A chilling story of friendship and murder. While I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the plot twisted and turned a bit too much for my liking. In many cases, ends felt loose and I sought more closure. Overall, enjoyable but a bit lacking.

I give this book a 3.5/5 stars. I didn't think that the letters from Leo really added to the story and I found them kind of useless and annoying. Other than that, I love the intrigue! Loved the love stories and the mystery behind the woman in the library. Loved how the story unravelled to piece everything together. Overall, I recommend this book if you like more of a cozy mystery and are looking for a quick read.

This story was so meta and it was right up my alley. The book I didn't know I was craving!
We have an author (Hannah) who is writing about an author (Freddie) who is trying to write a book. On one side, we have Hannah receiving e-mails from a fellow writer trying to give her feedback and info about Boston. It was so interesting seeing how Hannah added some modifications after an e-mail pointed something out. And we get to see how this "relationship" evolves.
Then we have Freddie. She meets three people at the Boston Library while a murder has taken place. And from there, this group of new friends get to know each other. BUT, we suspect one is a murderer. And so, you keep suspecting everyone, analyzing every move and sentence until the very end.
Maybe, the thing I liked the least was the ending. Perhaps, my expectations were too high and they played me. Still, I'd say it was an amazing read. I'd recommend it to all mystery fans.
Loved the way Sulari Gentill writes. Will definitely keep reading more of her.

CONTENT WARNING: murder, violence, blood, mention of child abuse, mention of sexual assault, stalking

Rounded to 3.5 stars.

This sounded so intriguing that I couldn’t resist requesting it. And naturally, I’m always down for a good, unique mystery. However, this book wasn’t quite what I expected it to be, and I don’t mean that in a bad way.

This is technically a book within a book. It begins with a letter from Leo, a man in America, who is corresponding via email with Hannah, an Australian author friend of his about her manuscript. So it quickly becomes obvious that the chapters are literally chapters from her manuscript, with him offering feedback as a beta reader. And while I found myself getting caught up within the chapters themselves, I also found myself getting caught up in the interaction between Leo and Hannah, despite the lack of responding letters from Hannah.

This is one of those books that was incredibly easy to read, and I read the majority of it within a single sitting. It flows smoothly and kept me hooked on not just one story unfolding, but two. The characters in the central mystery, four strangers who happened to be sitting at the same table in a library where a murder occurs, kept me reading to find out who they really were and what they were hiding. Because each of them was hiding something. However, the book glosses over a problematic point—one of the characters was actively stalking another, and it’s just brushed off because it’s a female doing the stalking. It made me uncomfortable, and over the course of weeks when this story is taking place, none of the people who knew about it ever confronted her about it. It comes across as being viewed as less dangerous or harmful because it’s a woman doing the stalking.

I found the feedback from the beta reader to be quite interesting, even as I grew to like his character less and less over the course of the book. He brings up important points, or at least, what he views as important points. I’ve read quite a few new books in the last two years that don’t include the effects that the pandemic has on society, so it quickly becomes clear that although the book is set in the present day, the author of the chapters has made it a point to avoid discussing it. And I appreciate that—books are such a good way to escape from the stresses and changes in our lives, and I rarely think to myself, “Hey, let me read a book about the pandemic while I’m actively living through it.” While i’m sure that there have been more, only one really comes to mind that included the pandemic.

The beta reader also brings up a concern about the race of the characters, which isn’t clarified at any point in the book. Is it important to the story itself and how it unfolds? The character arcs? The beta reader seems to think so, but to be honest, I didn’t really think about it until that point came up. The characters are ambiguous enough to let the reader draw their own conclusions, and perhaps if I was more familiar with Boston, I might have picked up on the fact that one character seems to live in an area where more Black people live. But then he offers his suggestions to improve, which honestly weren’t very good. And to be honest, the lack of description allows readers to connect with the characters, no matter what they look like. Although I do understand the importance of being able to see yourself on pages, I also see the value of facilitating connections regardless of what a person looks like, and leaving us to connect with the characters on who they are instead.

This was a fast-moving story, with no pacing issues. It held my attention from the start, and it took me by surprise quite a few times. The plot twists came fast and furious at the end, and despite trying to figure out which of them was behind the murder, I didn’t quite figure it out. It’s a quick read, and the two different storylines worked really well.

"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."

The description of this book gave me all the right vibes and I was very excited to start it! However, it doesn't give you a thorough synopsis of the book and leaves out the most intriguing element. What you are reading is actually a book being written by an author communicating with an acquiantance who is seemingly assisting the author along her writing journey. The relationship starts to sour and suspicions arise the further we get into the story.

