I feel bad doing this, but this is going in my DNF pile. I’ll try to finish it another time, but I couldn’t do it.

I though this was going to be a horror book, but it was a lot of mystery/who done it-ish?
According to NetGalley, I made it to 20%. I tried, but this wasn’t the book for me.

The inception book inside of a book thing didn’t grab me. The old school gumshoe Agatha Christie writing with a little Stranger then Fiction mixed in. If that’s your cup I’d tea, read this book. Based on the other reviews it got better halfway in, but I have so many books to read and so little time that I don’t have 150 pages to waste before I can get pulled in-unless you’re Stephen King.
I’ve never written a negative review, and I feel awful in case the publisher/author reads this, so I’ll just say it wasn’t my cup of tea.
Of what I read, it took too long to get to where the book should be going. 20% finished and we don’t know anything about the woman that was “killed?” in the beginning? It’s all about four strangers that magically become bffs when meeting for 2 minutes. Their lives become mysteriously intertwined that just seems too simple. Two of the characters are writers, and after seeing their connection, the other two are like, “yeah I’ll write too. Invite me everywhere. We want to hang too.” It seemed forced and I’m guessing there’s a reason for it, but I couldn’t drag it on further to read why.

If a reader wants to tell me that it’s worth the wait, and it gets better, I’ll finish it for sure, but until then, I’m not sure I can go on.

Four people are sitting near each other in the Boston Public Library Reading Room when they all hear a woman’s scream. They start chatting and learn that two of them are authors, one is a law student and the last is a grad student in Psychology. After they ushered out by security, they continue chatting and strike up a friendship.
The main story is narrated by Freddy, an Australian author in town on a fellowship. Then there a series of letters from a fan of Freddy who offers to read each chapter and critique them.
The dead woman’s body was later found and soon others connected to the 4 main characters turn up dead or involved in violent confrontations. The author plants clues leading to one of the group but the real murderer is not revealed until the very end.
I enjoyed the book and it was anxious to find out who done it. It was well crafted and should appeal to other mystery fans.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Picture a set of Russian nesting dolls, matryoshka, all identical and nestled neatly inside one another. This is what came to mind when I started reading Sulari Gentill’s latest mystery.

Winifred ‘Freddie’ Kincaid, elated after earning a writers’ fellowship, heads to the picturesque Boston Public Library to seek inspiration. She’s deep into examining people when she’s suddenly brought to her senses by a piercing scream. This intrusion provides the idea for her new piece: the friendship forged by four strangers “united by a scream.” While the strangers at her table await police for questioning, they strike up a conversation and learn why they are each at the library that particular day.

Then the author takes it up a notch and I’ll try to unravel the threads for you - Freddie’s new book is filled with letters to a famous author, Hannah Tigone, written by a character named Leo. The author, Hannah, is, at the same time, writing about Freddie. I know, right?! It’s a story, within a story, within an idea. Yes, it’s convoluted at times. Yes, it’s frustrating. This blending of reality didn’t work for me and being inexperienced at understanding/reading metafiction, I struggled to keep the stories straight in my head. It’s next-level writing. Smart, really and well-percolated! I just didn’t want to work that hard to be entertained!

Gentill examines friendships and the bonds that tie strangers together as well as dives deep into the potential of words being weapons.

Should you feel prompted to read this unique story, please Google the reading room in the Boston Public library and check out the impressive high vaulted ceiling. I can see why this is a source of inspiration for many.

I was gifted this advance copy by Sulari Gentill, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

"I am a bricklayer without drawings, laying words in sentences, sentences into paragraphs, allowing my walls to twist and turn on whim...no framework...just bricks interlocked...no idea what I'm building or if it will stand...no symmetry, no plan, just the chaotic unplotted bustle of human life...[Am I] just a woman in the library with a blank page before her?"

In the Reading Room of the Boston Public Library sit four strangers at a communal table. Winifred "Freddie" Kincaid, a writer-in-residence living at Carrington Square, is the recipient of a one year Marriot Writing Scholarship. Cain McLeod, a published writer, has been called "one of America's most promising young novelists" by the Washington Post. Marigold Anastas is a brilliant psychology major at Harvard. To avoid being forced to join the family firm, Whit Metters is purposely failing Harvard Law School. Freddie tries "to pin a version of these three to her blank page...every character's past is a mystery to unearth." And then there is a scream!

