I had high-hopes for this novel after reading its description. There were too many characters to follow and develop a personal connection. It isn’t a fast paced read, it’s a slow burn leading up to a few good twists. The setting was a bit creepy, takes place in the basement of a campus library. The characters personalities were over-the-top and could not relate to any of them. It’s a good book if the reader enjoys Greek mythology and ancient ritual practices.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a complimentary copy of this novel!

Seven individuals comprised of graduate students, library staff and a plus one is invited to partake in a Greek ritual in the basement of the university library where the rare books are held. Once all the library workers leave, the participants arrive and are locked in the library’s basement until the following morning. All participants are told to fast 24 hours in advance and then when they arrive in the basement, one of them provide a pill for each one to take. As they’re about to begin, one of them starts coughing up blood and collapses dead on the floor. As the story progresses, more of them die by one means or another. There is no way to escape the murderer. The entire basement becomes a bloodbath.

While I enjoyed the overall premise and setting of this novel, the ending just did not cut it for me. It was abrupt and I was expecting so much more. As you read it, the novel builds up and builds up until the very end. When I turned the last page I was left disappointed. I expected a better ending.

I will be posting this review to Goodreads, Instagram, and TikTok only.

I found this really hard to read and I actually quit towards the end and skimmed the rest. The characters just weren’t there for me. But I would read more from the author. Thank you Poisoned Pen press, Eva Jurczyk, and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another DNF. I’m on a streak. I just found all the characters really blah and once again it just didn’t grab me from the start. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.2⭐️

The cover and title conjured up a story like A House With a Clock in its Walls for me, something with a bit of whimsy and library magic, but the reality fell far short of that expectation. Set in the rare books library at a college in Vermont, student librarian Davey invites a small group of library workers (and a couple random friends) to perform a Greek ritual that's supposed to free you from fear on the night before graduation. They hide in the basement until the head librarian locks up for the night, which includes a metal fence locking them in the basement two floors below ground level until morning, and then they drop acid to kick things off because the Greeks were also on a hallucinogenic when they performed it. Someone dies basically right away and it just keeps getting worse from there. There was a lot of potential here, however, the characters are all unlikeable, the dialogue is unnatural and the pacing isn't great. The ritual never happens because they're too busy making terrible decisions, and you have to wonder why a group of "smart" people would think this was a fun idea in the first place.

That Night In The Library was a nice quick read with a really interesting premise and while it kept me turning the pages, I just kept waiting for something...more.
For a more indepth review you can check out my spoiler free YouTube review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-6fbpGUPj8

_That Night in the Library_ by Eva Jurczyk is a fast-paced and suspenseful mystery read told from multiple points of view. Seven students decide to take part in an ancient Greek ritual in the basement of the university library after-hours, and as the night begins, one of them dies right in front of the group. The surviving students must determine the killer if they want to leave the library alive. Readers who enjoy some Greek mythology and mystery may like this read, however the characters are a bit difficult to connect with and the story is a little rushed as well.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I had really high hopes for this book - libraries, murder mystery, intrigue! Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. It was graphic, iolent, and just not fun at all. It was so unnecessarily dark and just left kind of a bad taste in my mouth.

Thanks again for the ARC!

Some college students lock themselves in a rare books library on the eve of graduation to carry out a ritual. Chaos ensues.

The plot had promise but it immediately fell off. The constant switching points of view leaves no time to absorb, to get to know anyone. It’s overwhelming and over complicated.

There's references to rare books and religions, languages and all manner of intellectual things, and while they do make sense in the setting, it all comes off as a bit pedantic. This pedantry leads to a painfully slow story, which is lead by characters who are wholly insufferable. It takes nearly 25% of the book for anything to even start happening.

There is a whole plot device of most of the students getting high, for no apparent reason, and this “ritual” is never explained really. It’s sprinkled in bits throughout, but never explained in any detail (see: pedantic). It reads like a Franzen novel: talking down to a reader.

I disliked the formatting and constant story switching - all 3rd person and chaotic. There’s chapters and sub chapters, formatted very much like a college research paper, and it doesn’t work for a novel. The characters are woefully underdeveloped, nobody seems to have any real redeeming qualities, and the plot and premise are, at best, convoluted.

I’m giving 2 stars for the premise.

A locked room mystery in a library sounds good to me. Add in the premise of 7 seniors reenacting an ancient Greek ritual in the basement with the rare books and I was sold. There were some action-packed scenes and I liked the twist, but I just couldn’t relate to or even like any of the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved reading the concept for this book. College seniors who work in a library locking themselves in to do a ritual that goes wrong. It sounds like a book that I would love. Sadly, it really missed the mark. The characters are really one dimensional. There is nobody that you can root or stand behind. The author jumps between them so much that I tended to zone out. So much so that when I got to certain points, I had to go back to figure out what I had missed. The end does have a lovely twist yet getting there was difficult. Personally, this book will be hard for me to recommend.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Seven students meet in their rare books library to perform a ritual to free themselves from the fear of death. No one is allowed in the library after closing, so when the lights go out and only the seven of them remain, the night turns deadly.

It's a great locked room mystery told from seven povs with a twisty end. The characters are insufferable, so I do think you need to try and put this aside to enjoy the book because it is great. In this library, you don't just work and read your consumed by it.

Oh. My. GOD!! This is the second Jurczyk novel I have read, and I have loved them both so, so much!! Both of her novels have had juuuuuust enough mystery to keep me entertained, and I can't wait to see this one hit shelves!

With promises of completing the Eleusinian Mysteries ritual on the eve of their college graduation seven people lock themselves in the basement of a rare books library in sleepy Vermont hoping to end their night enlightened and unafraid. Then someone dies.

