2.75⭐ rounded up.
Since I work in a library I'm always down with plot that takes place in one. Unfortunately, this was just okay for me. I could not connect with any of the characters. I was not overly invested in the story, or the story within the story, but I chose to stick with it because I did want to know how it would all play out.

Currently, a, not terrible, 3.58 average rating on GR and 4/5 and an editor's pick on Amazon, so maybe you'll like it more than I did.

I was able to listen to the final version on audio as well, so I went back and forth reading and listening. Ultimately the e-book was better. Katherine Littrell did an okay job narrating for 8 hours and 58 minutes, easy to follow at 2x.

The novel has an interesting approach: 1) A mystery writer, Hannah, in Australia is writing a novel set in Boston. Hannah corresponds with Leo in Boston to get details of the city and locals correct. We get a chapter of Hannah's murder mystery and the next chapter is Leo's email replies which start to take a strange turn.

2) Hannah's actual manuscript is based on Freddie, a female writer, who goes to the Boston Public Library seeking inspiration for her book. After hearing a horrific scream from somewhere inside the library, Freddie and the three people she was sitting near strike up a conversation and eventually form an unlikely friendship. A few hours later a woman is found murdered in the Library. As their friendship solidifies, something is off among the foursome. But Freddie is getting seriously involved with one of the group.

It seems like this approach would be confusing, but it actually flowed quiet well. I was invested in Hannah's manuscript and got absorbed in that story, while the email critiques of the chapters were a slow burn and wouldn't have worked on their own.

This was cleverly plotted with a different approach to the storyline. The manuscript mystery was engrossing while the Hannah and Leo storyline sneaks up on you. This built tension while the Hannah's manuscript built suspicion as well. The manuscript characters where well written and Freddie was easy to like. I wasn't sure if I would like this story, but it hooked me and provided enough surprises in both storylines. I don't know that I would heap as much praise as I see some pouring on it, but it is certainly a superb mystery that I highly recommend. Some are labeling it "literary" but this is a solid mystery all the way around.

Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

The cover artwork, premise, and title all screamed that this would be a book I loved. I was so excited to get an ARC and read it, but the book completely stalled for me.

Things I loved:
- The story within a story (within a story) concept. I did enjoy peeling back layers on the different paths the book took us.
- A murder mystery in a library?!? Brilliant.

And unfortunately, that was it for me. I struggled to love the characters, and while I am all for flawed realistic people, I found myself utterly uninvested in these characters' journeys.
I also didn't agonize over the mystery elements. I was slightly curious to get to the conclusion but not enough to finish the book the first three times I picked it up.
There was lots of potential there, but I found the book to be just fine.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A book about authors writing books within a story of authors writing books. A bit meta.
Hannah is writing a book in Australia and sends sample chapters to Leo an aspiring author in Boston, MA. Hannah's book is set in Boston and Leo tries to give Hannah pointers about time, place, setting, and some other pointers about phrasing that would be different in the 2 countries.

Hannah's book is about 4 people who meet in the Boston Public Library while hearing a woman scream from the other room as they share the same long table in the main reading room. One woman is an author from Australia who is staring at the ceiling procrastinating at the time of the scream. She had been taking in the ambiance of the room and the people seated at the communal table mining them for writing inspiration. The second woman at the table has tattoos and is reading Freud so Hannah dubs her "Freud Girl". The 2 men are good-looking so Hannah nicknames one, Handsome Man, and the other has a square jaw and a cleft chin so she names him Heroic Chin. At the time of the scream, the four strangers all begin to talk at the same time as do others in the usually quiet reading room. They learn that Handsome Man is also a writer who was getting descriptive inspiration from his tablemates. After sharing their names and a bit more about themselves they decide to leave together to get some coffee. The chapter ends with Freddie, the Australian author stating that she had just had coffee with a murderer. With that, we are hooked.

As both stories progress we learn of the murder in the library, another nearby, a stabbing or 3, a phony doctor, and the lengths people will go to for love, lust, admiration, and attention. Hannah's story is told via Leo's emails and a few other pieces of information woven between the chapters. In Hannah's book the story is told From Freddie's first person perspective.

The writing about writing was interesting and whether you need to declare the character's race and if it matters and why it sometimes matters. We learn of twisted minds, twisted tales, and the dark places people will go. The process of observing others was beautifully described in one section:
"The Young woman next to me has divested her jacket to reveal full-sleeve tattoos on both arms. I have never been inked myself, but I 'm fascinated. The story of her life is etched on her skin,,,She's like a walking book. Patterns and portraits and words. Mantras of love and power. I wonder of much of it is fiction. What story would I tell if I had to wear it on my body?"

There are lots of twists and turns on the rollercoaster of Hannah's book and in her exchanges with Leo about notes for the book and Boston. I usually can predict the murderer early on but in this one I hadn't put the pieces together. There are hints, clues, red-herrings, and alleys to the mystery of who is the killer and who is in the wrong place at the wrong time.


