Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest opinion.
I wanted to enjoy this book. I really did. I loved the initial plot line(Hannah's book), but could not get into the second plot line. I thought the writing was great and did love the library plot line. I believe my expections were super high for this book.

THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill @sularigentill
Pub Date 6/7/2022

Wow! I was so blown away by this book I finished 2 days ago and am still thinking about it. I just keep thinking, how have I not heard of this author before and what do I need to read next?!

This novel is a story within a story as Australian author Hannah Tigone seeks the help of beta reader, Leo in writing of her novel set in Boston. Hannah cannot travel to Boston herself because of Covid restrictions so Leo is her source for all things bostonian.

The format was so unique alternating between chapters of Hannah's book (which also features a mystery writer) and letters from Leo on his reactions to each chapter. As Leo's suggestions and investments into the book intensify we get two mysteries in one.

I highly recommend this binge worthy read!

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read this advanced copy!

I am giving this 4.5 stars! The format of the book is great, as the insertion of emails responding to a "manuscript" really allows some brief relief from the drama within the story (to a certain extent....). But I also just generally appreciated that this was a book about someone writing a book... about someone writing a book. Hilarious.

I cannot really get into this without spoiling a relatively straightforward premise, but the subplot in the emails I think REALLY makes this book. If we just had the story itself, it would have a much lighter and less effective tone.

That being said, I knocked a half star off for the somewhat rushed ending. I felt that it could have been even further drawn out, as so much of the book is at this interesting broken-up pace.
Though rushed, it is chilling.

Four strangers sit in silence at a common table in the spectacular reading room of the Boston Public Library when they hear a woman's blood curdling scream. A body is discovered and the library locks down until each patron is cleared by the police. And so the mystery begins.

We also quickly learn the strangers are characters in a novel, penned by an Australian woman named Hannah and critiqued by friend Leo. A story within a story, deeply layered and full of thrilling twists. This book is also a fascinating journey into the intricacies of a writer's mind and the complexities of the creative process.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me access to a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in two days which is
testament to how unputdownable it was!

I love a story within a story and a tense, suspenseful mystery that keeps me guessing. Sometimes a story within a story can be confusing, or you feel attached to one part but not the other, but this was not at all the case with The Woman in the Library. I found it really well done.

I'll definitely be checking out more books by this author.

Description:

In every person's story, there is something to hide...
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 immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.
Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

My thoughts

Winifred “Freddie” Kincaid, the protagonist and point-of-view character is an Australian writer. She is in the States because she’s won a prestigious scholarship as a writer-in-residence at Carrington Square. The thesis of her upcoming work? Four strangers are united by a stranger’s scream in the Boston Public Library. She’s sitting in the library one day, trying to work on her book when she notices several people around her. She begins to give them fictional lives and writes her observations and thoughts down. The woman with the tattoos covering her arms and reading Freud is given the name “Freud Girl.” Another library patron wearing a Harvard Law sweatshirt, with broad shoulders, strong jaw, and cleft chin is dubbed “Heroic Chin.” The last person, “Handsome Man,” has dark hair and eyes, strong upswept brows, and is working on a laptop. Suddenly, a scream breaks the silence of the library, and the four strangers find themselves bound together by a stranger’s scream. They begin to investigate the mystery behind the scream, and in so doing, discover one of them is a murderer.
The fictional author writing this story about Freddie and her friends is Hannah Tigone. She is receiving letters from Leo, a fan who volunteers to be a beta reader. The letters alternate with the chapters-the letters are Leo’s response to the chapters he’s read. As the book continues, Leo’s obsession with Hannah and her work takes a dark, alarming turn with references to recent murders becoming more common. The murders in the actual book also increase, and Freddie finds it more and more difficult to discern friend from enemy.
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. The first letter from Leo threw me at first; it was a bit confusing figuring out how the characters fit into the story, but once it clicked, I was hooked. The book is full of twists, turns, and red herrings that kept me guessing until the final pages. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to #Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of #TheWomanInTheLibrary

The Woman in the Library is a book inside a book. The novel opens with a letter between Australian author Hannah Tigone and a test reader named Leo. Hannah is unable to travel to the states to fact check her novel set in Boston, so Leo fills in the gaps to her proposed work.

