What began as a cozy mystery became true terror at moments.

This is a story-in-a-story mystery about a set of pen pals and four friends who are tied together by a scream in a library. How does it get better than that?

Although it was very difficult to parse the layers of storytelling in the first 2-3 chapters, I felt there was something magnetic about this story from the very beginning. Perhaps it is the mastery with which the author flows from the conversational tone of the pen pals to the narrative voice of the central mystery. Throughout the book, you’ll find a cast of mostly well-developed characters and friendships that feel like a cozy sweater. It is dark and warm and written in a book lovers’ landscape.

A notable content warning and critique: There are mentions of both child and adult sexual abuse that absolutely weren’t necessary to the plot or character development. (I wouldn’t have read it at all if I had known this in advance.)

P.S. Read the authors note after you’ve finished the book. There’s some fascinating info about the inspiration for the story.

This book blew me away! I loved the concept of a novel within a novel. The characters were bold and brilliantly written. The plot kept me guessing. I would recommend this to all mystery lovers. A wonderful book from front to back.

A lovely whodunit with a twist, this is a mystery within a mystery. It begins with a letter from Leo, a fan, to Hannah, an Australian renowned mystery author who seeks to give advice on her new manuscript that she is writing. Due to Covid restrictions, she is stuck in Australia and unable to travel to Boston. As the setting of her story is set in Boston, Leo offers to give her local research for her book and untold advice. As the story progresses, however, it seems as if his advice becomes a bit obsessive and intense. The real mystery story that we see unfold takes place in the Boston Library that begins with a scream. Heard by four people together in one of the reading rooms, they are drawn together by this event becoming fast friends to unravel the mystery when a dead woman’s body is found the next day. Hannah has created her nemesis, Freddie, as also an Australian mystery writer, who seeking inspiration for her next book hunkers down in the library and observes those around her for characters in her book. There is Freud Girl (Marigold) who is a psychology student, Heroic Chin (Cain) who is a published author, and Handsome Man (Whit), a failing law student. Each have their own back story that slowly unfolds as the mystery story by Hannah is written and shared with Leo. However fast friends, could one of them be the killer?
I loved the different premise of the story within a story as Leo writes to Hannah. The characters are multidimensional and complex. What you think you know, makes you second guess yourself. That she chooses to add a character, also named Leo, into the actual mystery at the library is clever and unnerving. There are lots of twists and turns and one that will leave you at the end saying…whaaat? It does get a bit creepy but in a delightful way. This book makes you think, as you try to decipher reality from fiction because at times they seem to cross over. This great whodunit is worth the read.

Many thanks to #netgalley #thewomaninthelibrary #poisonedpenpress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"Dear Hannah, what are you writing?"

From the beginning, you know that Gentill's novel is a story within a story. We start with a letter from a mysterious "Leo" who is giving advice to Hannah, the author of the story we are going to read. I have to say that this immediately intrigued me - Leo came off a little desperate (I almost thought he was a fan, at first), and almost creepy when he writes "I so regret that I was unable to come to New York when you toured last fall." And if beginning the book with a letter wasn't interesting enough, I was quickly sucked into the quicksand of the story itself.

Four strangers (two of them who are writers themselves) are connected by a woman's scream in the Boston Public Library and find themselves in the middle of a murder and, more thrillingly, a whodunit. As friendly as they became, little did they know that one of them was the killer. Our main character, Freddie, uses her new friends - an ex-convict novelist, a psychology student stalker, and a trying-to-fail law student - as inspiration in her own novel, and as the mystery unravels, the plot becomes more thrilling.

Each character is complex and believable, to the point where I forgot which characters were fictional and which were not!n The story within a story also got increasingly dark, as our "friendly" Leo's input becomes unnatural (in the form of pictures of actual murders). I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, as it was clever and did not have to rely on supernatural twists to keep the plot compelling. Well done!

We Heard Her Scream…

Addictive. This book was hard to put down! And the subplot was chilling. I didn’t know which one I was more excited to continue reading. I’m proud to say that I picked the murderer early on, but that’s not due to the mystery being easily figured out. There’s so many twists and turns and information dumps that it just continues to get more interesting with every page. I loved the characters and character development to the point where I’m a little sad that it’s a stand alone book and not a series (although there is potential for that to change). The author has such a great writing style that makes me want to read everything she’s written! It’s a must read!

x Sarah - Anneoftucson Reviews

The Woman in the Library is a clever murder mystery on its own, but the supposed author of the book has her own story which is revealed by an ominous fan of her work. After getting used to the story within a story, I was able to enjoY this book and finish it in one day. Great plotting and fine description of restaurants that I plan to discover on my next visit to Boston, the setting of the story.

I was eager to read this one since the premise was so interesting: murder, library, writers... It really seemed like my type of book!

Unfortunately, I wasn't engaged in the story at all and I finished it only because I had receiced an ARC.😕 I wasn't really curious about the identity of the murderer nor in the different relationships between the characters.

One thing I did enjoy was the concept of a story within a story with the letters from a fan to the author. On the other hand, I feel like this idea could have been more elaborate.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

Publication date: 07 Jun 2022

The idea of a story inside a story, Strangers meeting in a library and a murder in the library. These are all intriguing aspects of the book. However, the story moves slowly and at times is confusing. The plot falls flat and there are inconsistencies. I liked the setting of the strangers becoming friends so continued reading but it was not unputdownable.