Thank you Net Galley for an opportunity to read this book in return for an unbiased review.

3.5/5

I received an ARC from NetGalley but failed to read and review this book before its published date :(

Nonetheless, I read this book before i went to sleep yesterday night and turns out i didn't sleep at all because i just can't put this book down—a page turner!

When you first read this book, you'll find a letter from someone named Leo to his friend who's a famous author. And so the whole story about the mystery of murders is a manuscript written by the author in question, which she sent to Leo as her beta reader.

The author's story is about a writer named Winifred, usually called Freddie, who met 3 person at the library; Marigold, Cain, and Whit. Long story short, a murder of a woman in the library binds them together. But little did they know that the murderer is actually one of them.

So this book is a story inside a story inside a story (yes, it contains 2 plots). One is the author's manuscript (the author's name is Hannah) and the other one is Leo's letter to the author.

Leo's letter is a little bit boring and it kinda distract me from the tension of the murder story, but you can't skip it because somehow it still contains a different story. In the end it'll intertwine with the main story, tho (a good plot twist, i'd say).

The murder story is good, i love the tension it builds, i also love the pace. But i have to say that I HATE THE MURDERER'S MOTIVES it feels so forced and weird and wrong on so many levels. I also feels like so many unnecessary things that written in the story that when i realize that's UNNECESSARY, that makes me question things that left unexplained.

As for the Leo's story, well.. it's so boring that at first i thought it got no plot, so when the letter suddenly reveals its 'mystery'.. i didn't see that coming. It'll be better, actually, if the author gave us more details on it so the tension will also keep up with Hannah's manuscript.

So.. 3 stars for the story, 0.5 stars for the page-turner.

This was such great fun to read - I read it in a single day, with a raging headache - it was just the medicine I needed. Clever but not too convoluted, with a sly wink at how fiction is created and 'edited'. No real crime is committed, but you get so absorbed in the whole story that you forget that.

Hannah is writing a murder mystery about a quartet of friends, and Leo is beta reading it. But even as the mystery within Hannah’s novel grows complicated, it becomes clear that Leo isn’t who he says he is.

I have been cleaning up the ancient dregs of my backlog on NetGalley, which unfortunately is a lot like panning for gold. And thus far I have been, alas, an unsuccessful prospector.

This book had a promising premise, a sort of locked room mystery, with a side of an ominous correspondence. However, these two parts don’t really mesh at all. I had expected for Hannah to leave calling cards for Leo in the text or something of that nature, to tie things together, but no – we just get a lot of gross commentary from him in that ghoulish, edge-lord manner that some aspiring writers seem to have.

The story within the story is just not engaging either. The characters are all flat, especially Freddie. The way Freddie, Cain, Marigold, and Whit become instant friends defies explanation – especially considering how emotionally intimate they become. There’s a handful of plot holes I noticed, particularly surrounding Whit’s mom – and I am not even a particularly close reader. And the way the mystery unravels in the end is just unsatisfying.

I think the problem is that there’s just not enough plot for either part of the story, so they feel as though they were slapped together to support each other. While there’s some interesting commentary about writing race and current events (i.e. the pandemic), ultimately this book fell flat for me.

Do not recommend.

Wow what a fabulously twisted and plotted story, a mystery inside a mystery inside a mystery. 4 strangers meet in a library, where they swap life stories and secrets. There's more that links them than originally suspected, and the story unravels and knits together in a satisfying way.

I thoroughly enjoyed this somewhat claustrophobic murder mystery novel - Sulari Gentill expertly plots out what could be a laborious idea (i.e. four strangers sitting around a table), resulting in a thrilling, twist-filled story. I always enjoy and respect a story within a story, as well. I would recommend this for traditional mystery fans, of course, but also for readers who enjoyed Anxious People. Four stars!

Another story within a story mystery. Reading reviews from other writers, I decided to give this a try. Unfortunately for those of us who are mystery readers, but not writers, all the discussions about plot development, naming characters and determining locations is just not particularly compelling. However the characters are fairly interesting and the writing good. Just not my cup of tea.

The Woman in the Library is a classic “whodunnit” mystery with a very modern spin. As four strangers sit in the Boston Public Library a scream of terror rings out. The group of strangers quickly bond together and become fixated on finding the truth behind the later-discovered dead woman. In the back drop of this storyline is a string of letters written as a critique of the chapters and sent to the author by a man named Leo who becomes increasingly unstable as the story lines progress. I enjoyed this book and the challenge of keeping up with what amounts to three intelligent storylines. I highly recommend you pick it up. I will be watching for the next book by this author! I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

I was hooked right from chapter one with this book. I loved the setting, especially the beginning at the library. As a book lover, libraries have always been somewhere I can go to be engrossed in the atmosphere of stillness and calm that comes with books, both old and new. So to have a murder take place in a library in the first chapter was a very intriguing way to kick off the story. The book was told with chapters alternating between chapters of a book and emails from the author's pen-pal. It was interesting to read the commentary by the Boston-dwelling fan alongside the main character experiencing the city as a new-comer. I liked the mix of perspectives and I was very intrigued to see how the two perspectives would eventually tie together.

