If you are looking for a summer blockbuster read, then this is the book to pick up. Wow is all I got to say.

Okay, maybe that isn't all I have to say - I'm sure you came here wanting to know a little more about the book than just that, right?

A story within a story isn't a common trope - at least it isn't a trope I commonly read. But Gentill uses it masterfully in this crime thriller.

Sulari Gentill is an Australian crime writer who in what I'm calling story 1 has created two characters - Hannah, an Australian crime writer, and Leo, an American author wannabe that is beta reading Hannah's book chapter by chapter. In what I'm calling story 2, Hannah creates four main characters: Winnifred (aka Freddie) is an Australian crime writer visiting the U.S. on a writing fellowship, Cain - an American novelist trying to write his second book, Whit - a Harvard law student that would rather be a journalist, and Marigold - a psychology graduate student. In the beginning, I wondered if there was going to be a story within a story within a story with story 3 being the story Freddie is writing. While we do get some glimpses of her book it isn't really detailed enough to be considered its own story.

I had a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the two stories at first, particularly as we get a bit more of the story Freddie is writing in the first few chapters. But once I did get it all straight in my head, I couldn't put the book down.

I knew there would be a twist - I mean it's a thriller, there has to be a twist. Since we only see Leo's emails to Hannah, I wondered if one of them was not real and it was going to turn out that the character was schizophrenic (like in A Beautiful Mind). Or was the twist going to happen in Hannah's story? We get much more of the story she is writing as most of each chapter is the recent chapter she sent Leo with him writing a shortish email at the end of the chapter with his notes. When the twist does hit, let me tell you, it is quite the bombshell. What the twist is isn't out of left field. No, instead Gentill blindsides you with the timing of it. The timing of it is perfect for the shock and awe factor. Truly is a masterful piece of writing to get the timing so perfect.

I was loving the book before the twist but it pushed the book to 5 stars for me. If you are wanting a book you can't put down, then get this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Tuesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/06/the-woman-in-library-by-sulari-gentill.html

A fascinating and original story that gripped me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down! The book within the book and surprise second mystery were brilliantly executed. A must read!!!

The Woman in the Library is Australian author Sulari Gentill’s second excursion into crime meta fiction (after 2017's Ned Kelly Award-winning Crossing the Lines a.k.a. After She Wrote Him), and makes for an engrossing and entertaining read. Like her most recent series release (Where There's a Will / A Testament of Character), the setting is Boston, but in this case the time period is contemporary.

The book resembles a literary matryoshka doll: it portrays an Australian writer, Hannah Tigone, writing a mystery story set in Boston, featuring as its main character another (fictional) Australian writer, Winifred "Freddie" Kincaid, who is in turn writing a fictionalised murder mystery inspired by her experiences while undertaking a literary fellowship in the city. One day, while fruitlessly seeking literary inspiration in the Boston Public Library (BPL) Reading Room, Freddie and other patrons are shocked to hear a woman's blood-curdling scream. She subsequently bonds with three other "readers" and together they seek to uncover the horrific truth behind what they witnessed, in the process becoming friends.

Hannah's presence is depicted only via her role as the invisible recipient of a series of emails forming one side of an exchange between herself and a Boston-based fan / de facto research assistant named Leo. We can only interpolate Hannah's side of the ongoing discussion, as Leo responds with feedback and cultural suggestions on successive chapters of her new novel. Over the course of the exchange, which is interleafed between chapters of Hannah's mystery narrative, Leo morphs from a somewhat gushing Beta-reader into a disturbingly volatile individual who seems to be blurring the line between fiction and reality.

Meanwhile, we're presented with the narrative - purportedly Hannah's novel - as it follows Freddie and her new friends in their amateur efforts to identify a murderer - but could the villain be closer than Freddie could possibly imagine?

Sound confusing? It's certainly an interesting and challenging premise, but I found it much easier to keep straight in my mind than Gentill's similarly multi-layered Crossing the Lines, which featured more convolutedly intertwined narratives. In The Woman in the Library there is a very clear hierarchy of stories-within-stories.