I was excited to read The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill because the premise was intriguing: a woman is murdered in the Boston Public Library as four strangers sit at the same table not knowing that one of them is the murderer. The blurb led me to believe this would be a locked room mystery, but that was not the case.

I give this book kudos for its clever use of the "story within a story" tool. My favorite parts were reading the letters from the fan to the author and then seeing his character in the main plot. I was afraid this aspect might be confusing, but the author explained things clearly.

The mystery itself wasn't that exciting, and the pace was too slow to call it a thriller. The characters fell flat for me, as I didn't care about any of them all that much.

While this book didn't live up to its potential for me, I liked it well enough that I will recommend it to readers who appreciate the story within a story trope.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

A book within a book! I really enjoyed reading The Woman in the Library. The way this book is written is so fun and unique and I found myself drawn to both storylines. I was hooked from the first couple chapters as the characters have dimension and the prose is smart and concise. Definitely recommend!

This was a fun mystery inside a mystery! The pages turned easily and quickly. There were a couple ideas that seemed a little off topic in the book, but they did not distract too much. Readers will have to pay close attention so as not to confuse the two mysteries. It kept me guessing!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. I really liked the storyline and the characters. I was excited to turn the pages. What’s not to love about a book about books!

Although this is not the first book to use a twisty plot or unreliable characters, it is the first I've encountered that has a twisty character attempting to influence an unreliable plot.

Gentill uses the frame of the book's narrator/writer corresponding with a possible character who advocates more violence, explicit references to the characters' races, and acknowledgement of the pandemic. That frame allows her to do all the things her character advocates while pretending not to do so. It also allows her to play with fact/fiction, illusion/reality, and do so under the reasonable guise of ending each chapter with a letter from her off-stage writing adviser.

I found the book entertaining and captivating with good characterizations and enough to plot “reveals” to keep me reading well after time to turn off the light.

I hadn’t expected to enjoy it nearly as much as I did — highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sulari Gentill for this ARC of The Woman in the Library. On to the review.

This book had me hooked from the beginning! I was expecting a great, but run of the mill, who done it mystery/thriller novel but was pleasantly surprised! I won’t lie, the story within a story aspect of the book threw me for a loop for a little bit, but once I got that sorted I was not disappointed!

The story within a story certainly added extra layers to the plot in a way that wasn’t distracting, and once you got to the “twist”? Instantly added more dread and anxiety than there was present before.

I would absolutely recommend this book to friends who I know like mystery and thriller novels!

I am absolutely in love with the style of writing for this novel!!! The story itself had me guessing and second guessing who the murderer was and what was going on. Will definitely be highly recommending this book to everyone I know!

I'm so grateful for getting the chance to read this ARC through NetGalley!

I would like to precede by saying that while I rate this book a 3 out of 5, I’m sure many people would give it 4 out of 5.

While I didn’t love the book, I would still say it was worth me reading it, especially once it got to about halfway - I did actually find it exciting and got hooked in.

The mix of characters was definitely a strength of the book, being current and relatable. The biggest plus though was the plot, it genuinely isn’t easy to figure out and keeps you guessing with subtle twists and turns. I was unsure whether I enjoyed the additional element of author correspondences, maybe at first it was a little too meta and confusing, however the concept felt unique and gave an interesting insight into being a writer.

For the weaknesses, the first part of the book (~15%) was spent setting the scene which possibly took a bit too long and lost me a little bit. The character interactions at points felt a little tired and shallow and I personally didn’t feel drawn in by any of the characters. Overall, I would just say the book missed a certain sparked to really excite me and make it an “unputdownable” read.

What a ride! I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure in all its intensity and sometimes cheesiness! There was commentary about the pandemic and race intermixed which made it a very relevant book but those parts weren’t even a part of the actual story. I felt like this was a super unique read and really enjoyed the author.

Don’t trust white men:)

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and of course the author Sulari Gentill for this advanced digital copy!

A mystery that starts in a library. Sold! I was hooked from the very start. It pulled me in and never let go. I absolutely loved this unique, twisty, highly entertaining, and layered story. If you like unique formats, mysteries, and books about books, check this out!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a really clever approach to a murder mystery! The frame of using emails between a fictional author and the author's writing is a new one to me. The email subplot is just as intriguing as the main plot of the novel, despite how few pages it takes up. I found it funny when the emails would point out inconsistencies or errors and the author would correct them - it reveals a lot about the revision and feedback cycle that readers are usually not privy to, and I was thrilled to be in the know. As a teacher, I think this look into the meta parts of writing will be interesting for some of my students to read, and I'll be sure to recommend this book to them!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

This book was so confusing. I'm still not 100 percent sure what happened. It's a story within a story and I honestly don't know which part was what. However, I still gave it 4 stars because it had me guessing up until the last page, and even beyond. I was hoping the end would clarify things, but it didn't, at least not for me. It was intriguing and suspenseful though, which is, I think, what made me still give it a high rating. Plus, the characters were very likeable, which helps.