Enjoyment: 4.5
Total rating: 4.5


Wow. I am not going to lie. Much like I had to do with The Mayfair Witches trilogy, I had to pull up paper and pen in the beginning, to keep track of each set of characters, as Sulari's story was too advanced for my feeble brain to grasp at first. Regardless I was here for it!! We got to try and identify at least two killers, which got me excited. You see, there is a book inside a book inside a book! A delicious literary turducken.

Hannah is an author who is writing a mystery novel about an author writing a mystery novel. I bow to Sulari for not making it hard to follow once you realize what is happening! Even though we didn't meet Hannah (early or at all), we got to know her thought process through correspondence with a friend. Freddie's world was fantastic, she is writing a mystery book, but murders start happening around her in real life.

I loved the easter eggs about a mystery writer process; the overall mystery of the book was well-plotted. The narrative is engaging and fast-paced, and the characters (all of them) are delightful and multidimensional. I always appreciate it when the twists are impactful and organic to the plot.

I enjoyed this fresh take on an author as a character and felt that Sulari pulled it off very well. With that said, I was hoping to get more from Hannah's PoV. I literally could not put this book down. Even though I wouldn't call The Woman in the Library a cozy mystery, it read like a modern golden age book. It has all the right feels.


Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Woman in the Library.

**"4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account***

The Woman In The Library by ingenious author Sulari Gentill is a remarkably clever story about an author writing a book about an author writing a book!

Reading and listening to this smart plot was pure fun. Four strangers at The Boston Library are startled by a woman's deadly scream and then a hidden dead body. Freddie (Winifred), Marigold, Cain and Whit are forced to stay together while security searches the library. They become fast friends but soon Freddie realizes, as she finds her book characters becoming more like her new friends, that one of them may be a murderer.

Now the brilliance is that it is author Freddie and her group who are the characters in successful author Hannah's latest novel in progress. But Hannah has real problems when her beta reader doesn't like the direction her murder mystery is taking and who he believes should be the killer.

Narrator Katherine Littrell was magnificent with a full cast of characters and numerous emotions to navigate throughout this creative thriller. A fun suspense to figure out as clues slowly reveal themselves.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written. A story within a story.The characters were well developed and for the most part likeable. I had my reservations about the corresponding Leo, who somehow always had crime scene photos to share with Hannah. (He definitely was on my suspect list.)
I enjoyed reading the Boston scenery and could picture the characters as they moved through the city. I did not see the ending coming and there wereplenty of twisty turns and intrigue to keep me engaged and guessing.

This one is unique. It’s like a book in a book in a book and I love a book in a book. It did require a little concentration in the beginning. I wasn’t exactly sure what all the layers were, but figuring that out was part of the appeal. And the insight into writing for this reader was interesting.

I liked the characters and their nicknames (heroic chick, handsome man, writer and Freud girl) it was clever and had me connect with them from the start.

I don't want to give anything away, so I’ll avoid any more plot talk, but I do think everyone will be talking about this book

3.5 stars.
The first thing a reader should a know about is about the epistolary format/Dual storylines in it. What we read appears to be an ARC of a murder mystery written by Hannah Tagine, with a lot chapters followed by emails from a beta reader, Leo, providing his thoughts on it and also advice/information. Hannah is Australian, and Leo is her “eyes and ears” in Boston. Eventually, a second mystery/thriller of sorts emerged from the email plot line, but it takes a while—-about 52%. Some other reviews I’ve seen didn’t know about the emails going into the review and didn’t see the point of them, stopping before their true relevance is revealed. While certainly a disturbing and enticing elements the pacing is a bit off. In Hannah’s novel, a woman in murdered in the Boston Public Library and 4 strangers at the library resolve to look into it (the main character in this story is another mystery writer). I found they became friends so quickly, it was unrealistic, and I didn’t really care for the romance plot line either. A lot of their time is also spent not investigating the murder, but rather possibly connected events, and there’s a lot of subplots to keep together. The reader is also invited to solve the mystery, as the main character reveals at the end of the first murder chapter, that one of her new friends might be the killer. Although there were parts where I grew a bit bored, it was a nice summer mystery for me. Might just not be the book for me, although I love the creative concept.

It begins in the Boston Public library.
Four strangers sitting at the same table.
A woman’s blood-curdling scream.
And so begins a thrilling adventure into the lives of these four people-all suspects with secrets and motivations of their own. 👀

“A group of people united by a scream.”

📙The Woman in the Library By Sulari Gentill
📙Mystery/Thriller/Fiction
📙Publisher: @poisonedpenpress & @dreamscapemedia
📙Pub Date: June 7th 2022, out now!
📙 🌟🌟🌟🌟4 stars

📚Things I Loved:
✔️This book was a twisty and cleverly layered murder mystery and it kept me guessing until the end.
✔️Every character had something to hide, no one was innocent! This provided just the right amount of tension as the characters and their relationships began to unravel.
✔️The plot was very well-developed, intelligent and funny! The chapters are quite short, which makes this a pretty fast read.
✔️The audiobook was narrated by Katherine Littrell and I enjoyed going back and forth between both the book and audio.

