3.5 rounded up.

This book starts out with a murder in a library that ties together four strangers that would have never met otherwise. Bonded over this experience, they begin an unusual experience.

Freddie the aspiring writer.

Cain the handsome man.

Whit the young law student.

Marigold the psych student.

Together they will start to reveal secret upon secret while trying to unravel who really murdered the woman in the library.

The book was quite unique with containing a mystery within a mystery. I spent a lot of time contemplating how the two plots would eventually tie together. While I enjoyed the overall premise and pace of this novel, I found the ending a bit lack luster.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

An author shares chapters of a book she's working on (about an Australian mystery writer in Boston on a fellowship) with a fan and aspiring novelist named Leo. After each chapter, we see an email from Leo, who starts out by giving helpful tips on American English and Boston locales. But when he starts urging the author to include more violent scenes and displays knowledge of some murders, we see that he is disturbed and possibly a serial killer. The twin storylines of how the author deals with Leo and how the Australian writer within the book deals with the mystery she's found herself in make for fascinating reading. And Gentill cleverly uses Leo's emails, where he wonders why the races of the characters are not revealed and why Covid is never alluded to, to raise questions in the reader's mind about her own story.

I loved this book! It was such an interesting premise and really kept you guessing. I loved that there were almost two different stories going at once. It really added a twist to the main story. Having lived in the Boston area years go, I loved the setting as well.

This novel comes out on June 7, 2022. The publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, provided me an early galley in exchange for an honest review.

As a librarian, the title of the book immediately grabbed my attention. I very much enjoy books that revolve around a library. But I quickly found that this story appealed to another aspect of my personality even more - the writer in me. I have always wanted to be a writer since I was a child in the 70's. Having not one but three of the characters being writers made this story even more fascinating.

The story's structure I also find intriguing. As noted, it involves writers. Yet each chapter has an added framing element which I found worked very well - that being the letters from the real Leo to the Australian writer Hannah. He provides constructive criticism for her writing that we see get worked into her ongoing story, which is the story of the four friends and the murder at the library. I have never encountered this meta-technique used in a book before; it gives this novel another interesting layer. In some ways, it reminded me of the monthly writing group I run at our local library and how we offer one another constructive criticisms on our work.

As for the main mystery - Hannah's story within the story, I found it played out well. I am very critical of the mystery genre in general, especially if an ending appears to come out of leftfield. I expect the clues to be there for me as a reader to discover along the way, and Sulari met those expectations for me here. I am encouraged to seek out more of her work after reading this one.

“With a great readership comes great responsibility”
“And so we go to the Map Room to find a friendship, and I have my first coffee with a killer”
This book was really good !!!actually it was a mystery plot inside a mystery plot!!’
The romance playing in the background, the mystery, the investigation, the past, the secrets and the identities and the writing parts (because we’re talking about writers) got all together to create a book that was easy to get into, easy to follow and some characters that are very very good to read about!!!
Honestly the last paragraph for each chapter where we have this side personality who leaves comments, notes and opinions about the chapter and insights of the story was really good to read and finding out, later on, who this person it definitely added to the vibe and the novelty of the book!!
I found myself more than once siding for one character or with the other but getting more confused the more I was reading about them!!!
I couldn’t really figure out who the real killer was.
I’m glad I had the chance to read it but I sense that the story is not over. I sense that there are still some secrets to be uncovered and some characters that we haven’t seen enough!!!
“The mystery writers, the historical novelists, the political thriller writers, the science fiction writers … everybody but the people who write instruction manuals, is writing romance”
“It’s a murder now”

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Woman in the Library.

The premise was so intriguing, but it was a bit more complicated than I expected.

It's a story within a story, kind of meta, where an author is writing a manuscript and her life begins to mirror the book she's writing.

At the same time, a stan is writing her admiring letters that gradually become obsessive and homicidal.

I liked the author's writing style; that's the biggest plus, but the mystery...not so much.

It was not suspenseful or dramatic; in fact, I guessed who did it early on, but the characters didn't draw me in, nor did I sympathize or connect with any of them.