"I'd heard someone die...the words come quickly...with clarity...the story of strangers bonded by a scream..." "I'd felt unworthy, uncertain...but today I return from the library exhilarated...four strangers who seem to recognize each other, like we'd been friends before in a life forgotten."

"The Woman in the Library" by Sulari Gentill is the fictional story of Hannah, a mystery writer, penning a murder mystery crafted by fictional mystery writer Winifred Kincaid. Freddie is trying to solve the case of who killed Caroline Palfrey, leaving her body hidden under the buffet table in the library gallery. "So recently strangers, Freddie is surprised by how comfortable she is with these people...a demonstration of trust in each other."" Foursome" Freddie, Marigold, Cain and Whit, go to the Map Room Tea Lounge for friendship and Freddie states, 'my first coffee with a killer.'" Who killed Caroline Palfrey?

Hannah Tigone is writing a mystery novel from her home base in Australia. The pandemic thwarted her plans for a research trip to Boston. An exuberant fan of Hannah's novels, Leo Johnson, volunteers to be her "scout, her eyes and ears" in the U.S. Leo will do legwork to authenticate locations in Boston. Through e-mail correspondence, he forwards crime scene photos of murders in and around the Boston Public Library. As each chapter of Hannah's book unfolds, Leo proofreads to make sure dialogue conforms to typical Boston conversation. But...Leo's helpful suggestions have morphed into something darker. Many comments are now forceful, with attempts to change the trajectory of Hannah's novel.

"The Woman in the Library" is a twisty, unpredictable read. It is difficult to peal back the layers of the persona of the four main protagonists. Add the e-mail between author and her obsessed volunteer researcher/reader, and the plot thickens. I found the character development to be excellent, however, the story-within-a -story and its complexities did not work for me.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This has been one of my favourite books so far this year.
I really enjoyed the author's style and the story within the story. I really enjoyed the social commentary of the emails and the issues covered.
This was a real whodunit but with the suspects all having an alibi -each other

A woman screams and four people who hear it are drawn together in the Reading Room of the Boston Public Library. One of them is a murderer. Two homeless men die. One of the four protagonists is stabbed. How are they all connected? One woman is in Boston because she won a writing fellowship in Australia. One woman is studying psychology. One man is a dilettante, trying to avoid graduating from law school. The other man is a convicted murderer who is trying to put his life back together. While the plotting is well paced, I did not like the structure of the novel. Epistolary writing stuck within the novel drew me completely out of the story line. I wonder if this type of device is due to the "Anthony Horowitz effect," writing a novel inside another novel?

A story within a story. A mystery within the mystery! I loved this slow burn mystery. Full of twist and turns and I became SO invested in the plot. This will keep the reader guessing until the very end!
Also, I'm always a big fan of library mystery/settings! The author has a great way of writing which made me actually "hear" the scream in my head as I read the words on the page! Gentill has crafted a perfect mystery and I look forward to reading more of this author's work. This story will not disappoint!

I really enjoyed this one. The way that there was two stories with the actually plot and the "Dear Hannah" emails was really interesting. Throughout the whole story I kept going back and forth between who the murderer was which kept the story really interesting and even a little suspenseful. It was an enjoyable read and highly recommend for mystery fans.

What a fun book to read! I cant wait for other people I know to read it, because I need to talk this out!

The story was unique and it was well paced. I liked Freddie and her friends and really enjoyed the correspondence from Leo throughout the story. The story within a story premise worked well. I read it in two days because I couldn’t wait to see how it ended.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a digital copy of this entertaining novel. This is my honest review.

This novel was such a joy to read. It begins with four strangers sitting in the Boston Public Library, who become friends after they all hear a woman scream. But it is also a novel within a novel, and chapters are interspersed with the author’s correspondance with another author, who offers her feedback. Bot stories are compelling.

This book could very well be one of the most enjoyable thrillers I have read in the last couple of years. The TL;DR is this: this book is an interesting, complex and layered mystery novel laced with red herrings and curveballs that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Do yourself a favour and get stuck into it ASAP.