📚Not so much:
✔️This was a story within a story within another story and even though I thought it was written well, it felt confusing at times.

Overall, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝗪𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 is an engaging, sly, cleverly done story that certainly kept me guessing from start to finish.

A big thank you to NetGalley @netgalley Dreamscape Media @dreamscapemedia & Poisoned Pen Press @poisonedpenpress for this gifted copy of the book and audiobook in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Okay, so it took me longer than I care to admit to fully understand the book-within-a-book premise (I get confused easily OKAY?!) but once I did I was absolutely enraptured. This is a wonderfully twisty mystery that really kept me turning the pages and waiting for the next chapter. Strong 4 stars! Off to read more books by Sulari Gentill. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Four strangers meet at the Boston Public Library due to a death that happened while they were there. Some of the strangers are writers and this contains a story within a story, which sometimes I found a little distracting but it did make it more interesting. This was about friendship, murder and mystery and kept me engaged, but I felt it was a little slow at times. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Many other readers are adoring this book. Here’s what I will say— I did not like the movie Inception, and as such, as soon as realized this is “a story within a story within a story” I knew this wasn’t going to be for me. In truth, the writing is well done and purposeful. The author holds immense talent and I appreciate their efforts to tell such a tale. But the breaks in storylines for correspondence between Leo and Hannah (who I didn’t realize was the actual author to the manifesto until 80 pages in) was distracting for me. I found myself backtracking a lot to reorient myself to what exactly what going on.

Overall, if you have time to read this in one or two sittings. Then I think it would work. But I am not currently able to do that so this left me feeling disjointed and required more work from me as the reader than I normally prefer in a “whodunit” tale.

Thank you to netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

So many good things to say about this book - and I'll start with the fact that I've never read anything like it! A mystery within a thriller?!!! HECK YES.

This was my first read by Sulari Gentill and I'll absolutely be reading another! While reading about a story unfolding within the context of a 'real life' story - I found myself utterly and completely transfixed. I received this as an ARC - but I desperately want a hard copy so that I can read it again someday and flip back through!!

Favorite Quote: 'Murder isn't a job description, Freddie. It tends to be something you do on the side.'

Trigger Warnings: Stalking, Sexual abuse

Rating: 3.5

I have really mixed thoughts on this one. It’s definitely a book you should read and try for yourself. I know I’ve been saying that a lot lately but that's just how these books have been. Just because something was just okay for me doesn’t mean you won’t love it.

I really loved the cover for this one because it immediately intrigued me. When I found out a murder took place in the library I was hooked! I wanted to find out of course who did it and how they did it. I liked all of the characters that were in this story. Usually, that never happens but honestly I found each character to be likable and relatable in their own way. The author did a great job of writing them with their own quirks and personalities.

I think this author has a great writing style and the story is well written. It just didn’t work for me. I found how it was written to be a bit confusing for me. It was basically a story within a story and I constantly had to keep going back to see what was fiction and what was happening in the now. But me being confused could have definitely just been a me thing and not an everybody thing. Sadly, as the story kept going I found my interest in the whodunnit to be fading. Instead of being locked in and excited to find out who the murderer was I found myself not really caring. I did finish this book but mostly because I listened to the audiobook while driving. I do think if I was reading the physical version then I would have dnf. I will say I thought the narrator did a good job.

Thank you so much @poisonedpenpress for the #gifted copy on #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalIey for this early read. I read this book for the title obviously – The Woman in the Library – but I am glad to report that it is an excellent mystery. The set-up is intriguing: an Australian mystery writer named Hannah is writing a murder mystery set in the Boston Public Library and one of her characters, Freddie, is also an Australian mystery writer, in town on a writing fellowship. Freddie is in the BPL reading room, trying to write her book, but actually watching her fellow researchers and making up stories about them, when there is a loud terrified scream. Everyone is asked to remain in place, so the four tablemates start talking. Drawn together by the extraordinary circumstances, Freddie, Cain, Whit and Marigold begin a friendship. But it turns out that each of them has secrets, and Freddie begins to realize that one of them might have been connected to the murdered woman in the library. Interspersed throughout the story are letters to Hannah from a man named Leo, who appears to be a fellow writer giving her advice from afar. This gives the story some immediacy and reminds the reader of the story-within-a-story. I thought this was very well done – the premise is intriguing and I enjoyed all the local references. If you like the story within a story concept, if you liked Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson or Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, then I think you will like this one.

I was gifted this ARC from Netgalley, so I went in blind as to what to expect. I loved that each chapter kept me wanting more.

The subplot of the letters with Leo kept my brain spinning!

