Oh my ... sigh. There is so much that didn’t work for me in The Woman in the Library. First of all, the pace was erratic. It started out slowly, dragged on from there, picked up a little about two-thirds of the way through, and then ended.

Nothing really happened until deep into the book. So many pages are used up trying to set the tone for four people who were supposed to have become fast friends in the enormous Boston Public Library (insert eyeroll … highly unlikely). That would be the second-of-all. The whole book was very contrived, even the part about how those four ended up at the same table.

The story-within-a-story’s writer’s painstaking efforts to write a novel became confusing at first and then annoying. There was a line in the book that had me chuckling, “… a story is about leading a reader to meaning.” I thought, oh how I wish you would, dear author, because this book is meandering on its way to nowhere.

Regarding the ending, I could see part of it coming as it was very predictable. The rest was weak at best. Even the explanation of the woman in the library was lame. When all was explained, it simply wasn’t plausible.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review The Woman in the Library. Sadly, my review is dismal; this book just wasn’t for me.

I have never read a novel with a plot device quite like this one, but I loved it. I don't want to say too much or give anything away - I will just say that the story is engrossing, I genuinely cared about the characters, and I found the structure refreshing. One of my favourites so far this year.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This book wasn't for me, unfortunately. I didn't love the voice/tone of the novel-within-the-novel, and the framing device of letters from the creepy guy weren't much better. I'm sure others will enjoy this, though.

This was a creative and fun read! It's a book, within a book...within a book! Hannah is an established Australian author who is sending her work-in-progress chapter-by-chapter to Leo in Boston for feedback. Leo is an aspiring author and so much more.

Hannah's book is about four young people who become friends after they hear a scream in a library. They quickly bond and later learn that a woman had been murdered. Two of the four new friends are authors so we also learn about their books. Thus the book within a book within a book (to some extent).

As the story progresses we learn how the characters are interrelated as well as learn more about the very helpful Leo.

Even though I didn't think the ending was great, overall the book was very creatively done and entertaining.

Thank you to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advance copy.

This book is SO unique. It’s a thriller/whodunit with a very well-developed main character. I love the idea of an Australian author in Boston writing her novel in a public library as events occur around her. The format is also very different, with fan letters reviewing her work as we read along. Suggestions given by the American, Leo, are quite interesting and highlight some cultural and quirky differences between the two countries. We’re never quite sure what’s actual versus what’s in the novel and I loved that I was on the edge of my seat figuring it out almost “in real time”. Letters from the FBI just injected enough real world into this story to make it extremely credible. I loved the descriptions of Boston and the literary nature. Aspiring authors, four characters form a different kind of friendship based on shared experiences. The romance element is entertaining and believable. It’s not something I usually enjoy in my thrillers, but it is well integrated into the main plot. Words have power! I read this book in one sitting and highly recommend it as a five-star read. I am excited to check out Gentill’s backlist. Thanks to Poisoned Pen and Net Galley for the fantastic read and for introducing me to a new favorite author.

An intriguing & well written mystery. A story within a story as it were. Seemingly, the author is writing a mystery story about a death in a library & 4 strangers meeting to unravel the clues. After each chapter, we see a letter written by someone critiquing the book who gets more critical and downright creepy as the book goes on.
I really enjoyed the premise but also felt a little frustrated & confused by it and I couldn’t get on board with some of the characters. I felt some of it was a little too contrived to suit the path of the story so much so that it didn’t quite make sense. I almost get what the author was trying to do but it didn’t quite work for me.

This was almost like a locked room mystery because the author tells you almost immediately the killer is one of a finite group and you spend the rest of the book trying to figure out which one and I thought it was really fun. There is an added layer to the story because there is also a book within a book and that fictional author is sharing chapters with a fellow writer/fan that becomes increasingly creepy as you read. Completely unique idea and if you read the author's notes she tells you the hilarious way in which she came up with the idea.

<i>The Woman in the Library</i> is an intelligently crafted, intriguing construct of a book-within-a-book, making it a worthy read for this concept alone. It’s a twisty-turny whodunnit murder mystery straight out of the Agatha Christie stable, so expect red-herrings galore!

Although it is a unique idea that certainly adds depth, I found the multi-layered narrative a little distracting, and it was a challenge at times to remain equally engaged in parallel story plots.

That said, this didn’t spoil it for me, and it’s a must-read, page-turner. I would recommend this to my students (YA readers and fans of, e.g. <i>One of Us is Lying</i>) and fellow book club members, especially to listen and take part in the debate and discussion that would ensue!

My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 Stars for sure!!

I didn’t really know what I was in for when I requested the arc for this book. I just know it was an interesting concept and was down for it. But actually reading it was such an amazing experience.

You are introduced to our author, Freddie, as she sits in a reading room in the Boston Public Library and the three most important people to her… well.. after a scream is heard outside the hall. Later these newly aquatinted friends find out the scream was because a woman was murdered just down the hall from where they all had just met.

What I did not expect from this is the almost “meta” or even 4th wall-ish breaking side to the story. See, this story about Freddie is actually the work of fiction in the form of a manuscript. That manuscript is being sent to this fan/fellow author, Leo, and we get this subplot along with Freddie’s story through emails from Leo. These emails continue to get increasingly concerning in a way that leaves you wanting more.

I found myself being pulled just to find out what happened to these friends and what Leo thinks about the story and how it’s going! The only critique I can think of right now is the climax of Freddie’s story sort of plateaued for me compared to our separate story through Leo’s emails. Though, I did not find myself disappointed with either.

This is a hard book to simply explain, but if the plot even sounds remotely like something you’d like I encourage you to try it!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Sulari Gentill for the chance to read this story early!!