I've heard a lot of criticism about this book from people who are avid readers of thriller novels. I, however, have not been reading a lot of thrillers lately so I was really excited for this one. I found the pacing was excellent and there was a good amount of pressure built up throughout the book to increase the stakes. Although I felt like the friendship/romantic bonds between characters were formed quite quickly, I still enjoyed following their stories. It seemed a bit unrealistic at times, but this didn't take away from the entertainment value for me. I really liked the creepy-factor that was introduced about half-way through and it made me fly through the second half of the book. A literary thriller that will keep you guessing until the end, this book is perfect for book lovers who are looking for a bit of a thrill, but without making you afraid to turn the lights off at night.

This isn't my usual story, but this is definitely a top mystery of the year with practically universal appeal for mystery readers

I enjoyed this way more than I expected to. I am a huge Agatha Christie fan and this sounded like something I would like. I loved it. I loved the book within a book vibes. I loved trying to solve the mystery, which I did, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. I read this in about 24 hours. Highly recommend to mystery lovers.

I loved the format of this novel. The metacognitive format was so original and enabled the reader to think about the writer as the writer was writing the novel. So good. The narrative and character development were well created as was the atmosphere and pace.

I was very intrigued while reading this, a little confused a times but felt like i really wanted to get to the end so i could figure out who done it. However i was very disappointed when the ending came, i literally thought it was someone else or i was hoping it would be BUT that did not happen. I felt like the ending was rushed and just not what i was looking forward to.

I would say it would be predictable for some but for me i was half i wanted it to be someone totally different but sadly that did not happen. I enjoyed it to a point where i was able to finish it.

I liked the story within a story angle, i mean the writing was pretty great.

The characters were suitable, i mean the friendships went a little to fast for me but i did love the layout of each character.

Hmm…. the romance, i did enjoy it but i mean again pretty fast past and i kept saying how much they needed to piece together before maybe moving forward??

Enjoyable mystery. Suspenseful and easy to read. Bought into the character.s and their quirkiness. Interesting to watch their relationships develop.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free ARC of this book.

Honestly, as much as I tried, I could not finish this book. I think I read up to 40% of the book until I DNF'd.

It was an interesting concept at first, which is probably why I kept reading. However, NONE of the characters or the plot interested me enough to keep reading.

I thought that this book would be set in the library the majority of the book. One of those, OOH someone got murdered so now the police are keeping everyone in one place to figure out whodunnit. But no, most of the book is just the characters meeting up at odd places, drinking, and somewhat learning about each other. Also, was I the only one who found it odd how attached the characters got, in like, two seconds? And the insta-love, yuck. The characters were pretty two-dimensional, a disappointment since this book is labelled as a character study.

Also, where was the mystery? The sense of murder in the air? If the main plot of the book is that someone gets murdered and the murderer is someone in the group, you would think that there would be more intrigue in solving the case. But nope! I could care less who the murderer was. Especially since its so obvious who it was with only three possible suspects the whole book.

AND WHAT WAS THE WHOLE, A BOOK INSIDE A BOOK THING? Did I give a shit about Leo criticizing the author of the whodunnit mystery every chapter? NO! I could care less about the wording, accuracy of setting, and whatever else Leo had to say. It brought myself out of the book, especially since I was really not expecting it the first time. Also, him mentioning stuff in the real world, like the Australia bush fires was weird. Like why, as a reader, should I care that there are bush fires in Australia? I get that the author was Australian but it was not something I vibe with.

Not much else to say since I DNF"D the book.

x

4 strangers in the library hear a woman scream. They later find out that there has been a murder and try to find out who did it. The 4 strangers then start to suspect each other and don’t know who to trust.
I liked that I didn’t figure out who the murderer was until the very end. However, it dragged a lot.. I felt that something exciting would happen, then it would die down for to long. Loved the story within a story.

I was so excited to read this book- the plot was interesting and I love a good murder mystery. I was more excited when I started and it seemed to have a second storyline intertwined. However, this book sadly missed the mark for me. The secondary story line about Leo was unnecessary and lacked a true climax. It was a distraction from the true storyline and made it difficult to keep track of the characters that were based on real life. I found it hard to enjoy the book because the parallel was too convoluted. I enjoyed the ending and was not able to figure it out, so that improved my rating of the book, but it was painful to work through the rest of the book.