As other reviewers have described, this book is like "Inception" for readers! I was enthralled from the get go. It's funny, because the compliments Leo had for the author of the book were also compliments I was thinking. As his thoughts got darker, however, I found myself questioning what type of person her was. It got creepier and I loved it.

The story moves quickly with suspicions moving from person to person during each chapter. I thought for sure Gentill would break my heart with the reveal of the true murderer, but I was pleasantly surprised. With that being said, the ending was swift and pointed. I was shocked and expected a bit more of an explanation or epilogue to help me cope with the reveal and see how the lives of the characters of the story ended up and what more happened to Leo! That's why I gave this book only 4 stars... I just wanted more from the ending.

Read this book if you have a dangerous curiosity, an interest in true crime, and believe in second chances.

Picture this: you are studying in a room in the library accompanies by 3 strangers and you all hear a scream. Unsettled, you ask those around you what it could be? Then you find out that it's from a murder that happened feet away from you and you were potentially sitting by a killer. This story follows the plotline of four newly acquired friends trying to find out who the murderer is and correspondences between the author of this mysterious murder and a fan turned consultant who aids in feedback to the developing story. However what appears to be an innocent conversation turns darker as the fan, Leo, starts to provide the author with gory pictures and accounts of murders going on in Boston. Which story will pull you in more?

This was a fun detective plotline that had you guessing at every turn but it lost a few stars from me because we never get the view point of the author writing the story of the four friends. All correspondences are from Leo to the author. I really wanted her point of view with all the ups and downs we had. Overall the characters and environment were great and I would recommend if you wanted to read.

This book will be out June 7th! Thank you to NetGalley, Sulari Gentill, and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4680389200?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I really tried to enjoy this book. However, this book was a book about ANOTHER book.
Two people wrote back and forth about the book. One gave ideas but it was brutal to read.
This story just wasn't for me.

TW: murder

The silence of the Boston Public Library is pierced by a scream. As the police investigate its source, four strangers - three writers and a student psychologist - strike up conversation and eventually, leave for coffee. But when it is revealed that a woman was murdered in the library, clouds of questions and secrets gather to reveal an even bigger web.

Relayed in a frame story narrative, The Woman in the Library engages readers in a conversation about fiction and reality. At the end of each chapter, the fictional hand of the author, Hannah Tigore, comes to live with letters from an overly enthusiastic pen pal and struggling writer, Leo Johnson. Leo’s detailed comments, while thoughtful at first, begin to take on a less than friendly shade - one that casts a shadows over both narrative threads.

I’ve never played Cluedo, but I imagine that it would parallel the experience of reading this murder mystery novel ans trying to crack a somewhat exciting and occasionally, frustrating whodunit. The short chapters propelled me forward, and maintained the tight momentum required of a mystery novel. I was kept on my toes, and some scenes unnerved me (in a good way).

However, I must admit that there were a couple of moments when I had to really suspend my disbelief. The four main characters were not always believable and I couldn’t make more sense of the frame story with Leo’s emails. I had also hoped that there would be more intertextual references to other mystery texts or famous literary detectives since the library was foregrounded in the title of the book, but it was a pretty self-contained story.

Overall, this was a relatively quick and enjoyable read. Recommended for those who are looking for a plausible mystery.

Thank you @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Woman in the Library will be out on 7 June 2022.

(🔪🔪🔪.5/5)

Wow. I have a librarian friend who also got an ARC of this title and I can't wait until she finishes to compare notes. I have a whole group of readers who will love this title. It was twisted in all the right ways!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Books and NetGalley for the eARC galley of THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by a new to me author Sulari Gentill.

The protagonist is ? Hannah ? Winifred ? who gets a writing fellowship and is in the midst of writing a novel when a body is found at the Boston Library.

Did the murder happen while the author was there or did the author create a story with a murder at the library? This is a story within a story, which throws me as a reader off track.

Well written and while the story grabbed my attention, it was confusing for me to know which was which.

What a wild ride this book was. Two mysteries intertwined into one. At first, I was a little confused why Leo's notes were at the end of each chapter, but by ~50% of the book, I was in deep in his mystery as well. The main story was also very interesting, with twists and turns throughout the way. Without revealing too many spoilers: I was flabbergasted by the ending; I had guessed a different character (not the one the author wants you to think throughout) and was shocked when it was different. Would recommend!

5/5⭐️
0🌶

Another book on the list of books I will forever recommend, this one killed it. I was super hyped for this reading and was afraid to be disappointed, but fear not this story within a story mystery fully delivers.

