I am not a super big fan of "story within a story" . It felt a little bit like Clue and who done it, which was nostalgic. The plot was decent. It kept me interested but I felt like the story within a story kind of disrupted the flow of the book. It takes the reader out of moments that could really build and be tense. I finished because I wanted to know who did it.

As an Australian, there is so much about this book that I appreciated immensely. I loved how the cultural differences and referential differences were highlighted, as it’s always something I notice as a reader!

I enjoyed that there were in a sense two narratives, one playing out traditionally and the other by way of an exchange of letters.

I think this book was incredibly creative and I know many murder mystery fans will enjoy it! Congratulations to the author.

This was interesting premise. A mystery writer writing about a mystery writer who gets involved in a murder investigation. (A murder in the library?! Sign me up!)

I enjoyed this one, but it took a while for me to get into it. I read an ARC, so I'm wondering if some of the disconnect was due to formatting. I had a hard time figuring out the "story within a story" pieces at first (is this really happening? Or is this the book?). If the confusion was by intentional design, I wasn't a fan of that aspect. I am interested enough to check out the physical copy when it's available to test my hypothesis. :) Something as simple as chapter headings would have helped a lot.

Even with my slight confusion at times, I thought it was worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advanced readers copy.

This is one of the unique books I have read which is 'a story within a story'. Two plotlines that converge. It has a library, a murder, writers and manuscripts - everything a reader wants in a book.

Hannah Tigone is an Australian mystery writer who is writing a book set in Boston. In her book four strangers bond when they hear a woman scream and later her body is found in the Boston Public Library. Friendships are formed but who can they trust? Everyone has their own reasons to be in the library that day. One of them is also a murderer.

Hannah has Leo Johnson as a beta reader who reads the chapters of her novel as she completes them and he emails his critiques back to her. Only as the chapters progress his emails become more dark and obsessive.

The Woman in the Library was a smart and clever mystery which kept me entertained. I just had to know who did it!! It was fun to play the guessing game. I could not guess the killer though. I enjoyed the cast of characters, getting to know their motivations, suspicions and their unease. They were not at all what they seemed.

Highly recommend this captivating and original locked room mystery.

The book is out now. I am super late to post this review though. Thank you @poisonedpress and @netgalley for the digital ARC.

I really thought I would enjoy this more after reading the description and seeing rave reviews for this. I expected this to be a locked room mystery set inside a library, but it proved to be much more than that. I did find the ending to be pretty surprising as I did not see it coming, but found myself wanting this to move along a bit quicker. The characters were pretty interesting but did lack some development so I wasn't overly attached to any of them or their stories. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so intrigued by this book that I finished it in one day! I love stories within stories. It reminded me of those house of mirrors where the reflections go back and forth and deeper and deeper until you find the real one.
The author, Sulari Gentill, writes a story about Hannah, an author, writing a story and sending it to a fellow writer, Leo, for feedback. In Hannah's story, Freddie, who is also a writer, bonds with fellow library goers to solve the mystery of the "Woman in the Library" after they hear a frightening scream leading to a murder . I love how Gentill used the email conversations had between Hannah and Leo into the story about Freddy, making the stories intertwine a bit more. If you are looking for an interesting, unique thriller, this is your book! Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I thought this book was such a good exploration of unique structure. Interspersed with the story was email correspondence from Leo, a fan, to the fictional author, Hannah. We learn that Hannah is sending Leo chapters of her novel WIP as she writes them, and he replies with feedback. Pretty soon we learn that Leo has some dark secrets of his own, and the subplot with him ramps up in time with the conflict in Hannah's manuscript. I loved the parallels there. It elevated this story beyond your typical mystery/thriller. There were some inconsistencies and not-quite-fleshed-out elements of the narrative, but you could explain that away with it being Hannah's draft. I thought that was clever as well as kind of an easy out. But it still worked for me. I would recommend this to anyone writing in this genre, as well as students of genre/contemporary literature in general.

📚—Book Review— 📚

Title: The Woman in the Library
Author: Sulari Gentill
Publisher: Poison Pen (Sourcebooks)
@poisonedpenpress
@bookmarked
Genre: Literary Mystery

Book lover’s have I got a story for you! What a clever, intelligent, tense and addictive story The Woman in the Library is. I guarantee this is unlike any other mystery you’ve read before. So unbelievable unique is this “story within a story” concept.

The book opens with very a chilling “Dear Hannah…” from a letter from beta reader Leo Johnson, to Australian author Hannah Tigone, a mystery author writer who cannot travel to Boston due to Covid restrictions. In this modern age of writing, of course author’s have “google” but there is no substitute for hands on information. Being a foreigner Hannah wants to make sure she gets the lingo and social commentary correct on current events happening now. Leo’s letters are sprinkled all throughout the book.

