Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this alc.

A woman is found dead at the Boston Public Library. Before her body was found, four strangers could hear a woman’s scream while they were seated together. I was very excited about this one. The Woman in the Library was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. Books, library, a dead body, and a mystery. What else could I ask for?

In this metafiction, Hannah Tigone is an Australian writer who is writing a book about another Australian writer, Freddie Kincaid, who is writing a book about the murder in the library. Confusing? A little bit. But the main plot and subplots are all tied together at the end. Gentill examines the writing process, discussing how to improve plot and characters, and the use of American and Australian colloquialisms, in a very interesting way.

I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Katherine Littrell who does a great work making different voices for the different characters. I was swept away. Littrell was a good fit and kept me eager for more and more of this story. She also does a fantastic job with the different accents. I really enjoyed the experience of listening this audiobook.

The Woman in the Library is witty and multilayered. The pace is excellent. I got involved with this story and was curious to get to the ending and solve the mystery. I liked the tension created and the twists. Overall, great mystery book, engaging and clever story with round characters. I recommend it to all fans of the mystery/thriller genre.

A murder in the library. That’s what hooked me right away but what kept me hooked was the eclectic group of characters and the mystery that they all find themselves involved in. A group of young authors gathered in the library hear a woman scream. Soon it is discovered that a lady has been murdered. A young Australian author, Hannah, finds herself growing in friendship with this group of authors. But is there a murder amongst them? As like turns to love, Hannah finds herself in a budding relationship with the main character. Can she prove his innocence or is she being the one who is being fooled? But wait is this all just a novel? Throughout this who dun it there is this correspondence from an American who is giving Hannah his critique and honest opinion of her book. Who is he and is this just a novel or is the murder real? This story within a story at first had me a little confused but as I continued I really liked the added mystery. The narrator did a great job of distinguishing the many characters without being too sterotypical. I feel like this is a solid 4 stars and will be a great listen on a road trip! Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape for an advanced audio book copy of this book..

Wow this book was something else! This twisty mystery keeps you guessing all the way through to the end. Is it a book about a murder? A book about writing about a murder? It is both, and then so much more. The narrator on my audio version was fantastic, but I'm sure I would've been sucked right into this story if I were reading it, also. Grab this book in. print or audio and while away your summer vacation trying to figure out all the mysteries! Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the early listen.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this book. Usually, suspense/thriller is not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed this story set in the Boston Public Library. Cleverly written story within a story within a story kept my attention. Loved the narration as well.

Good character development, Will keep you guessing until the very end, comradery of an unlikely group, things are not always what they seem.

🔊Song Pairing: Mystery - Jesse Jo Stark

💭What I thought would happen:

Agatha Christie murder in the library kind of mystery (I may have built this high in my head)

📖What actually happens:

A story within a story. Hannah is writing another book (as her work is already globally known) a mystery about a murder in the Boston Public Library. The story is told in the correspondence with Leo, one of Hannah’s adoring fans as he gives her notes on each section.

Within the murder mystery, several individuals are all nearby in the library when the murder occurs. Freddie, Cain, Whit and Marigold decide to join together to solve who had done it but find themselves in danger the deeper they dig.

🗯Thoughts:

If you enjoyed Inception, you may enjoy this (however nowhere near as complicated or interesting). But the book within a book was a super neat idea. The problem I had with it…Leo complimenting Hannah’s work was just the author giving themselves self gratification on their own work. Leo: oh that’s brilliant. Author: oh I know this is brilliant! 😉

There were several times where I thought this could end here and I’d be content but instead it just chose to keep going and then when the ultimate demise came..I was like holy moly wait what!!

Overall, there were parts I very much did enjoy, I liked Freddie and Cain and even Marigold with her stalker tendencies just maybe from afar. But somehow this book just wasn’t for me in the end and that’s alright! I’d still be interested to see what this author writes next!

This was a clever, fascinating and twisty thriller! It starts with 4 people who meet in the Boston Public Library after hearing a death-defying scream. They are locked down in the reading room while security investigates, and end up getting to know each other and some of them become friends. This book really plays with your mind, it has stories within stories and some of the characters are authors and editors so it was interesting to read about their process and unravel all the layers and personalities to figure out what was really happening. This was my first book by Sulari Gentill but I would like to read more of her stories after thoroughly enjoying this one.

Katherine Littrell did a great job of portraying many different personalities and accents in the audiobook, but for this book I wish I had access to the physical or ebook as well because the story has so many layers that there were a few places where I wanted to go back and check something. But it all worked out in the end and had a conclusion that was both surprising and satisfying!

Thank you so much to netgalley and Dreamscape media for this advanced listening copy. I loved the flow of this book! Reading a book within a book and learning about the process of writing and researching was very enlightening! It was a great thriller with well developed characters!