Freddie, an Aussie author who is living in Boston on a prestigious Marriott Scholarship, sits in the Boston Public Library as she seeks literary inspiration. As she sits, she surveys three strangers around her; all seemingly unrelated with their own reasons for being there, and all from diverse backgrounds. When a chilling scream rings through the reading hall, the foursome are locked in while the building is swept. They strike up a conversation, and a budding friendship is born. Freddie uses her new friends as character inspirations for her novel, and one arm of this book follows her story as she writes this novel, inspired by events occurring around her. When a young woman subsequently is found murdered in the library, the four are rattled; they were there when she was killed. What they don’t know, however, is that one among them is the murderer.

The format of this book is interesting – there are essentially two arms to the novel, woven expertly into a cohesive narrative. Each chapter ends with a letter representing correspondence between the author of a novel (Hannah), and an aspiring writer in Boston (Leo) who critiques and provides feedback on each chapter. I won’t say much more on this, because dissecting out this crosslink was one of the most enjoyable aspects of this book. Contained in this letter is an analysis of the preceding chapter, and the writer’s interpretations of what is going on in the story thus far, and who the killer may be. As you would expect, one does get a feeling that many of these are red herrings designed to deflect and obfuscate the reader (you) and your assumptions. I haven’t previously seen this kind of structure and I really enjoyed it.

As a whole, the characters in the book are all well thought out and developed. I was particularly struck by how each character developed their own perceptions of other members of the group and how this dynamically changed through the course of the book. These dynamic relationships between the foursome are key in this novel. The plot is believable and well crafted. As an Australian author, I loved Gentill’s ample references to Aussie culture, and the in-detail depiction of many aspects of Boston itself.

In summary, this is an awesome read and one that I highly recommend – 5 stars. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the provision of an ARC. The book is out in June 2022.

Sulari Gentill sure knows how to put merriment into murder mystery.
From the moment the action kicks off in The Woman in the Library when a scream pierces the rarified air of the Boston Public Library, through its myriad twists as the crime is solved, there is a buoyancy to Gentill’s prose that keeps the mood light and pace steady.
The novel’s main delight is in the Agatha Christie-esque ‘whodunnit’ set up that brings together a group of strangers with a common interest in exposing the murderous culprit, each one in turn becoming a possible suspect.
But Gentill has thrown in some extra sweet layers, with a secondary thoroughly entertaining narrative that creates a story within the story, through which she explores the art of writing itself.
This quite unique structure is worthy of a little more explanation. In short, each chapter of the murder mystery is bookended by an email from a fan to the fictional author of the novel, offering his critique. It’s initially brilliant to see the way the author reflects the fan’s comments in each successive chapter. But as the novel progresses, the fan’s meta commentary becomes increasingly disturbing, taking this sub-story in a deliciously sinister direction.
Meanwhile, the unfolding chapters of the author’s murder mystery provide an engrossing main story, through which the lines between imagination and reality become ever more blurred.
The way Gentill has combined these two narratives provides a unique and thoroughly entertaining reading experience. Even the farfetched nature of the plot was endearing, as were the aspects of Gentill’s approach that were akin to a master class in novel writing.
While this is my first Sulari Gentill novel, the Australian author – who lives in the small country town of Batlow near the Snowy Mountains and grows French black truffles – has many award-winning titles to her name.
After reading The Woman in the Library, I can’t wait to pick up another.

‘What are you writing?’

Four strangers are sitting quietly, working individually, at a table in the Boston Public Library, when a woman’s scream is heard. Security guards prevent people from leaving while they investigate, and the four strangers pass the time conversing. Friendships are formed.

Later a body is found in a nearby room. A woman has been murdered. The four strangers, now friends, are on a quest to find out who killed the woman. But some of the four have their own secrets. And the story becomes more complex when one of them is mugged, another is injured in an altercation, and when disturbing messages are sent from a phone which was apparently stolen. What on earth is going on?