Sulari Gentill skilfully employs a range of literary devices, including foreshadowing, misdirection and the trope, familiar in "golden age" crime fiction, that every character has something to hide. The underlying mystery storyline is enthralling, but just as engrossing are the developing relationships between Freddie and her newfound circle of friends.

Gentill clearly draws upon her own experiences as a writer, in the outer two levels of the metafictional narrative. Freddie alternately struggles with writers' block and experiences periods of intense creative activity, during which she shuts herself off from the outside world. Embarking on her new story after the drama she witnesses in the Boston Public Library, she faces the challenges associated with creating a fictional work inspired by real people and events. The three writer characters depicted in the Boston narrative employ wildly different approaches to plotting, collaboration and self-discipline. Meanwhile, in the context of Leo's emails to Hannah, Gentill raises considerations around the relative importance of cultural and factual accuracy in setting a novel outside the author's sphere of familiarity. She explores the necessary but sometimes painful process of seeking and receiving feedback. She even addresses the contemporary ethical conundrum of whether or not to incorporate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic into novels purportedly set during this period. I found all of this fascinating - The Woman in the Library is so much more than another murder mystery novel - it's a window into the process of mystery writing itself.

I'd thoroughly recommend The Woman in the Library to any lover of crime-mystery-thriller fiction who's keen to read something a little different and perhaps more challenging than the mainstream offerings.

My heartfelt thanks to the author, the brilliant Sulari Gentill, publisher Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this stunning new title.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill has me beyond confused.

This is a story in a story which was interesting but at times I did not know what was going on. I kept having to flip back to events to figure out the plot and keep my connections straight. I have no idea what the ending was about so that left me scratching my head.

Overall, I was not able to wrap my mind around this story and it completely went over my head. There may be some who enjoy this book which is wonderful but please reach out and help me understand what I just read. Thanks!

Thank you to NetGalley and Posioned Pen Press for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this, it had all the pieces of a book I thought I would love. Unfortunately, the execution didnt work out. It was very slow and the narration was too hard to follow.
This is a story-within a story- within a story and it ends up disrupting the flow instead of adding tension/intrigue

i really wish I could have enjoyed this

I really enjoyed this mystery and the idea behind it. I adored the story within the story, but I wanted a bit more character development (which can be a challenge when the story is structured this way). The mood of the story really enticed me and made this a lovely read. I have MANY students who devour mysteries, so I am excited to add this to my list of recommendations!

This book was good. I was hooked from the beginning and I think that every sentence and every word has a point and that meant the story was so fast paced and a really enjoyable reading experience

The Woman in the Library (by Sulari Gentill
I requested this book from NetGalley in late May 2022 on a whim as one of my June reads, and I’m so glad I did!
Gentill’s characters, some of them very eccentric (Mrs. Weinbaum!) and the entire plot kept me up late into the night trying to guess ‘whodunit’!

This quote from the text sums everything up neatly:
“The narrative is strange—unlike anything I’ve written before. The library takes on a consciousness of its own, watchful, patient, dangerous. The scream becomes a motif, an echo of each character’s silent cry for connection and friendship, for help.”

Things I liked
1. The metatextual/intertextual elements:
a. The story within the story – the MC (Hannah) is an Australian author who has set her next book in Boston. She has entered into an email correspondence with one of her fans (Leo) and sends him completed chapters of the book-in-progress for feedback.
b. Hannah names MC of her book, Freddie (Winifred Kincaid). The character is semi-autobiographical as she too is an author. Freddie has travelled to Boston on a prestigious writing fellowship. She is united in friendship with 3 strangers one day by a shared experience that occurs within the BPL:
~~
“A scream is the most human and primal of things, a siren call which binds all those in hearing to help, as it did us to each other and to Caroline.”
~~
Freddie decides to write her next book about the event and those subsequent.
c. Hannah’s correspondence with Leo turns dangerous and chilling when he begins to send her strange photos and she attempts to break off the email friendship. The FBI ask her to continue it.
d. Hannah writes Leo into the framework of her book and Leo the fictional character begins to interact with Freddie in a fashion that mirrors the real-world. Boundaries begin to blur.
e. The connections (current and past) that are continually revealed and unravelled.
f. How our real-life experiences can inform our created/fictional worlds
g. The reader sits as observer as we witness the stories each character is attempting to write – some come together, while others are dismantled.