The premise of this book had promise but it fell flat almost immediately. There are seven characters and in the beginning there are seven points of view. This quickly becomes overwhelming. There's references to rare books and religions and languages that make sense in the setting and the mostly diverse cast of characters but it's a slow, slow descent into the basement of the library and takes a quarter of the book before anything starts to happen. Which, of course, leaves you with a quarter of the book to realize that most of these people are insufferable. Some of them have a few redeeming qualities but it's few and far between (I will give Ro a pass, but unfortunately he is the least developed of the crew).

The ritual is never really explained. It's peppered in and out, especially at the beginning, but there's no real explanation of what they were meant to be doing or what they thought was going to happen. Some of them thought it was a party, others didn't. They almost all did the drugs anyway. I struggled to connect why most of them would even agree to be there. And the night before graduation at that? There's no way.

When the action does happen it's a brief reprieve from being reminded over and over again how smart these people are supposed to be and what stupid decisions they make. By the time the third body hit the floor and everyone is still debating who could have killed the first I clocked what was happening. This is the Bodies, Bodies, Bodies of books.

There's too much that didn't work here. The unlikeable characters, believing any of them would ever agree to this ritual when and where it was to be done, some of the chapter formatting was unnecessary too. It was kind of difficult to finish for all of these reasons.

I loved the idea of this book! The ending was interesting as well because I would never have imagined the event that occurred to be a catalyst in a murder mystery. However, I couldn’t relate to the characters. Some of them were boring, others unrealistic, and yet, I feel as if I didn’t really know too much about them even with the random flashbacks into their pasts. I am appreciative to have read the ARC, so thanks Netgalley!

I enjoyed this a lot! I do wish it had been maybe 10 pages longer, with two-ish pages devoted to each character getting more backstory so we could care a bit more when they meet their end. It was a bit tough caring deeply when characters started to die, since I did not have a connection established with them yet. I also wish the "ritual" was described more, or had occurred prior to everything else going down. Still, a short, accessible closed room mystery that will appeal to young adult and adult audiences.

In "That Night in the Library," Eva Jurczyk delivers a chilling locked room mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Set on the night before graduation, seven students gather in the basement of their university's rare books library for a ritual borrowed from the Greeks. But when the lights go out and one of them drops dead, the group is trapped with a murderer on the loose.

As the body count rises and secrets are revealed, the group must rely on the books around them to protect themselves and uncover the truth. With each page, the tension builds, culminating in a cut-throat final twist and reveal that will leave you breathless.

Jurczyk's writing is gripping and atmospheric, transporting readers to a world where secrets lurk in the dark and the only way out is to wait until morning. With its clever plot, well-drawn characters, and unexpected twists, "That Night in the Library" is a must-read for fans of literary mysteries and psychological thrillers.

Once you enter the library, there is no turning back. So grab a copy of "That Night in the Library" and prepare to be immersed in a world where books breathe fears to life and the only way out is to uncover the truth before it's too late.

This description/ premise had a lot of promise and seemed to be in my “dark academic/ suspense” wheelhouse but unfortunately didn’t connect with me at all. I didn’t finish because I didn’t like any of the characters and found it slow.

A group of pretentious young adults are locked in a library for rare books overnight to complete a “ritual” prior to their graduation. How fun of an idea is that?? I was SO pumped to read this one!

But man, this just didn’t work for me at ALL. I have a degree in English Lit and read a lot of classic literature, and this was over the top even for ME. Not a single character is likeable or even close to realistic in how they speak to each other. One character starts crudely commenting about how another wants to have sex with another character (who’s boyfriend is also here, mind you), but probably can’t “get it up” because he’s gay. And NO ONE SAYS ANYTHING. There is literally no reaction from ANYONE about that—what???

There’s also a really weird combination of what brands/people are mentioned by name (like Ziplock and a few others I can’t remember), but we have to imply the existence of Ariana Grande and Sephora. I don’t know why that bothered me so much, but I clocked it immediately and couldn’t let it go.

The plot itself is just…not fully there. The pacing is all over the place, which is definitely not great for a novel under 300 pages. The ritual—which was the whole reason all of this unfolds in the first place—is never really explained, and at some points there is so much going on you forget what’s supposed to be happening.

I’m really bummed about this, because the entire premise and bits of the book were really interesting! But this just fell super short for me.

3.5 stars

When a graduating grad student wants to perform ancient Greek ritual the night before graduation, he selects the library basement, filled with rare, valuable books is the perfect place. Carefully selecting the guest list, the students gather after hours, locked in, and ready to get high and perform the secret ceremony when things start to go wrong…and soon someone ends up dead. With the murderer obviously locked in the basement among them, the students begin to panic, and not knowing who to trust, secrets begin revealing themselves and tensions rise. Can the students survive the night? Or will the ancient spirits guide them to murder and mayhem?

The story is told from the multiple POVs of the students in the basement during the night.

I feel like this book had so much potential from its premise, and it started out really well. But soon, things, like the situation in the basement itself, the book goes a little off the rails. I mean, as I said it’s quite a good set up, with the ritual and the locked-room mystery, but soon I started getting annoyed that these supposedly smart people were making such stupid decisions. (Though it could have been the drugs, tbf). It’s just as well, because none of the characters are really worth rooting for.

*minor, minor spoiler* Also, we never quite get a handle on what the ritual is or what it’s supposed to do or mean. That was a huge part of the draw and it was a big let-down.

But I give the book props for the ending. I did not see that coming. It was really a nice twist and one I liked a great deal, so it ended the book on a high note for me.

So, the book was so/so for me. Read with caution on this one, though I would definitely give this author another try.

But I give the