At the table meet Winifred Kincaid (Freddie) a young writer from Australia, Cain McLeod, Whit Metters and Marigold Anastas. Also meet (often via correspondence) Leo, an author with a mountain of rejection slips and Hannah Tigone who is working on a murder mystery. Leo makes suggestions to Hannah, and she incorporates some of his suggestions into her manuscript.

A writer is writing a story about a writer writing a story. Nothing is as it seems: the twists and turns kept me scratching my head and wondering ‘who?’, ‘how?’ and ‘why?’

Brava, Ms Gentill!

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Gentill's book is a clever mystery/thriller. I enjoyed the 'nesting doll' plot structure. The characters were interesting and, collectively, produced an intriguing group dynamic that kept me engaged. I feel the author did a great job creating psychological complexity to the characters. It really makes you question how well you can know a group of strangers and how we truly are the stories we tell about ourselves. A fun page-turner for a lazy Sunday or a weekly commute

This story was different from what I expected. Written in an interesting way that keeps you wanting to know more about more than one storyline.

I LOVED this book! This is one of my favorite books of the year so far. It has everything: books and more books. Writers. Mystery. Thrilling moments. Teasing intrigue. A story within a story within a story. Oh my goodness, I cannot gush enough.

I don't want to write too much because it would reveal the plot but listen: if four strangers meet in a library and become twisted up in a murder investigation is it coincidence?

If you want to know, PRE-ORDER this book. Do it now. Give it as a gift to the readers in your life and keep a copy of it for yourself. It comes out in June and you need to read it. Put it on your library lists. Do whatever you possibly can.

Just, wow.

*Thank you to Netgalley for this arc!*

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. I heard that this was going to be a locked room mystery, which are my favorite, so I was eager to get started reading it! We are following a group of 4 people who are sitting in the Boston Public Library, they don't know each other, they just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Someone is murdered, and this brings these four people together, and spikes up a friendship. Little do they know that one of them is a murder.

This was not what I expected at all. based off of the summary I thought this would be a fun time. Instead I found it to be incredibly confusing. We are not actually following the four friends. We are following our main character Frankie, who is from Australia. She is an author who is writing the story of these four friends who witness a murder, so as the reader you are confused if there ever was a murder or if this is all fictional. But then on top of that, we are also getting the perspective of the editor of the author. So it is a story within a story within a story. It just was not what I expected or wanted out of this book. I don't feel like it was advertised as it should have been. This was a book that fell short for me.

The Woman in the Library was a terrific read. The cast of characters constantly shifted, making it difficult to solve the murder mystery. This is the first Sulari Gentill novel that I have read, but Gentill certainly held my attention.

The Woman in the Library is an unusual book, with a framing that helps to develop the flow of the story. This is a clever locked room mystery that kept my attention on the mystery and on solving it. This story within a story is compelling. The small details, such as Cain/Able, are brilliant. No way am I going to provide clues or give away the ending. I urge readers to read the book and solve the mystery themselves.

This is a framed story: an Australian author writing a mystery set in Boston and getting advice/feedback from a reader in the area through letters added to the end of each recently finished chapter. It's an interesting device, but the relationship of the characters revealed through letters (and the way it changes the manuscript pages) didn't quite land for me. I think the author/reader portion needed to be more prominent and effective than it was. Overall, The Woman in the Library starts off a bit slow, but it does pick up and was a quick and enjoyable read for me even though I found myself mostly only paying attention to the mystery pages by the halfway point.

This was unlike anything I have ever read before because it was “a book within a book!” The alternating points of views started as an email correspondence between the author & a fan who was helping her edit a new story— & the book that she was sending the fan was the actual storyline that as you as the reader are experiencing.

It was like watching someone’s novel come alive before your very eyes while also seeing an editor critiquing it along the way. It was a lot of fun to read a chapter, make assumptions of what was going on & then read the email portion to see if the editors train of thought/suggestions were the same as mine.

This was much more of a mystery novel than a thriller in my opinion which originally bummed me out a bit. I also felt like the ending fell a little flat for me in regards to the plot behind the email correspondence & one instance with a character in the story that seemed misplaced to me.

However, at no point did I want to stop reading & I did find myself really intrigued with the enigmatic aspects of some of the characters so I felt engaged & overall really enjoyed it.