At first, I liked the idea of a story within a story, but it sort of became confusing, though the correspondence at the end of each chapter reminded me. But this soon became distracting, and brought me out of the story itself.

I liked the concept of a story within a story, but the characters and mystery weren't unique and I thought the reason behind the murder was kind of silly.

I would read the author's next book.

This is my first Sulari Gentill book, and received an ARC copy from NetGalley for an honest review...
I love the setting in Boston, who did it, the back story of 2 writers and the premise of book. If I'm being honest though, I hated the back and forth with crazy stalker writer at the end of every chapter. At first it was confusing, why add it? Then it was too much and I almost threw my kindle and stopped reading once it got to talking about covid (which I get, fine) but then this whole issue with race and wanting it forced to say are the characters white or black. I would have enjoy the book much more without it added to the end of every chapter.
Again, this is an honest review... I read to escape the news and enjoy stories. This just felt like listening to the news or someone telling me how to feel. Here are a few examples of what's at the end of each chapter,
-The reality is, I suppose, that I am a straight white man with no diversity of disadvantage to offer as a salve for this fashionable collective guilt that rules publishing. I understand that popular correctness demands that men like me be denied to compensate for all the years which were given too much. I just wish I'd had a chance to enjoy a little of that privilege before it became a liability.
- I've assumed he's white, If he is Black the likelihood of being shot by the police quite high, and this whole fugitive from the law caper is a great deal more dangerous.
-I admire your determination to ignore skin color, but it's a bit like ignoring the virus. It's not real. Whether or not a character is Black will affect his story arc...but perhaps that's the point you want to make by ignoring it. Do you want readers to say this couldn't happen to Black people, and then wonder, why not? Is that what you're saying
-People who've assumed these people are white may feel betrayed and tricked if they realize that the people they've invested in could be Black. Some folks only want to read about their own kind, and even the idea that a character could be Black, means he's not white enough. It's just the way it is.
-The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Cain is Black. You really do need to let people know at the outset. If you don't want to say it outright, perhaps you could have him wear hoodies throughout.
-You're setting this book in America-you cannot ignore race. It needs to be declared. If a character is not white, you cannot treat him as though he is. It's simply absurd. And if he's white, he cannot live in Roxbury without comment as to why.
-Needles to say, I suggest you remove all the hoodies and replace them with some fucking masks!

I truly enjoyed this book! A mystery inside a mystery - a book inside a book! I lived the way the story was told - the excellent character development and the way it was all neatly wrapped up!

I'm still not convinced Leo didn't do it!!

I enjoyed this book and really liked the structure of the book with the letters throughout. I felt like things moved too quickly in the subplot at the end.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It had me hooked since the very first chapter. That one line, "And so we go to the Map Room to found a friendship, and I have my first coffee with a killer," was what originally hooked me. But then, the story took off more with the romance and constant plot twists!

I loved the addition of Leo's notes to Hannah and the revelation that he was not in fact who he seemed to be right away. You start getting hints after awhile which led me to start hating him, and then the twist was revealed. I do think that Leo got a little bit dark, but I assume that that's just his character.

I love all the characters! They have amazing back stories and I liked the idea that Hannah was writing this story while talking to Leo!

An interesting mystery within a mystery. On the day that a writer meets 3 people in the public library, a woman screams and dies. Someone plays that scream to her later on, involving her, as it increasingly appears that one of the 4 may be the culprit. Then we find out that this mystery is fictional, and the real one is unfolding in letters. A slow first half is compensated with a racy second half. Though it is predictable enough, the writing gives you moments of disquiet. The scenic prose is enjoyable.

Book within a book.
The story starts with four strangers sitting in a room located in the Boston Public Library when a woman's scream is heard. Security guars ask everyone in the room to stay until the problem can be identified. The four begin to talk and decide to go for coffee once they are released from the room.
It turns out that this is a chapter in a book being written by an Australian author who shares it with a fan based in Boston. The fan responds with his thoughts and suggestions on each chapter the author sends.
When the four learn a woman's body was discovered later at the library, they begin to investigate - surprising connections are revealed as the book progresses and the fan's responses become more intense.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy.

