I may be in the minority here but this book was just OK for me. The synopsis reads as something right up my alley - Agatha Christie vibes, small cast of characters, interesting setting and a dash of humor. There are elements of story within a story which is both unique and frustrating. It felt hard to follow in parts and I needed to re-read certain lines or paragraphs to understand what was actually going on. Perhaps the meta element that just went over my head in the end. I absolutely think this book will appear and be loved by many readers, it just wasn’t for me.

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and held my attention. I will be reading more from this author :)

The Woman in the Library A Novel by Sulari Gentill has a great murder-mystery with a set number of suspects. The premise is set early so you "watch" all the characters carefully. Unfortunately, it does use a unorthodox narrative style of a story within a story, with extra commentary by an unknown acquaintance of the super-story's author. For a relatively short novel it seemed much longer.

I had such a difficult time getting into this book, and by the end, I was unsatisfied and even annoyed. The premise of this novel is something I’d typically enjoy but it was just too slow moving and disconnected for me.

Wow. This was a great mystery! So much going on but never hard to follow. Only complaint I had was the main character started as a strong, I dependant woman but soon turned into a whiny "he's my man, he can't be guilty", needy chic. Felt she was let down on that part but otherwise A+. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I think this might be one of the cleverest mystery books I have ever read. Confusing, at times, but so cleverly constructed.

Sulari Gentill presents us here with a mystery novel she has written, about an author (Hannah) writing a mystery novel, about an author (Freddie) writing a mystery novel about the people she meets at the start of her story (creatively named Heroic Chin, Freud Girl and Handsome Man, but who Hannah has named Whit, Marigold and Cain). A series of letters from beta reader and fan, Leo, to Hannah form the outer structure of their mystery, which is told through the one-sided correspondence and the chapters she sends him in return (and I was surprised how pointed her responses managed to be in the format of her fiction!)

Then there is the mystery of the scream that Freddie and her new companions hear in the library – the scream that prompts them to speak to each other and sets the little ‘Scooby Gang’ into action, and turns out to have come from a woman whose body is found after they leave. As nosy writers, journalist and psychology student respectively, how can they resist a little bit of informal investigating?!

Luckily, the story Freddie is also writing stays mostly in the background, as I think there was plenty of mystery already without adding another layer to the already-complex network of plot threads. Because Hannah’s story and Freddie’s story weave in and out of each other, with Hannah borrowing from real life events and Leo’s letters when writing her novel, blurring the lines between the two different fictional threads.

I was initially thrilled by the beta-reading observations in Leo’s letters, as I don’t see as much of my own craft in fiction as I would like, but my excitement turned to discomfort and then utter horror as he began to impose his own ideas on Hannah’s story – insisting on his choice of murderer, insisting she address the pandemic in her work, and eventually even rewriting her chapters to his own preferences! I think I was slightly more horrified by that than any of the murders! (I take my editing duties very seriously!)

The whole meta-story within a story about the story concept is an incredibly clever hook and is very well-executed here, with the plots bouncing off each other and enriching each other’s details right up to (and past) the final reveal. The only slight drawback I found was that I had to concentrate so much on keeping the characters and threads distinct in my mind, that I was never able to forget that I was reading a novel. Still, what was lost in immersion was definitely made up in entertainment and innovation, so I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

I would say this is the ideal book for anyone who loves a twisty murder mystery but is looking for something fresh and unusual, focused more on plot than character, and with a very clever hook. Did I already mention how clever it is?!

I couldn't get into this book at all. I thought the premise of a murder inside a library with a limited number of suspects would be really enjoyable but it was not. The mystery within a mystery is also something I enjoy but everything about this book fell flat.

This is a thriller that follows 4 people who are brought together by a woman’s scream in a library. Freddie is an Australian author who secured a fellowship in the US. Now she is in another country and she doesn’t know anyone. This makes character development very difficult. Will her assumptions about her three fellow library squatters be correct? Do you really know your friends or those who you call friends? What happens when an unknown killer starts stalking you?