There's so much I want to say about the book but it would be so full of spoilers, there's no way to avoid it so instead let's talk basics. Four strangers in the library all hear a woman scream, but the guards find so cause for the scream...what? The four continue together after and start to form a friendship. It's revealed later that day that a young girl was murdered in a room next to where the four new friends were sitting at the time, was the scream her dying? This isn't our only story though, the story of the library four is presented in the book as a story written by Hannah Tigone, she is sending chapter by chapter to a very enthusiastic fan Leo. Leo is also an aspiring writer and definitely has a lot of opinions on how Hannah should write her story.

I without a doubt recommend this book. 💚

Whit, Cain, Winnifred in Merrigold or sitting in the Boston Library when they hear a scream. They are told to stay there while security checks it out. They start talking and instantly become friends. Kane and Freddy or both riders, Witt and Merigold are both students. Freddy is flattered when Kane starts paying her individual attention and when he starts pursuing more she is excited for the possibilities. That is until his phone goes missing a guy he knows gets murdered different wit gets stabbed and so much more. She doesn’t even struggle when deciding to believe in Kane, even if it goes against her new best friend marigolds opinions. Someone is trying to kill people connected to Cain, but who? This story whistle thrilling in between each chapter there’s an email from a beta reader who gives comments on American sayings ET see at first I thought those emails with very entertaining and then they became almost ridiculous but still entertaining. I love that the author didn’t mention what race they were and left it to the reader to decide. That was a brilliant move on her part because you can just imagine them being your default rate whatever that is. They did have a couple of inconsistencies in the book but not enough to deter the plot and even though you know it’s fiction and it is made even more clear about the emails from Leo to Hannah I still found myself intrigued and wanting to know who did it. I still felt invested and couldn’t wait to get to the end but now that I have I need to go find a new book by this author. I highly recommend this book if you love intrigue and mystery at its best you need to read the woman in the library it is so good . I was given this book by net Gally and the publisher and I’m leaving this review voluntarily. Please forgive any grammar or punctuation errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

Though initially caught off guard by the story-within-a-story, the setup quickly grew on me, and I became invested in both stories.

Some twists were whoaaah!! Characters were interesting and believable.
Overall it is a great thriller with writers and library and unique plot.
I definitely recommend it to all thriller lovers.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for my review. (Side note: this is my first ARC that hasn’t been won in a contest so I was super excited!) So where to begin! This story was pretty unique, with a subplot that intertwined with the other chapters. I thought it was a great idea, because it enabled the author to not only add more mystery to the book, but to advance or incorporate key ideas that might be brought up later. Back to the main story, I loved all these characters and their interactions! The Fab Four all had good connections and they were all integral to the story, they weren’t just window dressings. The ending had me guessing up until the big reveal! Any of the four could have done it! On my second read through though I was able to pick up on the hints about who the killer was. Overall, a very solid mystery novel and I look forward to more from this author, especially if they’re in this same vein!

Four strangers at the Boston Public Library hear a scream and the subsequent speculation and discussion provides a bonding experience. One of them is a murderer and has ties to the woman, whose body is later found in the library. How could one of them be guilty when they were all together? Freddie is a young writer from Australia who received a Grant allowing her to write in the US. She is attracted to Cain, who is a published author working on his next book. When he becomes a person of interest to the police, she enlists the help of her other friends, Marigold and Whit, to look into the murder. Cain has served time for a violent crime in his past, which he claims was self defense. The question is whether Cain is guilty or is someone using his past to manipulate evidence and shift blame on him.

In Sulari Gentill’s story nothing is as it seems. It is also a story within a story. Hannah is a writer in Australia who is writing Freddie’s story. She has been receiving letters from Leo, a Boston resident who critiques her chapters and gives her information on the area. While his early letters offer helpful observations, his letters start to take on a darker and more violent tone as they progress, leading Hannah to question who Leo really is and what he is capable of. From the early stages of friendship, where each member of the group is supportive, to betrayal and murder, Gentill’s story will keep you guessing to the very end. She is a master of manipulation and I have become a true fan. This is one mystery that should not be missed. I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book for my review.

I was a bit intrigued with this story and was curious to find out how Leo fit into the story. Good story but I felt like Freddie was living in a fantasy world and fell for Cain too soon in the story. The author did a good job at trying to make us suspicious of Marigold but I had a feeling it wasn’t her. I felt like the ending where Leo showed up was interesting.

I could not get into this storyline. Sounded like people interested in themes like the boardgame Clue would match.

I loved the premise of this book because it's so original. I also liked all of the characters so much that I didn't want to get to the end because inevitable one of them was going to be the killer. That being said, it was a bit too long with a few too many clues and red herrings.