The other part of the book is the actual book Hannah is writing! How freaking cool. It opens up in the Boston library very quiet reading room with a woman’s terrified SCREAM! Everyone is told to stay put and suddenly a foursome at a table in this reading room becomes friends and scooby doo gang of sorts.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ solid stars! It was Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick! I kid. But it did feel a little like the game of Clue and I was all for it. I listened to the audiobook and it was so good! Very addictive. The @bookfriendsbookclub had the privilege of meeting with Sulari and she was an absolute delight. We could’ve talked for hours. It was like talking to a friend you’ve known for years. I can’t wait for your next book Sulari! Right here in Kansas!!! If you need a beta reader…hahaha…

Thank you netgalley + publisher!

A story within a story, within a story. A fascinating crime novel with so many layers, it will keep you guessing until the end.
Four strangers in the Boston Public Library hear a blood-curling scream, and it bonds them together. Then, they discover that the screamer was murdered - and the mystery commences. Hidden agendas, secret longings, and a whole lot of red herrings make this mystery a compelling one. Who murdered the woman in the library?
As the story develops, we also get a glimpse into the writing life of the author, and find that art might imitate life just a little too closely...
A great read for those mystery readers that want to shake things up a bit.

So different and engaging! I feel you can't properly convey how unique this book is without ruining its charm, so I wont, but believe me, it is great. Part mystery, part lit fic, part dual timline-ish-ness? Now I am making up words I think. But really, just read it, its so good! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A story within a story. This was a twisty and clever mystery that had me guessing until the end!

This book had tremendous promise--a story within a story, the most unreliable of narrators--but ultimately, it didn't really stick the landing. I loved the setting, and several of the characters. I just wish it had a more satisfying final arc.

As far as a debut goes, this is definitely a solid read with great world building. The writing is binge-able, but as far as the mystery, it's pretty obvious who the murderer is from the second they walk into the story.

Definitely a fun read for people who are into the craft of writing and publishing. Having been in a writers group before I think Gentill nails that atmosphere. While I enjoyed the email component to a point, there is a series of events that get tacked on at the end that I just found to bloat the story.

Overall, really fun book, but a little cozier than I prefer to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC of this title.

The last thing I want to do is tear apart someone's brainchild, so I'll try to be tactful in my critique of The Woman in the Library...

Firstly, the premise was gripping! I was so excited when I first read the synopsis months ago and I'd been eagerly looking forward to its release(I was thrilled to be selected to receive an ARC). A Woman is killed in a Library, four people hear her scream and one of them is the murderer? Sounds like a great mystery! For me the book, however, fell short in every aspect(characters, dialogue, plot). Great idea, poor execution.

The subplot of emails between Leo and Hannah was semi-original, but distracting and an annoying interruption to the mystery.

The characters....oh my. Honestly, I might have liked the book if all the characters were,well, not the characters. Everyone was either annoying, unlikable, or unrealistic. All characters are supposedly 23 or over, but act like teenagers with their whiny and immature dialogue.

I know that The Woman in the Library is supposed to be one of this summer's best New releases, but I found it to be hugely disappointing. 😔

Loved this book, really enjoyed the plot line and the characters. Very engaging for me it was a 5 Star read.

2.5

With thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could say that I loved this book. I wanted to, but it just didn’t grab me.

To demonstrate - I had issues with my reader app throughout my reading of this book and had to read after restarting my phone while on aeroplane mode to prevent it reloading and crashing. Which was not the problem - the problem was that the book didn’t hold enough pull for me to go through the actions required to read it.

The setting of the library was gorgeous, it made me want to visit both the BPL and my local gorgeous library. For me though, that’s kind of where my enthusiasm ended.

I might not want to read it again myself, but I also wouldn’t deter anyone else from reading it and I would read another book from the author.

I couldn’t finish this book simply because I realized I didn’t really care what happens. I was intrigued by the story within the story, but both story lines were very slow. The way the characters came together wasn’t believable to me either. I could see them getting together to discuss what happened at the library but their getting so tangled in each other’s lives seemed like a bit of a stretch. Also the second storyline took me out of the first and messed up the pacing. I also questioned the first author writing a story set in a place they’ve never visited.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book, but for me the mystery fell a bit short. The main driving point that kept me engaged was the Boston setting. I loved following the characters in the Boston Public Library and through the streets of Back Bay.

Perhaps this book just wasn't what I expected as I was hoping for more of a thriller. But as a fiction novel, it is just fine. I would love to read more by Gentill in the future as the writing was smooth and sophisticated.

Thank you Sulari Gentill, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately another flop for the thriller genre! 😔 Everything about this book appealed to me. I can’t imagine anything better than a murder mystery set in the library. This book was so flat and felt very repetitive. The ending was incredibly uneventful and so unsatisfying. There are so many great thrillers out there so I would pass on this one. I know my book reviews haven’t been pretty negative lately but I promise I really liked the book I just finished!
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Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to give my honest review.

I love a good mystery and having spend many hours doing research in hallowed reading rooms, I was interested in both the setting and the unwinding of the who "dunnit". My attention began to wain as the characters stretched incredulity and the emails from Down Under didn't add much to convince me to finish the book. Apologies for my inattention and gratitude for the opportunity to receive an ARC.