A very interesting read. This book actually has 2 stories in one. Or, at least 2 narratives. The, shall we say smaller narrative takes place in current times between a successful author and a man named Leo with his own ambitions to become a published author. In between chapters you read the correspondence between the two with letters from Leo. Hannah, the successful author, is sharing her manuscript with Leo as she is sharing it with us. And Leo's letters are comments on her writing. This split in the book finds the readers voice sometimes shared with Leo but quickly realize that may not be a voice you wish to share. There is development with Leo's letter writing as his criticism becomes more harsh. But again. This is the smaller narrative. The main story, that we know is written by Hannah, is about 4 people in a library who brought together when a scream is heard, and found later, a young woman who has been murdered. The mystery of whodunnit brings the 4 together who find kinship, some romance and suspicion between them. Well written and a good solid mystery. I know the inspiration for this book came from the Sulari Gentill's own correspondence while writing and sharing a manuscript. But the main story of the 4 in the library was enough to hold my attention. The addition of the Leo narrative definitely enhances the story, especially with the progression of Leo's criticism and the ending of the manuscript. Myself, I am use to reading series. Although I know this is not part of a series, the ending left me to devise the next novel in my head. I give this book a solid 3.5 stars. I had to deduct 1/2-1 star due to myself to still having questions that I know won't be answered in a 2nd book. I personally needed more of a Jessica Fletcher moment where I could ask some of those questions to know why and how the whodunnit, did it. But overall, well written and engaging. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC version of this book . I recommend the read for anyone who loves classic mysteries, thrillers and writing.

A story within a story as a writer writes to another (aspiring) writer about some aspiring writers . . . .

HOW META!

It all starts in the reading room at the Boston Public Library. A woman screams, a group of strangers form an odd common bond due to the experience. But one of them just might be the killer.

“It’s a bit like a locked room mystery, in reverse.”

I repeat myself quite frequently that right place/right time is often what should get the credit or the blame when it comes to books that end up as 2s or 3s for me. And then there are the ones that just suck me right in. The perfect place/time for this one would have been today – rainstorms and Fall-like temperatures hovering in the upper 60s. Luckily it mattered not one bit that the sun was out in full force and the temperature was over 100 degrees when I read this. I got pulled in to this story immediately, invested in both the mystery as well as all of the characters (especially Leo) and snarled at anyone who attempted to speak to me the entire time I was reading it.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

A woman screams in the library and startles everyone in the area. The next day a woman's body is found in the same library. Four strangers develop an unlikely friendship after experiencing this strange turn of events together. It seems like a coincidence that they were all there at the time of the scream, but is it? How well do these people really know each other? And is one of them a killer?

This book was an enjoyable, if unrealistic, mystery. I liked the backstories that were given for each character and how they were revealed one piece at a time. I found the immediate closeness of the four main characters to be a little off-putting because it didn't seem at all realistic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book.

A book from the “what I read on my summer holiday” collection. I was fascinated by the blurb of this story, four strangers in a Library when a murder takes place – one of the four is a murderer but if the four were sitting at a table then how can one of their number be a killer?

Well it isn’t Sulari Gentill who will tell this story it is Hannah Tigone (Okay it IS Sulari but let’s give Hannah her place too). Hannah is writing about Winifred, Marigold, Cain and Whit – four strangers who are in a Boston Library. They are sitting at a table togegther when a scream is heard – the four are forged in a new friendship and Hannah will write her novel about these new friends and the steps they will take to discover more about each other and, more importantly, about who may have killed a woman in the library.

As Hannah writes she gives her readers a background into each of these four players in her story. They all have secrets, they all have a reason to keep them secret and Hannah is going to spin out the tale and deliver a whip-smart whodunnit. But between the chapters about the friendly four and their strengthening bonds Sulari Gentill is also telling her readers about Hannah’s life away from the story she is crafting. Hannah is getting feedback from Leo – he is reading her early chapter drafts as each chapter is completed and providing his own observations and feedback. Leo is a bit of an enigma and does seem to enjoy a bit of mansplaining but he also has thoughts and opinions of friendships, secrets and he seems remarkably well informed about murder too.