2. The detailed discussion on the process of story-writing that occurs between Leo and Hannah, and between Freddie, Marigold, Cain, and Whit.
~~
“Cain shows us his plot, an intricate flowchart created on his laptop, and explains the thems and subplots which radiate from his central premise. There’s something beautiful about the chart. It’s like a spider’s web spun to catch a story. I’m fascinated by it, and a little regretful that my work does not begin with gossamer webs.”
~~
a. Unique-ness of individual authors’ writing, outlining, and brainstorming processes.
b. How when inspiration strikes, one must give oneself over to the muses.
c. How writing can be a cathartic process of helping one work through negative experiences. Or how it can be a traumatic one.
d. How writer’s must pay attention to the descriptive language that is used when portraying a character or culture distant from one’s own – vagaries of describing everyday items (e.g., loo vs bathroom)

What I didn’t like:
1. Reference to “the dying days of democracy” as a new Dark Age. As a medievalist, I have an intense dislike of the use of the term ‘Dark Ages” as it is frequently used to refer to the period of Western Medieval history from 500-1500 CE; however, the term is a misnomer as this period was full of culture, and art, and music, and travel, etc. This period actually saw the birth of Western democracy – the Magna Carta and such.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a multi-layered, complex crime/mystery tale.

What a fantastic mystery! I loved the premise for this one. The characters were unique and interesting. I really liked Marigold. I loved the Boston setting and the various interactions between the characters. My only complain with this one was the addition of the letters between authors. I started to have trouble keeping the names straight and couldn't remember who was who. Ultimately I realized that the letters were really spoiling the flow of the plot for me and I began to just skim them or skip them altogether. In the end I don't think the book needed them at all. So mostly I loved this but felt there were a few things that caused me to loose interest as I read.

This is an interesting concept as it is a story within a story. Hannah is writing the story of what happened at the BPL while consulting with her overseas friend, Leo on her writing. I couldn’t really get into the story and felt like I needed a bit more from each character.

Enjoyable story within a story. Interesting concepts within both. Suspension of belief definitely required. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

This cleverly written suspenseful mystery grabbed my attention almost immediately. Initially, I was confused by the fact that the premise was that it was "a book in a book." However, once I knew what was going on, I found it to be a smart way to tell this story.

Due to the multiple storylines, there are a few different mysteries at play. I anticipated more spillover between the separate stories than there actually was but I was completely fine with how it all played out.. I hesitate to tell too much about the book itself because I think it's better to read it and pick up on all the nuances yourself. Let's just say one of the storylines focuses on a woman's scream in the library and a body being found later. That drives the rest of the story and basically sets the tone for the book.

This is definitely a book you have to let unfold in its own time. It's a fun and enjoyable read with intelligent plotting.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

The Woman in The Library, Sulari Gentill
Pub Date: June 7/22, Poisoned Pen Press

This is the #bogo of mystery books. It’s a locked room mystery with an added psychological thriller piece. I really liked the concept of an author connecting with a fellow writer across the world to help with realizing the story’s plot line by assisting with vernacular and setting descriptions as the writer creates her locked room tale. But what if that same confident or co-collaborator becomes too enmeshed? What if they become a danger.

I really enjoyed « Hannah’s » book and I like the concept of the tangled creation plot line. But - they both could have been done separately and I do believe that the plot line of a research collaborator gone wrong could be very strong on its own. As it was it felt a bit disjointed. And I wish I could have had that piece as it’s own tale.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital arc.