I was surprised how much I really liked this book. I finished it in basically a day, two different reading sessions. Because I NEEDED to finish it. I had to know. I tend more to nonfiction and fluffy, cozy mysteries, mind candy. Or things from Christie/Marsh/Sayers. But this one was good and fun and funny and interesting. And I didn’t guess the “villain” until the gun was in their hand.

At first, I didn’t think I’d like the framing of the letters from Leo to Hannah around the “real” storyline. And I conceived an intense dislike, without cause or reason, for Leo just based on his first letter. Who knew??!!

But the stories were good, compelling, addictive even. And there were so many lyrical phrases and descriptions scattered throughout - Marigold was the source for so many. Odd, her being the non-writer. But in a way, that made it all the better.

The mystery is well done, the characters are mostly well rounded with a few neat surprises. And I do like the intense discussions by Leo (only) around the pandemic and race. It made the story all the better for not being included. Because it made you think. Not something that happens in many mysteries. I’m thinking it will be big with book clubs and discussion groups. Because it’s a important in the book. Without being in the book.

I don’t do plot retellings in my reviews (you’ll read the descriptions elsewhere) and I rarely give more than three stars. As I say in my profile “If I like a book, it's a good read or I would recommend it, it is a 4. I wish more books alighted here. I do find enough to keep me reading.”

This is a four star book. Heck, maybe even 4.5.

This is a book I got from NetGalley. But truly, that had no influence. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump, not really interested in anything. This book took me right out of that. So Thank You, Sulari Gentill.

Sulari Gentill’s “The Woman in the Library” has such an enticing premise: a story-within-a-story in which fictional author Hannah Tigone pens a tale about four strangers becoming friends over a murder mystery and shares her developing novel chapter-by-chapter with e-mail pal and aspiring writer Leo for feedback. The mystery is told from the perspective of Freddie, a visiting Australian who is in the U.S. for a creative writing fellowship, and begins when she shares a table at the Boston Public Library with fellow scribe Cain, psychology student Marigold, and law student Whit. Each are trying to work on their respective projects until a scream from somewhere in the building alarms them all.

Gentill is a decent writer and there are so many elements in this book that I typically adore—whodunit! writer characters! real-life settings!—but ultimately it didn’t capture my attention or imagination as much as I hoped it would. The narrative structure is unique and interesting, but for me it was almost disruptive to the flow of storytelling. I largely felt disconnected from the characters and their motivations. I cared about Hannah’s plotline most of all, but unfortunately I don’t think we got enough of it. Overall, this is an okay mystery, but it wasn’t a particularly thrilling or engrossing one for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This review was published online on May 2, 2022 to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4578236334.

Figuring out the structure of this story was a bit of a mind bender but once I understood, I couldn’t stop reading! We are reading a story being written by Hannah Tigone and sent to one of her fans. After each chapter she sends him, he replies with his analysis and critiques. In Hannah’s story, four people are brought together after a scream is heard in the library where they are all working.

I loved this book! This was such an interesting layout for a book and I couldn’t put this down. I enjoyed the story within a story as well as the suspense that built throughout the author’s correspondence with her fan. This was truly such a unique book and so beautifully written.

I would highly recommend this to any thriller/mystery fans who enjoy an intricate plot

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced reading copy!

Multi layered, fast pace dive into 2 parallel stories.

You had me at the scream. An “unlocked room” thriller kicked off by a very public scream with a varied and colorful cast of characters leads the reader through Boston on the trail of a murderer. Everything you think you know about the characters and narrative is flipped by the plot device of a story within a story. While an interesting concept, it detracted a bit from the flow for me. Nonetheless, I found myself reading at every opportunity to squeeze a few pages in to figure out whodunnit. I can enthusiastically recommend this book.