I don't have strong feelings one way or another for this book. I liked the Boston Library setting and the descriptions of the main characters. I had to replay portions of the audiobook over because I missed certain pertinent details, which is never good. The narrator did a great job of portraying the various characters. I was a little lost at times but I figured out the main mystery even so. I know that this is extremely popular so I might try the print version to see if I get more out of it.

The narrator was good. However, I didn't understand the point of the secondary story with the commentary on the primary story. The solution to the big "mystery" of the book was pretty obvious to me. I knew who the murderer was by 50%. I did like that she didn't describe the race or general appearance of the characters, other than body type and tattoos.

This book is now one of my year's most favorite books. Right from the start the writing grabbed me and I found it very difficult to put down. Written in a unique style, this book within a book was one that you have to pay very close attention to at the beginning to make sure you get all the characters straight, but it will be worthwhile as it very quickly grabs the reader and holds us! Intelligent writing carries on throughout. Crime-fiction at its best!

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.

I listened to the audiobook version of the story narrated by Katherine Littrell. She did an amazing job bringing the story to life, but I wish there had been a different voice for Leo’s emails. I think it would have added another layer to the listening experience.

This was my first book by this author and I was so excited to be approved for this audiobook! This was unlike any book I’d read (listened to). A story within a story which means double the mystery! It was super engaging and I really enjoyed the audio version!

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.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

I was REALLY looking forward to this one... a mystery set around a murder at the Boston Public Library is right up my alley. But this was a flop for me pretty much from the start, I did stick with it to see it through hoping the end would redeem the things I was having issues with, it did not.

So first off, this is a story within a story... within a story composed of letters being written by an American author (who is a racist and there are a lot of problematic things in those letters) to an Australian author giving "real time" feedback on the chapters of the book they are writing about a group of strangers who were in the reading room of the Boston Public Library when a murder happens. One of those characters is an author who uses the people in the reading room as inspiration for the book they are writing. Still with me? Yeah. I enjoy plenty of books that are a story within a story but the had just one too many layers in it. The feedback letters completely pull you out of the reading experience so the suspense is gone with each plot reveal. Who the killer is and why it happened wasn't shocking or surprising. Honestly, by that time the red herrings were so heavy handed that I wasn't invested in the mystery at all.

Katherine Littrell does a solid job narrating the audiobook, but that didn't save this for me.

You win some, you lose some. This was my first highly anticipated 2022 release that didn't come close to meeting my expectations.

Gave up after about 50% it was boring and I couldn't focus on the story. I wanted to quit after 20% but thought it would get better.

The story opens with a letter between an Australian writer Hannah Tigone and her Beta-reader Leo. Hannah cannot travel due to Covid, and she would like to have someone local, such as Leo, do some research for her book.

Chapter one begins with Freddie, an Australian mystery writer who has come to the Boston Library hoping to get some writing done. In the quiet, she is interrupted by a scream. A woman has been murdered.

The three strangers, seated at the same table with Freddie in the library, are all becoming part of her story. The plot thickens as they are bonded; now, they need each other as alibis.

Do you see the story-within-the-story building? Hannah is writing the story of Freddie, who is, in turn, writing the story of the murder in the library. It’s not as simple as it seems, but the two “stories” are woven together seamlessly.

I love books that have authors discussing their writing process, and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 also has a bit of humor and a mixed bag of personalities. This may not be a new concept, but it was executed quite cleverly.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress for the gifted ebook and @dreamscape_media for the audiobook.

I think the synopsis for The Woman in the Library is misleading. I went into this expecting a locked room mystery, so it was pretty disorienting to realize that's not at all what this is! In the end though, I fell in love with this story within a story and thought the direction it went in was quite brilliant. This is going to be a difficult book to describe because I want to give my audience the right expectations but I also don't want to give anything away! Knowing that the main storyline is actual a novel allowed me to suspend my disbelief and to just go along with it.

Truly unique crime fiction that kept me guessing until the end. There is an eerie feeling to this book that is only enhanced by the narration. Definitely will recommend to those mystery readers looking for something a bit different.

Thank you for this copy of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. I went into this book pretty much blind. I think I knew it was a mystery that took place in the library (and really what else do you really even need to know?)

So, reading a little into the book, I was surprised to find out that this is kind of a book inside a book. I enjoyed that little surprise! I liked getting the little letters from Leo interspersed in between the chapters . I liked reading his input on the plot and the corrections Hannah could make along the way. I was shocked about 50% in to learn Leo's true intentions. I will say I never saw that coming! I was highly invested in that little subplot (and honestly, I wish we could have gotten more on what was actually happening esp at the end!)

I also liked the light nature of the mystery. The different characters were interesting to read about and I thought at any given point each one would be the murder. I liked that not only was it focused on the 4 main characters, but we got reappearing characters along the way such as the doorman and Leo (the neighbor, not the letter writer). I thought the bit with the nurse in the building was hilarious!

Also, the narrator did an excellent job with this story!

Overall, I would totally recommend this lighthearted mystery! I would pick up more from this author in the future!