In her novel, we meet four mismatched people inside the Boston Public Library trying to write. Their writing is interrupted by the shrill screams of a woman which foreshadows her death. The characters form a bond trying to understand what has happened mere rooms from where they were seated.

Freddie, an aspiring writer, soon writes them ALL in her new work of fiction. So here is where a book inside a book begins - let me break it down.

Hannah is writing the story of Freddie.
Freddie is writing the story about the murder and her new companions.
Two stories | One book | One Murder

And, what has Leo done on the streets of Boston with all his grizzly attachments to Hannah?

The Women in the Library seamlessly weaves both books together for a mysterious telling of murder and mayhem. Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the advance reader copy.

Thank you to @poisonedpenpress for letting me read this early. You can snag this one June 7.

This one didn’t hook me at the very beginning but after finishing a few chapters I was definitely in it. ​I love the way this book was formatted. The letters between the chapters were jarring at first but then I began to love them. This is a book about writing a book and a mystery within a writer writing a mystery. I can’t wait to read more by Sulari Gentill. This one is going to be a big deal!! Get your holds and preorders ready.

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 immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

I loved this book! It was very twisty, with lots of layers and it definitely kept me on my toes, trying to figure out what was going on and who was the murderer! Without giving away too much, the format of the book is as follows: letters from a not-yet-published author to a famous author; famous author sends him chapters of the book she’s working on, which takes place in current-day Boston, especially in and around the gorgeous Boston Public Library in Copley Square. Because she’s Australian and he is based in Boston, he gives her tips about wording and about places in Boston to help make her story more authentic (she can’t visit due to the pandemic).

Two of the main characters in the novel-in-progress are writers. The female writer decides to include versions of three new friends - friends she makes under unusual circumstances, when they all hear a scream while working at the same table in the BPL’s main reading room.

In addition to the very twisty story within a story, friendship is a big theme in this book.

Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill from Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press in order to read and give an honest review.

…A cleverly crafted, interesting, unique, and unexpected whodunit that keeps the reader flipping pages to a surprising and satisfying ending…

A story within a story, this cleverly crafted, intelligent, and unconventional novel features two main plotlines. The main plotline is the inside story written by the protagonist, Australian author Hannah Tigone and in the form of draft chapters shared with a beta reader. Hannah’s novel focuses on a murder in the reading room of the Boston Public Library and a friendship that forms after four strangers bond over hearing the dead woman’s screams. Hannah’s story focuses on twenty-seven-year-old aspiring author Winifred Kincaid a native Australian on a scholarship to the states who is inspired by the events that occurred at the library and her three new friends. As she studies her three friends “Freud Girl,” Marigold Anastas, a twenty-three-year-old psychology student with tattoos and a nose ring, “Heroic Chin” aka Whit Metters Harvard law student and son of a famous lawyer and “Handsome Man” Cain McLeod a well-known best-selling author. As Winifred begins drafting her novel and her friendships begin to blossom, the murder investigation begins to focus on one of her new friends. When another murder connects to one of the four the hunt is on to find the culprit before an innocent person is accused.

The second plotline focuses on one-sided correspondence between “Leo” and Hannah. Leo is thrilled when the author uses his name as a character in her novel. At first the correspondence is no more than constructive criticism from a fan and “beta reader” but evolves into something deranged as the outraged, racist fan disagrees with the direction the author has taken. These letters pepper each chapter and end up connecting to Hannah’s story in ways no one could have foreseen.

A cleverly crafted, interesting, unique, and unexpected whodunit that keeps the reader flipping pages to a surprising and satisfying ending. A read that I highly recommend.

Okay, first things first: this is not a book about a woman in a library.

This is a book about an established writer named Hannah and an aspiring writer named Leo who are corresponding over email. Each chapter is made up of two parts: Hannah’s manuscript about a woman found dead in a library and Leo’s reaction to what Hannah has written. Not only that, but Hannah’s main character, Freddie, is also a writer who was inspired to create her own tale about a woman’s scream in a library. So, this is a story about a story about a woman in a library writing about a woman in a library.

The effect is kind of mind boggling. It also allows the author to explore the actual process of writing a mystery novel as well as cultural differences between Americans and Australians. Leo’s emails changed the overall tone of the story and the way I reacted to certain events or characters, especially since I often disagreed with his statements. I definitely read Freddie’s adventure differently than I would have if it had been presented as a complete book on its own.