I really enjoyed this story. The author does a good job of interweaving two different stories into one novel. Not only do you get to follow the journey of Freddie, the fictional author in the story but you also get to see the relationship between an author and very passionate beta reader. This story really makes you ask yourself, “How well do I really know those people I let into my life?”

The pacing throughout this story and the hooks that the author uses at the end of the chapters do a good job of providing adequate pacing throughout. These things help keep the reader engaged as the author jumps between present time and a fictional time period. I feel the character development was consistent and good throughout the story however, I would have loved more backstory on Freddie. I felt that there were some parts of the story that were a bit repetitive but it did not take away from the story. While I guessed the twist at the end, I wasn’t fully correct and that made me happy. I love when an author surprise slaps me across the face.

I have had this book sitting in my kindle queue for way too long so I finally picked it up on a trip. It wasn’t for me, I guess there was a reason I let it sit for so long. It felt messy and confusing with the book within the book, and I honestly didn’t care about the letter-writer’s feedback. I couldn’t finish it.

Writers tend to see the world around them as their next story—one that’s just waiting to be written. In The Woman in the Library by author Sulari Gentill, a writer is inspired by the new friends she meets in the library—and by the mystery that ties them all together....

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com - and aired on Shelf Discovery

This is a book about four people trying to solve a murder. Sounds cliché and it is. But it is also fun, with some plot twists on it and it does get the reader going. I couldn’t leave it!

Despite that, there are somethings that bugged me. The narrative is a little messy and confusing – specially in the beginning when you are still understanding that there’s a book within a book… within a book in it. There’s a lot of blank spots in the story and it seems like the author was just figuring everything out as she wrote it (no problem in that, sure, but it looks like there was no later editing on it to give an unit to it).

I didn’t really care for any of the characters and at some point, I felt the author forgot about two of the four main ones. In another moment, I just wanted to know more about what was happening between the two people exchanging letters in “the real world” and she would give no information!

But anyways, the author manages to keep the reader curious enough so that we don’t want to stop reading, even though the plot is predictable and with it flaws.

This is definitely a weird book. A reading where the journey of actually reading it is much more interesting than the plot itself. And worth it. It is fast. It is fun. And it keeps you curious and motivated to the end.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. I had fun.

I didnt have any expectations going into this book but I loved the story within a story within a story format. It was engaging and I will definitely be checking out more works from this author.

I have to admit, I started this book twice. The first time I was confused by the letter in the beginning and then Chapter One didn’t connect with the letter. But I tried again and am so happy that I did. The premise of the book is that it is a novel being written by Hannah Tigone, an Australian author. Leo, the letter writer, is somehow a friend of Hannah. Hannah sends him chapters of her book and Leo offers suggestions. The book Hannah is writing is told by Freddie, also an Australian author. Freddie has been given the opportunity to live and write in Boston by winning the Marriot Scholarship. She occasionally writes in the Boston Public Library. While there one day she ends up at a table with Marigold, Cain and Whit. When a woman screams in another area, the guards make everyone stay where they are while they investigate. After the all clear, the foursome head out for coffee together. This is where Freddy tells us “I have my first coffee with a killer”. The next day, the group finds out a woman was actually murdered in the library the day before. The “book” follows the group as they try to solve the murder mystery. Each chapter ends with a letter to Hannah from Leo. His notes become increasingly disturbing. Perhaps Hannah is in danger herself.

This was a wonderful read as a lover of mysteries and libraries! The format of the book worked well for me, I love a book-within-a-book concept and this was such fun. The way it integrated Australian and American culture, the pandemic in a realistic way, and the layers of mystery was such a good romp as a reader. Highly recommend!