Thanks to NetGalley for this eArc!

This was a super fun mystery novel that almost immediately departed from where I thought it was going to go, judging from the description. The embedded narrative may confuse some readers in the beginning (like it did for me), but in the end it added compelling layers to the story overall, including a pretty disconcerting this-could-too-realistically-happen one.

A writer is procrastinating in the library when she hears a scream. This spurs an intense relationship between them and the three other people at the writer's table. Everything sort of spins out from there. Characters are flawed and make some real dumb decisions, but for the most part I liked it because sometimes we and the people we love and admire DO do dumb stuff sometimes. How we feel about a person can make us overlook a lot of red flags.

One thing that caught my attention in perhaps not the most positive way was the repeated negative comments about one character's tattoos and how another character assumed so many strange and deeply outdated things about this character because of them. It did jar me out of the story for a second every time it came up.


You might like this if you like...

Boston
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Embedded narratives
Friendly doormen

4.75 stars

WHAT A RIDE. I honestly am not certain how to describe this book without giving major plot points away, but I will try my best.

The Woman in the Library has two stories going on - a mystery surrounding a scream in the Boston Public Library and how it brings a group of four people together, and at the end of each chapter, we get an email from the writer of the story's beta reader giving her advice on the setting of Boston and the use of American characters (the writer is Australian). The first couple chapters I thought to myself, this might get a little tedious and then it does the exact opposite and become riveting.
I'm going to recommend this to every mystery reader I know. Top Notch.

Four people are sitting near each other in the Reading Room of the Boston Public Library when a scream rings out. As they try to figure out what happened, they start to bond with each other. However, a woman has died, and they are curious about who did it, and whether it could be one of them.

I really enjoyed this mystery! Within the chapters of the book, there is a subplot about the author of the book getting feedback from an online friend who also perhaps is more nefarious than he first appears, just like the characters in the book. It's very meta, and I loved it! I didn't find the killer to be a wild surprise, but I enjoyed all the buildup to it and the suspense. Definitely recommend!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman in the Library is a different sort of whodunit set in Boston. The intrigue starts with a scream inside the Boston Public Library, (BPL), a murder and several potential suspects.

Freddie,, a young aspiring writer here from Australia is the recipient of a writing grant. She develops an unexpected relationship with two young men and one young woman who are all sharing a reading table at the BPL ON the day of the murder.

This scream bonds the four of them and send them into an impulsive quest for reasons, answers and the identity of the person or persons behind the murder of the title sake.

But as we know folks aren’t always who they appear or pretend to be, so trust no one!

There are enough twists and turns to keep readers flipping pages. The story is menacing as a story within a story with an unexpected outcome.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen for this on the edge ARC

I'm between a 4 and a 4.5 star, so per my ARC review policy, I'm going to defer to the higher rating and go with a 4.5... I was so entertained by this! I thought this would be a locked room mystery, but it was more a "reverse" locked room mystery where all our suspects were together at the time of the killing so... who did and how? This one is also a book within a book which I am a sucker for, and I was as invested in the framing device as I was the main story. I do think there are some clunky sections that were rather bumpy, but overall, this was a super entertaining whodunnit with a nice splash of romance thrown in as a cherry on top, as well as some thought provoking themes around how formerly incarcerated people are treated

CW: racism and child abuse

A writer writing their book based on a writer writing their book in the Boston Public Library meeting three other people when a tragedy ensnares their lives and then submitting segments of said story to their editor is this twisted, deeply rooted in itself novel! Confused yet??

This is an incredibly original and intelligent story with a lot of dimension and depth to it. You have to really pay attention to the detail to stay with and enjoy it. The characters are all very different and add to the depth of the story. It's basically a story within a story within a story - an inception of stories!

3.5 In this whodunnit, Freddie, Cain, Marigold and Whit when they hear a woman scream in the Boston Public Library. Despite being strangers a friendship is struck between them. Unbeknownst these new friends one of them is the killer. Thank you so much to NetGalley for this advanced copy!

This is the first book that I've read by Sulari Gentill and it will be the first of many. This book had a twisting plot and interesting characters. The main story was framed by a (fictional) correspondence between the main character, an Australian writer, and an avid fan in Boston, MA. It places the story in the present time when the covid pandemic is taking place as well as racial tensions as a result of police violence.

This book was a story within a story that turned out to be within another story. I honestly don't know how Sulari Gentill kept everything straight, but she did and it made for an intriguing read. Being from the Boston area and a patron of the BPL made the book even more personal--some of the places could be recognized--my only regret was that somehow the library wasn't worked into the plot more, but nevertheless I found the Boston story exciting and it wasn't until about 1/2 way through that I realized that there was a Leo story. But at the end, all the stories were resolved, maybe not in the way one would think or hope, but yet I felt satisfied at the end.

Four strangers are seated at a table in the Boston Public Library when they hear a woman scream. After a search, the body of a young woman is found, but who could have killed her? Was it one of the four at the table or someone else? The story follows mystery writer Freddie Kincaid, one of the four at the table, as she writes a mystery using the events of the day. But nothing as it seems in this frightening, tense novel.

• Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing this Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is June 7, 2022.

One quiet day in the Boston Public Library the usual tranquility is disturbed by the sound of a terrifying scream. Harriet, Marigold, Whit, and Caine quickly become friends by being in the same place at the same time. Though one of them may be a murderer. Then there is a subplot about a frustrated writer who is corresponding with the book’s author sharing feedback on plot and characters. It is nothing short of brilliant how Gentill works the Covid pandemic into the novel without really mentioning it. The same goes for reference to race that seems to appear everywhere in today’s society. And, the ending; what a twist! I will definitely be reading more of this author’s work in the future.