Four random people are sitting next to each other in the public library when they hear a scream. The woman is found dead and the group begins to bond but could one of them be the killer?

This was a pretty unique way to tell the story with a subplot after each chapter where a writer is sharing her most recent novel with an online beta reader who seems a little iniquitous. While it was unique, I also found it a bit confusing at first. Overall this is a pretty solid story and I think those who are a fan of whodunit mysteries will love this one.

A murder in a library causes four strangers to join forces to solve a mystery. Things ramp up and more murders/attempted murders happen. When everyone is a suspect who can you trust? A smart, fun, immensely readable mystery.

**I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

Excellent characterisation and intricate plotting. The story of a writer, writing about a writer, and an intriguing murder plot was beautifully done, and I really enjoyed reading this book. Highly recommended.

The Australian novelist Hannah Tigone is working on her new mystery. The book is set in Boston, and since Hannah is in Australia, her American acquaintance and fellow writer Leo Johnson volunteers to read chapters of her book to correct inappropriate terms and provide local background. The book begins with an email from Leo to Hannah. More emails follow, so we are constantly reminded that what we are reading is not real.

Chapter one of Hannah’s book then begins. Her book is about the Australian author Winifred (Freddie) Kincaid who is in Boston writing her new mystery. Freddie is sitting at a table in the reading room of the Boston Public Library when a woman’s scream is heard. Later, a woman’s body is discovered in the library. The incident brings together Freddie and the other people sitting at her table in the Library, the writer Cain McLeod, psychology student Marigold Anastas and law student Whit Metters. The four become fast (really, really fast) friends (we even get some instalove) and begin to investigate the murder. Freddie uses the murder as the subject of her new book. So we have Sulari writing a book about Hannah who is writing a book about Freddie who is writing a book about the woman in the library. Do you have that straight? It takes a fair amount of mental gymnastics. That’s a clever gimmick, but felt a little artificial. Nevertheless, I found the plot entertaining. At some point, I suspected each of the four friends of being the murderer (we are told at the beginning of the book that one of them committed the murder). Since the author (Sulari) withholds facts, it really isn’t possible to figure out the motive for the crime, and thus the murderer. So any guess is as good as another until everything is revealed at the end.

I received free copies of this audio book and ebook from the publisher.

When was the last time you've just finished a book and your first thought is, I should read this again... What a thrilling read this was and I can honestly say I've never read anything like this ever before.

I've always been a fan of the story within a story trope, but the subplot in this novel in the form of emails from a rather dodgy beta reading buddy (I have no idea if this is the correct term to use, please correct me if I'm wrong), does make this an amazing 3 dimensional read.

The story opens with Winifred Kinkaid, an Australian student who are working on her novel for the scholarship that brought her to the USA, visiting the Boston Public Library to get some in inspiration for said novel. Three random strangers share the same table with her. Being an observant writer, Winnie quickly creates personas around the three strangers and starts building a "plot" connecting the three: Handsome Man is a movie star; Heroic Chin, a fan; and Freud Girl his faithful bodyguard.

When a woman's terrifying scream echoes through the BPL, fate and circumstances does connect the 4 randomly strangers' lives in an intricate, but brilliantly crafted way. All in aim to find out more about The Woman in the Library and to uncover a murderer. Nothing bonds strangers better than a shared mystery. 

Not to confuse you too much, but we have a couple of "authors" in this book. Winnifred Kincaid (the author writing in the library) and the author of Winnifred's book, Hannah Tigone. We also have two Leo's in this book. Leo the deranged beta reader who provides the subplot through his corrective emails and Leo Johnson who is another scholar working on his novel and residing in Winnifred's building. And then there's Cain, one of the random strangers (Handsome Man) in the Library who wrote a best seller, semi-autobiography about his shady past.

"Words have meaning. I suppose who the author is, what he's done might change that meaning."

"Isn't meaning more to do with the reader?"

"No... a story is about leading a reader to meaning. The revelation is theirs, but we show them the way. I suppose the morality of the writer influences whether you can trust what they are showing you."

I have to congratulate the real author, Sulari Gentill, with this masterpiece. Not only did she create a whole set of fictional events and characters in one story, she did it in two stories with completely different voices and plotlines. I was wondering how and where all the lines are going to get crossed and I wasn't disappointed at all.