Man, this was such an odd, yet slightly addicting ride. I wasn’t sure what to think more than half of the time. And I can’t say whether that was good or bad, or intentional or not.

The book is uniquely formatted in the sense that the entire main story is told in a form where we know the entire cast are in fact characters in a novel. We learn of the author behind the novel through her correspondence with a beta reader from Boston. Apparently, this is based on this book's actual author's experience. The exchanging of letters part, not the murder part.

While a enjoyed the book enough to come back to it time and again. It is not a one I feel I could easily recommend to others hence the more average rating.

The format for "The Woman in the Library" is a story within a story told with corresponding letters. Which probably makes no sense until you actually start reading the book. But I loved how it was about an author writing a book that was about an author writing a book.

Enough about that... it also begins with a scream. While writing in the Boston Public Library, Freddie is at a table in the BPL with three others who hear the scream. The four become close immediately, bonded by that moment. But one is the killer.

Hannah is writing the story of Freddie and the others, corresponding with Leo overseas. Leo's letters give insight and feedback into Hannah's writing and what reader's may think of Freddie and the others as the pandemic rages in "real" time.

I read and listened to this book, thanks to Netgally and Sourcebooks. I would highly recommend this to mystery/suspense fans both due to the unique format and the way the plot keeps you guessing until the end.

I was intrigued by the format of a book within a book, but when it became a book within a book within another book, the author lost me there. I lost interestin the first writer's novel and the editing feedback from her friend Leo, because I thought, this is not the real story, just a book she's writing. Then because there is a real Leo and a fictional Leo, who may be one and the same, then I became really confused. And the ending threw me, as I didn't know what I was supposed to make of it. I guess I missed the significance of the punch line.

This I feel is a writer's novel, not a reader's novel. I was not interested in Leo's editing comments re Australian versus American customs, language, etc. It was ok at first, but then just got jaded.

Rarely does the novel within a novel draw the reader in like The Woman in the Library. Though I knew Hannah, the recipient of letters from Leo, was the novelist, her characters were so real that I read the book in one sitting. Masterful whodunit.

Could not put this book down! Once you get started you are entrapped in its pages. Sulari Gentill wrote an incredible murder mystery that will have you guessing until the end. All these characters were intelligently written, and each brought something to the story. I highly recommend this book to any mystery lover.

I really enjoyed this one, it's fun to read.

It's a story within a story.
It's a story about correspondences between Hannah the famous writer and Leo the aspiring writer. Each chapter is filled with a chapter of Hannah's new book and at the end of chapter Leo gives his comments, guessing the plot and suggestions for the story. Hannah's new book is about a murder in the library and it's very captivating and I'm so invested in all the characters in the story. The comment and suggestions from Leo got me wondering is Hannah going to put Leo's suggestions in the next chapter or not or did Leo guess about the plot is right, this is what I love most about this book aside from interesting gripping story, I love how Leo's comments sometimes put doubts on me about who's the murderer, also there's the suspense between Hannah and Leo that got me on the edge of my seat. It's a really fun mystery thriller read, again because it's story within story so there's more suspense and more than one plot, that makes this book a page-turner one. Although one of the plot is predictable for me and the other felt rushed and I wished there's more explanation because the build of the suspense is so high so I've been expected so much, but still overall this book is a fun read and I really ejoyed it a lot and still recommended it to anyone who's looking for a fast-paced entertaining fun mystery thriller read.

Four strangers are sharing a table at the Boston Public Library when the silence is shattered by a woman’s scream. They all need to stay while the police investigate and it gets them started talking to each other and building a friendship. When a woman’s body is found - they are all invested in finding out what happened.

This is a story with a lot of layers - I went in without really knowing much about the plot and I think that’s the best way to go. While there were parts that felt a little repetitive and bits of the ending that didn’t quite work for me - overall this was a very fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I think would be a great beach read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.