All very mysterious and very nicely put together. At approximately 270 pages in length I found The Woman in the Library a sharp and well exectuted murder tale (no puns intended here). Hannah’s story gives a satisfying murder tale with a seemingly impossible pool of suspects and Sulari’s story about Hannah is darker and more perplexing – reading to see how that plot unfolded was very much the reason I zipped through The Woman in the Library in just two enjoyable sittings.

I enjoyed the very different approach to the story telling here and this is a book I’d recommend readers look out for when it hits the shelves next month.

“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.” — Sulari Gentill, The Woman in the Library.

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who are sitting at the same table, pass the time in conversation. Australian author Winifred “Freddie” Kincaid, writer, Cain, psych graduate student Marigold, and failing law student, Whit, all have a reason for being in the reading room that morning. When they find out a body has been found, they work together to solve the crime. Freddie uses the incident as the start of her work-in-progress. Each chapter of Freddie’s book includes a letter written to famous Australian author Hannah Tigone by a dedicated fan, Leo Johnson, a fellow writer who offers to be her beta reader. So… Hannah is writing the story of Freddie Kincaid, who’s writing the story of the murder in the library. Confused? I guess you’ll have to read it!

The Woman in the Library is just the type of book I used to stay up all night reading, but now I am too old to manage it! Cleverly imagined, it is metafiction at its finest. Metafiction? What are you talking about, Amy? Basically, it is an innovative literary technique wherein an author writes about another author. It’s a book within a book, a mystery within a mystery. Gentill’s novel combines two of my favorite things: a library and a mystery. It’s an off-beat, tense whodunit with epic twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. The friendships between the characters are complicated and messy—part of what I enjoyed most about this book. At one point, I suspected each one of them of being the murderer. Although I had a hard time getting into the groove at first, especially when listening to the audio version, the author rewarded my patience with a surprising ending. 4 stars.

Publication Date: June 2022
Genre: Mystery, Metafiction
Read-alikes: The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji; The Verifiers by Jane Pek; Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz; The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk; The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary review copy of the book. The opinions are entirely my own.

A story within a story, within a story, within a story...

I was immediately invested in peeling back the layers to this intelligent and ingenious novel. One such layer featured four strangers inside a library, working in silence and on their own tasks. They hear a scream, which begins conversations between them, and the later discovery of a body bonds them for the rest of the novel. This is layer one.

One of these four is writing a novel herself and uses the three individuals she becomes embroiled with as inspiration for her story, which features similar high-stakes, genre, plot devices, and characters with the only alteration being the setting. This is layer two.

The third layer begins as chapter one closes, where it is revealed that all previously read was a first draft sent to a beta reader. The author remains unknown to us and the only insights we can garner about who they are or what their intentions are are from the responding letters, critiquing the storyline and replying to unknown questions.

I loved how many elements were simultaneously occurring and attempting to piece together what the important aspects truly were made this such an immersive read. Each layer was of immense interest to me and I thought the author did a commendable job of making them all equally as enjoyable and in not muddying the waters too much as they ceaselessly overlapped.

My enjoyment only dwindled right at the novel's close. I loved the premise and the ingenious formatting but the ambiguous conclusion wasn't for me, unfortunately. It left me feeling a little cold at being unable to garner far less of a high-stakes, action-packed, or twisted closure to a novel that had consistently and previously contained all of that.

I really enjoyed this mystery and I didn't figure out whodunnit before the end (though I mostly don't try). I also liked the way there was a secondary mystery happening as the primary plot unfolded.