It just wasn’t for me. I was expecting something different, I guess. This is nothing against the author, Jude just not what I was expecting from the book

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. I picked it up because of the title mainly. I was so glad that I did. I was unable to put it down. From the first scream in the library I was entranced. There were so many reason to keep reading this book. I loved the. I loved the characters and how they worked together in the story. If you like mysteries this is a great read for you. I had no idea all the twists and turns this books would have. The fact that it first started in the Boston Public Library was just a plus for me.

This book’s description had me very intrigued. Who doesn’t love the premise of a good locked door murder mystery set in a library? But this one fell flat for me. The switching between the main storyline and the subplots makes it difficult to keep up with and also leaves little room for good character development, so everyone is bland. It does have some nice twists though. If you enjoy books that shift between two plots at once, you may enjoy this twisty thriller.

Very interesting book and story. I like how the author have intertwined the characters in this one. It started to read a little choppy but it smoothed out eventually.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. The Woman in the Library is available now.

The thing that grabbed me and immediately interested me in reading this book was that it featured the word “library” in the title. That’s it. If there is an angle that features words, libraries, or bookstores, I’ll be almost immediately intrigued. The writing and storyline kept me reading, happily drawn into a fun mystery involving four new-found friends.

Author Sulari Gentill plays off the new-friend dynamic incredibly well. When people first hit it off, it’s easier to ignore (or not even notice) things about the other person which will either begin to annoy over time or, in the worst of cases, turn out to be major red flags. These four people met in a library reading room, brought together by a stressful event. That’s enough to form the beginnings of friendship right there, although of course someone is not who they seem.

The book’s storytelling tricks were my favorite thing about it. The Woman in the Library features an author named Hannah Tigone who is writing a novel that starts in a library. The novel is about a writer (named Freddie) who gets sucked into a murder while researching for her own book. It sounds a lot more confusing than it is. For the purpose of this review, I’ll refer to the character writing the book about the writer as the author, and the character who happens to be in the library at the time of a murder as the writer. It’s actually a ton of fun, despite my lousy attempt to explain it.

While the writer in the book builds new friendships, the author begins to be disturbed by the unhealthy relationship forming with her Beta reader. Now, that was a character that was easy to hate. Holy cow, everything he “wrote” in his letters to Hannah was absolutely awful. That it degenerated in nature from horrible to dangerous was an unexpected progression that made a sick sort of sense. The continuation of the story wavered from distracting to adding an extra layer of suspense. I’m still not sure how I feel about that whole thing, although I can’t deny that it ratcheted up the tension level of The Woman in the Library.

There were four main characters in the author’s book: the writer, Freddie, in the U.S. from Australia with the purpose of working on her own book; Whit, the laze-about whose aspirations don’t match those of his overbearing mother; Marigold, a tattooed free spirit who is also something of a genius (according to her); and Cain, an enigma who has written a bestselling book of his own. One of them is also a coldblooded killer, of course. It’s up to Freddie to figure out who.

I will admit that I figured out the whodunnit before it was revealed, although the motive escaped me. The characters were all fun to read, although I had a soft spot for nosy, stalkerish Marigold. The book raised the stakes as it went along and by the end it was hurtling at breakneck speed toward its conclusion. I liked the way the book’s pacing sped up as the mystery got closer to being solved.

There was some brief mention of attempted sexual assault, which I feel I should warn readers about. It was not detailed, but it’s always best (in my opinion) to be aware if something like that will pop up. I’m sensitive to that subject and it was vague and short enough that I was able to skip over the paragraph or so mentioning it without any issue. So, there’s that.

The Woman in the Library was a highly entertaining mystery filled with twists and unexpected reveals. I enjoyed it quite a bit and recommend it to people who want a fun suspense-ridden novel.

Thank you for giving me the chance to read this. I loved the idea of it and the cover is perfect. I just couldn't connect with it. I found the story within a story to be too much and wasn't enjoying it. I think I could have connected better to the characters and story if it didn't have the switches in parts. The Editor parts were more like interrupting it for me.