This was really great. The storytelling structure of this book is one I haven’t seen before and I enjoyed very much. It’s basically a book inside of a letter inside of a book, with the reader getting to see the novel and the emails from the beta reader (a fictional one). It also felt a little bit like a twist on a closed door mystery— the murder happens with all of our suspects basically staring each other in the face.

It took me a couple chapters to be hooked, but once I got the hang of the structure I wasn’t so worried about the pacing. And the book really hit its stride about a third of the way through.

Review of Advance Reader’s Edition eBook

The reading room of the Boston Public Library becomes the focal point for four people sitting at the same table in the ornate room. Winifred Kincaid, recipient of a Marriot Scholarship, has come to Boston from Australia. She is at the library to work on her manuscript.

The woman seated beside her, arms covered with tattoos, reads a book by Freud. The young man sitting across the table wears a Harvard Law sweatshirt. Next to him sits a man working on his laptop. Freddie wonders about each of them as she considers the possibility of making each of them characters in her story.

And then a terrifying scream interrupts the quiet.

The four head for the Map Room, the closest place to get coffee. As the four ponder the reason for the blood-curdling scream, Marigold Anastas, Whit Metters, Cain MacLeod, and Freddie strike up a friendship. Soon they learn of the murder of a woman, Caroline Palfrey, in the Chavannes Gallery.

As the newly-formed group of friends seeks answers to the murder, they will find danger awaits around every turn. Soon they will wonder if one of the four of them could be the murderer.

=========

This book has an interesting format. Australian writer Hannah Tigone converses with a colleague, Leo Johnson, in Boston about the novel she is writing. She sends him a completed chapter; he offers comments, provides appropriate facts, and does what he can to support her writing. The narrative, then, becomes a chapter of Hannah’s work, followed by Leo’s comments.

The plot twists and turns as readers eventually realize the story about Freddie, Marigold, Whit, and Cain is Hannah’s manuscript. The story-within-a-story keeps the pages turning as readers try to determine the identity of the murderer in the library.

As the unfolding narrative reveals Leo’s replies to Hannah’s chapters, readers realize the comments Leo makes have become increasingly critical as if he is seeking to change Hannah’s story. It definitely adds a strong creepy factor to the telling of the tale.

The characters are well-drawn and believable; the twisty story complex and unpredictable. Guaranteed to entertain as it cleverly highlights the struggles of a writer, the evolving story is complex, creepy, and smart.

One caveat . . . the author’s continual propensity to use exclamatory phrases that include the name of Jesus in a disrespectful manner becomes quite off-putting and is the sole reason for lowering the rating for the book.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley
#TheWomanintheLibrary #NetGalley

Absolutely fantastic. I have not read any books by this author before but love this genre and was not disappointed. The story is written in a really unique way which allows more than one plot to unravel at once and had me hooked from very early on. It starts Dear Hannah, a letter from an American fan to a famous Australian author - Hannah Tigone , the letters continue throughout the book offering advice and tips. At first this appears to be quite helpful as the book is being written during the pandemic, so no research trips allowed, therefore, having this insight of Boston would obviously be of great help. But, as the book progresses you begin to suspect that maybe Leo (who is writing these letters) is not quite what he appears to be.
The story follows Winifred (Freddie) a young author writing her first novel in Boston. One afternoon she is writing in the Boston Public Library when there is a scream. She is sat on a table with three others and they start to chat about the scream , wondering who it could be. They soon learn that the scream came from a young woman who is found dead by a member of the library cleaning staff later the same day.
The team of four are now curious as to who murdered this woman and why. As the plot twists and turns I suspect just about everyone ! There are lots of secrets uncovered and everyone seems to have a motive at some point so the true identity of the murderer is only revealed at the very end - just how a cosy murder plot should be. Brilliant.

ARC releasing 6/7/22. The outer story is Hannah receiving feedback on the inner story which are 4 strangers who become friends to solve a murder and secrets are exposed. This was boring and confusing. The characters all fell in love within a day and the outer story made less sense than the inner story which I didn’t think was even possible.