I i’ve always admired this Author and her new book did not disappoint. Love the writing style and the characters. Kept me guessing. Thanks for my advance

I have always loved books about books and books about libraries. Add suspense and mystery and you have a perfect recipe for me. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill ticks so many boxes, but also provides a unique book-within-a-book twist that helps to keep you guessing throughout. The premise of this book seems like a “body in the library” mystery, but it is so much more. An Australian author, Freddy looking for inspiration narrates her experience of sitting in the Boston Public Library when a scream is heard. A woman is found murdered and everyone must stay until it is safe to leave. During this time, the crossover of the “characters” in her book and their real-life personas finally meet. Forced together by this terrible event. What follows is a friendship between the characters started by this fateful event. Sure, they were all together at the time the scream was heard, but no one is without suspicion. Woven through the story are letters sent to Freddy talking about the novel he is working on while also providing her with critique of her current novel. What is enjoyable is the critique of her use of Australian terms which I initially thought of myself as a reader as well. This book was enjoyable in the way that words can transform a story and involve the reader. The layers of the story are what make it unique and fun! I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the cover of The Woman in the Library which captured me instantly and made me want to pick it up and read. Inside I found a brilliantly plotted mystery set in Boston which starts with a scream inside the public library and a murder with several potential suspects.

Freddie is a young aspiring, Australian writer who received a writing grant. The book focuses on her unexpected relationship with two young men and a young woman who were sharing a table at the time of the murder. The scream bonded them together and they investigate the murder of the woman in the library. There are plenty of twists and turns amidst the intrigue and, as always in these captivating reads, things aren’t all as they seem.

There is an unexpected story within a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat and will leave you totally astounded at the end.

Sigh. I wanted to love this one. The idea of it is incredible. It has all the makings of a great mystery. However, it just moved too slowly for me.

Four strangers, including our narrator, Winifred (Freddie), a fellowship student from Australia, are sitting in the Boston Public Library when there is a bloodcurdling scream from outside the room. While waiting to find out what has happened - they eventually learn that a woman has been murdered - they introduce themselves and, bound by common interests and their recent shared experience, become fast friends. This is the setup of the main narrative Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library but as we already know from the letter at the beginning of the book, it is a chapter from a manuscript by author Hannah Tigone, also Australian, who is sending it to fan and beta reader Leo, an American. This mystery within a mystery (which is later revealed indirectly to have to do with the identity of Leo) is the larger premise behind The Woman in the Library.

As Hannah’s novel continues (interrupted by comments, suggestions, and at times acerbic criticisms from Leo’s emails), the four new friends discover that the murder was not a passing event in their lives. One of them is attacked, as well as the mother of another, Freddie receives threatening (or warning) texts, and she finds herself questioning whether they were somehow manipulated into the BPL reading room that day - at the same time as she is falling in love with the most likely suspect.

While I didn’t love this books, I found it to be an enjoyable read, and the “meta” aspect of the novel within a novel (Freddie is also writing a mystery novel, using her new friends as characters, but we find out very little about that one) was an interesting tactic. Leo’s comments, as well as the conversation between the friends, three of whom are writers, about the process, as well as the sticky question of whether - or how much - Hannah should include the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic in her book, were also intriguing to me.

I received a copy of The Woman in the Library from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good thriller! It kept me guessing and intrigued the whole time! The characters were likable and well developed. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC!

I absolutely loved Sulari Gentill’s When She Wrote Him (which I also recommend if you’re looking for a thriller/mystery that’s also so meta) so I had no doubt in mind to add this to my to-read list when I saw the announcement for The Woman in the Library and when the ARC was made available on Netgalley!

I can confidently say that this mystery novel is also meta (books about books!) which I love about it. Despite having a similar vein of execution with When She Wrote Him, I’m glad that this didn’t *compl*e*tely* disappoint me. The basic premise is:

1) An author, Hannah, is writing a mystery novel set in America while seemingly living in Australia

2) Said author is in correspondence with an aspiring author and fan, Leo, who gives her tips upon reading the chapters of her manuscript

3) The way the book pans out is we read the chapters of the mystery novel Hannah is writing then it ends with an email from Leo

4) The mystery novel takes place around Boston and the murder happens in the Boston Public Library.

