from mystery to romance. I was hooked from the beginning and I couldn’t put it down!

My favourite book in quite a while - I loved it! Part thriller, part romance, a little comedy thrown in. I read a lot of thrillers, and this one stands out as something different.

Freddie, Handsome Man, Heroic Chin and Freud Girl - four strangers meeting for the first time in the Boston Public Library. They hear a scream. There is a dead body. And then there is Leo. Leo is what makes this story unique - he is a story within a story. Strangely helpful, friendly, but disturbing in equal measures... very disturbing...

I received a free review copy from the publisher, via Netgalley - thank you!

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to be an early reader of this novel within a novel. I enjoyed this tautly written mystery about Winifred, an author on a scholarship trip to the US who meets and bonds with Cain, Whit, and Marigold over their shared experience of hearing a woman being murdered. The foursome quickly become detectives to determine who killed Caroline. Many twists and turns before the surprise ending.

This title of this book doesn't even describe how amazing this writer is.. It takes place in Boston library but it comes in from from there it leaves all over the place. Actually 2 stories going on in this book That makes it such an amazing book because she has 2 platforms going on in a destruction novel that's pretty hard to do but she pulls it off like a champ. FR ADD I EMA RIGOLD comes in for I'll be comes in from Australia on a scholarship because she wrote a book and she is trying to write another book doing researchers at the library Based on something murder.. Then she meets a guy named Calvin Turns out to be tolling somebody else but you'll friend Margaret Also in the library that day was Walt Ann Margaret. A woman was murdered in the library named Caroline Caroline. It's really interesting how they went around different parts of Boston and a lot of where things happen. Well it turns out to be somebody you really wouldn't want to know. Margaret seems to be innocent but you'll find out later she really is not. So Calvin and Freddie I'm pretty start going around talking and stuff like that.. And there's like I ermine likes Freddie a lot but she doesn't really relate to him. It's like a murder mystery as well. The letter part of it is when you're reading a to a person called Hannah in Australia. And he explains what's going on after the chapters. You read the thing and read the story and then there's a letter at the end of the chapter and explains what's really going on. Everybody has to say in this book. I love the twist in the terms and you realize that the really the bad guy is not the original guy. Calvin had a lot of problems in life and you'll find this out but he really is a good soul. I think Freddie is amazing too because she actually believed in him and we go along with them. When this book is published to the to the public please buy it. So well written. I've not read about this good in such a long time

4.5 stars
Thanks to #netgalley and #poisonpenpublishing for the advance copy of #thewomaninthelibrary
What an unusual treatment. It's a story within a story in a way I haven't read before. One story is correspondence based between an Australian author writing a mystery set in Boston and an American living in Boston. The second story is the novel she's writing which is being told in the first person so at first I was confused about what was real. But I quickly settled into the flow and it was done so well - the man in Boston corresponding with "helpful" commentary on the progression of the novel and the actual novel.

The mystery is a closed room ala Agatha Christie - a scream is heard in the Boston library and 4 people sharing a table in the library become suspects - which one is a killer? Of course, twists and misdirections abound. Good characters, unusual friendships, a peek into an author's thought processes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend you pick it up when it's out in July!

Thrilling mystery will take you for a ride! There is so much going on here. Strangers bond after a murder in the library. But, are they truly strangers? Was there really even a murder when they heard a scream? Is one of them responsible? And Leo. Oh boy. Writing too much will give too much away.

The author does a great job of bringing you into the story. It was extremely difficult to put down as I was trying to figure out whodunnit, why etc. Amy thoughts kept changing with each new development. We are presented that this is fiction, but there is also the correspondence between the fictional writer and a research assistant that takes the story into Eden more amazing places. Excellent read! I’ve never read anything like this.

I'm not so sure about this book. The concept of a novel in a novel was a bit distracting for me. I would focus on the novel being written and then we'd switch to the letters discussing it. I just wanted to stay in one story. Also, I'm a bit confused on how both stories ended. Overall, this is a unique concept but I just wasn't a fan of the style.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

The Woman in the Library is a page-turning mystery you will not want to miss. I was hooked from the first page. Thanks to author Sulari Gentill, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this ebook for review.

Wow! I loved this book! It's the story of a book within a book and I'm all for it! But also, the fact that is by an Australian author makes it even better.

This was an interesting premise! An author writing a thriller and sharing chapters with an increasingly... intense beta-reader. The two-part narrative was an interesting idea! But the execution sometimes leads to an abrupt de-escalation of tension in both narratives. However! I would still recommend this book, I actually enjoyed it a lot. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I could NOT put this book down. Seriously, I binge-read it in a day. Full of twists and turns, it had me questioning everything that I thought I knew. It was the perfect mystery, full of suspense and intrigue, with a brilliant ending.

I loved the academic setting, and the main character was a superb narrator. Without giving away too much, I also enjoyed the inclusion of Leo's POV. It added another layer of mystery to the story, which had me on the edge of my seat while reading. Overall a 5-star read for me.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill follows main character Freddy, an aspiring novelist who becomes acquainted with three other friends when they all are present when they hear a scream in the Boston Public Library reading room. When they realize that a woman has been found dead, the three work to unravel the mystery.

I absolutely loved the structure of this book. It is almost mind-boggling. Technically, the book is a book about a woman writing a book about a woman writing a book. Exactly. So confusing and yet so cool! You get letters from a super-fan named Leo who is writing to the author of the story, Hannah, and giving critiques of her novel (the storyline following Freddy and friends) as she writes it. I absolutely loved this structure and the little letters from Leo at the end of each chapter. That being said, I do think that Leo's letters could've been expanded upon a little bit to flesh out what becomes the ultimate conclusion of that storyline.

I enjoyed the main characters, and I thought the author did a great job keeping us on edge about each of them and whether we could trust them. Overall, the mystery of who killed the woman in the library kept me engaged and flipping pages.

I found the end to be a little bit rushed, and I'm not sure I totally buy the motive behind the woman's killing. No spoilers, though! You'll have to read it and see what you think.

Overall, I would recommend this to anybody who loves a fast-paced mystery that keeps you guessing. I think the structure was the strongest point of the novel and included another layer of mystery and intrigue as the story goes on.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

What an adventure! Murder, a library, a writer and found family. The fast paced plot and the untangling mystery kept me eager to pick up this book. I think it was the plot that kept me engaged though as I never really connected with the characters and the romance which also occur. I loved the 'story within a story' element of this book and thought it was an interesting look at the world in which we are currently living in. A solid 4 star rating and would be interested in picking up other books by this author.