Overall, very well written, and a great (locally based) plot!

This book is a departure from my normal cozy mystery genre, as it lacks the "cozy" part. In this story within a story, Australian author Hannah is writing a book about four strangers who become friends in the Boston Public Library. Hannah's story is about another Australian author Winifred "Freddie" who is on a one year writing fellowship in Boston.

Due to the pandemic, Hannah is unable to visit Boston for herself and a Beta reader and mega-fan Leo, a Boston native, is kind enough to give her suggestions - including American terminology to make the story ring more true. As time goes on, Leo's suggestions border on aggressive and he starts sending her photos of murders that happened near the Boston Public Library for a realistic view.

The book goes back and forth between the story of Winifred and her friends and Hannah's correspondence with Leo. I did enjoy the book but the ending was rather abrupt. I had my suspicion's about Hannah's villain and was glad to see I was right- it could have gone a number of ways.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a twist. Thanks to #NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you enjoy mysteries and dual-story novels, then this might be your next favorite read.

Sulari Gentill’s novel, The Woman in the Library, is a mystery thriller novel centered around four characters. Brought together by a scream heard in a silent library, the four characters band together to solve the mystery, only to realize that one of them might be the murderer. The characters are so well written, complex, and flushed out. We get to see how people deal with past mistakes surfacing and what friendship really means.

The above synopsis is only half the story because there is a dual story happening, too. Gentill twists the way we are used to reading and how stories are told in such a fascinating way. They pepper many layers of mysteries throughout that you are guessing and trying to solve them until the end. Gentill writes beautifully in such a realistic way and does an incredible job of painting the picture of what every setting and person looks like. It is an easy novel to picture a movie in your head and feel you are watching it rather than having to read a sentence over to get the scene.

I gave this novel a 4/5 because it felt tough to get into a first and wasn’t “engaging” (for me) from the jump. Once I got about a quarter or a little over that into the novel, it sucked me in, and I read the last half of the book in around 3 hours.

If you are a reader or writer who loves mysteries but can feel like they get old quick or that you need ones that are more twisty and complex, and you want something different from the genre, you will want to give this one a read.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. *

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel. The description of the novel had me intrigued as a New England librarian. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The story within a story format affected the flow of the novel and I felt it had a negative impact on allowing me to connect with the characters. I also felt that the sudden closeness of the 4 main characters who had just met was a bit unbelievable and forced. Overall, I enjoyed the book enough to finish it but didn't really care who the murderer was and was more invested in the beta readers storyline.

I had the luxury of receiving both a digital ARC from Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley and a printed version from Ultimo Press complete with character cards and a sticky STOP note marking the point where you pop your predicted murderer in the provided envelope. A fun idea ….and I guessed correctly 😉. I flitted between the two, trying to get into the rhythm of the main story, each chapter commented on by a colleague/aspiring writer who himself becomes a person of interest through his email correspondence with the fictional author, Hannah.
There’s a lot going on. Four characters, supposedly unconnected and unknown to each other are in the Boston Public Library Reading Room when they hear a woman scream. A body is found some time later and our protagonists are drawn together in an attempt to piece together the puzzle, as secrets are uncovered, red herrings are thrown in the mix and possible motives are examined and tested. We gradually come to know Freddie (a writer), Cain (also a writer), Marigold (a psychology student who is also a genius) and Whit (a wannabe failed law student) as they become close, navigating friendship, love, suspicion, fear and confusion.
I enjoyed the structure and the guessing game. But was a little let down by the finale. I felt there were other incidents and characters that perhaps deserved a greater role in the way it all played out. But then again when things are left unsaid or merely hinted at….our imaginations are free to run wild.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this for an honest review.

One word I would like to describe this is: wow.

I really enjoyed this book. Four strangers meet by chance at the Boston Public library when a scream is emitted nearby. The guards in the library keep everyone there until they can investigate and come back shortly telling everyone they are free to go, as they find nothing. Thus we begin the story and mystery of what happens next. The main characters of this story are Winifred Kincaid (Freddie), Marigold Anastas (Freud Girl), Whit Metters (Heroic Chin) and Cain McLeod (Handsome Man).

Along with the mystery, is a subplot of the 'author' of the book, Hannah, written via letters from a mysterious Leo, who is shrouded in mystery. But as each chapter progresses, we learn a little more about him.

While I really enjoyed this book, the only thing I did not like was how open-ended Hannah's story ended.

A very unique whodunnit that kept me intrigued in ways that so so so so many mysteries fail to do. Written with amazing verve and precision and creativity, this was exactly what I needed to revive my interest in the genre (if even a little bit). Beware of moments where the author seems to try too hard to be culturally and societally “in the know” but that’s very minor. This book kicked ass! I’ll be looking at Gentill’s back catalogue for sure.

Thank you for this opportunity. Readerly gist under invisiblemonster is by me.

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-