5) One of the main characters of Hannah’s book is an aspiring writer and one of the characters is named Leo inspired by Hannah’s real-life encounter with her “pen pal”. This makes it so meta because it’s a book about a book about an aspiring writer. 🤯 Reading this alone may make it sound confusing, but upon reading it, it’s not.

The way the chapters of Hannah’s draft and the email exchange with Leo and how these two are still connected made for a very interesting read. It was messed up but not confusing. I can’t confirm the accuracy of the American details (Hannah is supposed to be Australian and Leo would correct her manuscript about details about America), but it’s okay FOR ME, since I didn’t those details didn’t affect the plot and writing anyway.

While I didn’t like what the twist was and how it ended, I still can’t wait for what Sulari Gentill will write next!

I really enjoy the concept of a story within a story, but this time it felt very confusing and lost me. I felt like I was trudging through it and wasn't feeling any part of it at all. The characters fell flat and weren't very interesting, the letters with Leo became confusing, the beginning started off with promise but quickly turned disappointing and I couldn't find myself able to get invested in what happened. I was pretty bored at the end. It most likely could be a hit or miss kind of book for some it seems, but for me, it was a loss. Thank you though for the early opportunity to read this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book took me a while to read. It was a very enjoyable read as a whole, but there was a bit in the middle that dragged for me. Once I got to the last 100 pages or so, however, it all went flying by.

The Woman in the Library is told in a "Story within a story" format. The main story focuses on a Australian writer loving in Boston while on fellowship. On a trip to the Boston Public Library she is brought together with 3 strangers as the result of a sudden scream. Later, a woman is found dead and things take off from there.

From emails in-between chapters, we learn that this setup is the work of an Australian author who receiving feedback on each chapter from her American beta-reader. He offers feedback, but as is the case with the central story, things prove to be much darker than initially met the eye.

I liked the idea for this setup. It was creative and definitely made for some interesting commentary on the development that a book goes through on its road to publication. I also really liked the writing. It flowed well and was probably what kept me coming back when the middle bits had me down. Well, that and my hope for a payoff which ( thankfully) really did come.

So what made the middle difficult for me to get through? Honestly, it was the characters. I really enjoyed them at first, but they had begun to wear on me by the middle. Main character Freddie really did seem impossibly naive and Beta-reader Leo got to be downright unlikeable (and not for the reasons that we learn about later in the story). This may have been intentional, but I personally found it difficult to read.

My thanks to NetGalley for my copy

I really wanted to love this book, but even when I got halfway through it, I just couldn't quite catch on to the unique approach the author took. It was a book within a book, with characters inspired by characters inspired by...characters? I finished it, hoping that it would be one of those that all reveals itself in the very end and makes me want to go back to the beginning and read it again. But alas, the ending was just as confusing and abrupt as the rest of the book.

Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to receive a complimentary copy of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own, and I also want to apologize for reviewing the book after its publication date.
I decided to request The Woman in the library because the book cover drew me in, and the summary was the catalyst to push the button.
Unfortunately, for me, the book didn't deliver what the summary promised. Yes, there are innovative structures, like the correspondence between Hannah, the author who writes the book about the mysterious murder in the library, and a betta reader.
Contemporary authors have a problem writing stories taking place at the beginning of the 2020s without writing about the pandemic. The Woman in the Library complements the subject rather than dominates the story, and Sulari Gentill manages to do it through the correspondence between Hannah & Leo. Throughout the story, we don't have an innuendo about the pandemic.
There were times I felt the story dragged, and. I would have liked the book to be a little bit shorter. Another aspect, in my opinion, I felt the ending was a little bit flat because the book finished abruptly. There are parts in the book where the female characters come off needy and desperate. I would have to give The Woman in the Library 2.5- stars.

If you want a page turner that is not your run of the mill murder mystery read this book. Excellent premise and execution.

Unfortunately, this book did not engage me. I found the characters hard to warm up to, the plot didn't catch my interest and the literary device of the letters to the author didn't work for me.