This was my first introduction to the works of Sulari Gentill, but it won't be our last encounter.

Freddie is an Australian writer on a scholarship in Boston. One day, as she’s looking for inspiration in the Boston Public Library, a horrible scream pierces the typical silence. The shock of something that unusual in a library causes Freddie to make small talk with three other visitors around her. The group quickly forms a friendship and when they find out that a woman has been killed in the library while they were just a few steps away, they can’t help but get pulled into the mystery. And the plot twist? Freddie and her friends are actually the main characters of a famous writer’s new novel. She’s sending chunks of the book to one of her fans, but despite their correspondence starting out as a friendly exchange of letters, it doesn’t take long for some very unsettling questions to arise.

On paper, this book was supposed to be everything I love - a murder mystery focused on writers and libraries, and a story within a story as a cherry on top? Unfortunately, a lot of this novel didn’t work for me. I liked the premise and the beginning, but sadly I quickly got annoyed with how childish and unrealistic some of the characters were. I felt like the story within a story aspect didn’t add anything to the book, quite the contrary - it was predictable and slowed down the plot. But I could forgive a lot of that because I really enjoyed a good part of the story - if it wasn’t for the ending. I found it to be foreshadowed in a pretty clumsy way, and I guessed the killer’s identity way too early to be impressed.

TLDR: The Woman in the Library could have been a thrilling, mysterious read, but unfortunately fell short, weighed down by unnecessary additions and predictable plot twists.

Name of Book: The Woman in the Library
Author: Sulari Gentill
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: June 1, 2022
My Rating: 3 stars!

I am a big psychological fan but I also love a good cozy mystery. We ‘Cozy’ readers know that a typical ‘‘Cozy’ has a female protagonist who is a Librarian, Book Seller or a Café Owner (in other words books and food), also our protagonist usually has a cat and there is a definitely ~ a murder~!
I knew this wasn’t a Cozy Mystery but was still hopeful it would be an enjoyable read.

Story stars in the ‘quiet’ reading room at the Boston Public Library, until a woman screams.
The Library Security guards tell everyone to stay in place until they investigate. Four strangers are sitting at the same table and strike up a conversation while waiting for the all-clear. They all have a reason for being there however — one is a murderer.
The strangers actually become friends stating it was bizarre as they seem to recognize each other - perhaps friends in a life forgotten.

In the First Chapter when Freddie ~ Winifred Kincaid sees the three at her table, she gives us a description of each and gives them the following monikers: Handsome Man, Heroic Chin, and Freud Girl. (Freddie later uses these monikers in the story she is writing.)
Each discloses their real names: Handsome man is Cain McLeod; Heroics Chin is Whit Metters; and Freud Girl is Marigold Anastas.

In addition to these characters, there are a series of letters written by Leo Johnson to Hannah Tigone. Leo is a beta reader for Hannah but it also a frustrated writer.
(Why not? ~ It seems everyone in this story wants to write a book or is writing a book!!)

I cannot say this was a wow read for me. One reviewer described it as very clever. However, it was taking me a lot of time to make sense of it.

On the positive side, I always enjoy the author’s ‘Acknowledgements’. This book also includes A Reading Group Guide and ‘A Conversation with the Author’ which was very interesting

Want to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 1, 2022.

"And so we go to the Map Room to found a friendship, and I have my first coffee with a killer."

Overall, I liked this book. The story within a story format was unique and enticing.

The first begins when Freddie, an author who has won the opportunity to live in Boston, goes to the Boston Public Library. There she meets Marigold, Whit, and Cain after the four hear a scream. She then begins writing her book using these former strangers as inspiration for her novel.

The second story is an Australian author, Hannah Tigone, communicating with a fan, Leo Johnson. Hannah sends Leo her latest work chapter by chapter. Leo does some fact checking and provides his own suggestions for the last chapter with each email.

The pacing of the book is stead, and it keeps the interest. Plot development is great, and the plot is the star of the book. The character development is somewhat lacking, but it isn't needed because the story within a story aspect is what you're reading for.

The running commentary within Leo's emails regarding the pandemic, racial prejudice, class differences and homelessness should have been fleshed out more. As they weren't, they felt a bit biased and unnecessary to the overall plot development.