What could go wrong when students plan to do a ritual in the basement of the library the night before graduation?

What a slow burn!

This story had multiple points of view, but not from each of the main characters. It was interesting to get a little back story about each of the characters, but things got a little muddled before the end. I felt like I only knew most characters at a surface level. It still made me keep turning to the next page to see what would happen.

The space of the basement of the library seemed massive while reading it, but the layout still leaves you wondering about each part and how it may look in real life. I still have lots of questions since finishing it…

Thank you so much to the author, Eva Jurczyk, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an eARC of That Night in the Library!

Tragically, I don't think this author is for me!

I loved the concept, but had such a hard time with the third person omniscient, as well as the mass amounts of telling. Further, I had a hard time understanding how so several people would agree to break into a library and do drugs as part of a ritual they don't really know about, with a bunch of strangers?!

Still, very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc--I really thought I'd love this one!

This is a locked door thriller that takes place in a library with a group of college friends.
I was excited to read it going in, but I struggled to get into the book. Too many characters and not enough development. I just wasn’t that invested.
It did keep me mildly entertained and I would try another book from this author.
Thank you

Well - this is one book where I definitely did NOT see what was coming at the end! While I didn’t love the book - I couldn’t stop reading! I was engaged and needed to know “who dun it”. I so wanted to love this book - dark and twisty and real sounding characters, seeped in academic politics, set in a library - lots of fabulous elements. In the end, it just felt like too much… That said, it’s gripping and fast paced! Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC and the opportunity to review.

While I love a book that grips me and forces me to abandon all things for it sometimes other books can be good without making you feel as if you need to ignore life. When reading this book, your fully present and enjoy it but it’s not a fast paced thriller that will consume you. The slow burn of this book leaves you wondering why would these students need to do this ritual at this time in the semester and who benefits… then when you figure that out maybe it will lead you to the root of who murdered whom!

That Night in the Library is a tantalizing locked room mystery. When a group if college students decide to recreate a Greek ritual that centers around a death they get way more than they bargained for as the bodies pile up and a night of terror ensues.

This book had a lot of promise, with an interesting and self absorbed cast of characters and good use of misdirection and changing suspicions over who the killer was. Unfortunately the character development was uneven, focusing more on some characters than others and it missed the opportunity to really root the mystery in the Greek ritual the gathering centered around.

I really liked the way the author was able to unbalance your perspective of who the villain was and kept you guessing about who was to blame. However the pacing was very erratic with a lot of downtime and then sudden upswing of action.

In "That Night in the Library," Eva Jurczyk crafts a chilling narrative that ensnares readers in a web of suspense and intrigue from the very first page. Set against the backdrop of a university's rare books library, this locked room mystery unravels with a sinister intensity that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final, cut-throat twist.

The story follows seven students who, on the eve of their graduation, embark on a ritual borrowed from ancient Greek tradition. However, their plans take a terrifying turn when the lights suddenly go out, and one of them is found dead. Trapped within the confines of the library, the remaining students must confront their deepest fears as they face the looming threat of a murderer in their midst.

Jurczyk's prose is as captivating as it is atmospheric, expertly weaving together elements of suspense, horror, and psychological tension. Each character is meticulously crafted, their flaws and vulnerabilities laid bare as they grapple with the terrifying reality of their situation. As the body count rises and secrets come to light, the tension escalates to a fever pitch, leaving readers breathless with anticipation.

What sets "That Night in the Library" apart is its masterful blend of literary sophistication and pulse-pounding suspense. Jurczyk deftly explores themes of mortality, identity, and the power of storytelling, all while keeping readers guessing until the very end. With its immersive setting and spine-tingling plot, this is a novel that will haunt you long after you've turned the final page.

In conclusion, "That Night in the Library" is a must-read for fans of gripping psychological thrillers and classic locked room mysteries. Eva Jurczyk proves herself to be a master of the genre, delivering a tale that is as thought-provoking as it is spine-chilling. Prepare to be enthralled, enchanted, and utterly terrified by this unforgettable literary masterpiece.

That Night in the Library by Eva Jurczyk follows a group of seven (5 grad students, 1 drug dealer and his friend) that are having a ritual in the basement of the school library. Soon they are trapped and high on acid when the lights go out and everything is dark. One by one the 7 are being picked off and no one claims to be the killer. Its either be killed next or kill to survive the night. I found that chapeters could have been shorter and that the same concept of the book kept repeating itself. I did like that last 1/4 of the book to the end. I felt like that kept my attention on wanting to know who was behind the killings. I was just an ok read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for a fair review, appearing on Goodreads.
A fun college-age mystery full of characters with human flaws and all of the angst and bravado that college students have . Fun premise of students locking themselves into the basement of a library overnight -only for it to go horribly wrong. The cast of characters are stereotypical like The Breakfast Club, but nonetheless after a VERY slow start- almost excruciatingly slow, the pace picks up.
3*
Not for my historical fiction book club, but younger audiences than me will like it.

We as a community need to start gatekeeping the Secret History!! I am dead tired of reading knockoffs that aim for but fall short of the atmosphere and intricacy of character that cause you to root for morally corrupt people even as you recognize their flaws. Without this skillful character design, you are left with a collection of mean, boring characters rattling around in a tropey murder mystery loosely garbed in ~dark academia~ vibes. I have to give a few points for the author taking a jab at the White, colonial roots of the ''dark academia'' trope but this is ironically nullified by the excruciatingly pretentious tone and the degree to which every theme is a blunt weapon aimed at your brain without the slightest hint of subtlety or self-awareness.

I really liked this weird claustrophobic gore-fest. It's interesting to see it filed under Mystery & Thrillers because I think there are a lot of horror elements here - like, if this were a movie, it would 100% be a straight up horror film. Seriously, there is so much blood. It also has this real 28 Days Later 'the real monsters were the normal humans all along!!!' vibe that I found really compelling. Locked room mysteries too are so often about just finding body after body whereas this book gets you right in the middle of a lot of the action and leaves you as blood spattered as every other character. Kinda fun! (And traumatizing.)

I do think the premise is a little shaky - there really is no great reason for all of these people to have agreed to get together in this situation. Though I was delighted to find out that the ritual "borrowed from the Greeks" was meant to be based on the Eleusinian Mysteries (my favorite mystery cult!!!!), this concept was pretty quickly abandoned once we got a corpse on the ground. When will I get my perfect modern thriller about the Eleusinian Mysteries!!

(Although - weirdo nerd flex - having been to Eleusis last year and roamed the grounds where these rituals were held, I can confirm that it was all probably just a bunch of people hanging out in some temples/in a cave and getting slizzered. Which go off I guess, but I really wish my horniness for all this could be better justified.)

Anyway, I liked this a lot overall and thought the ending was perfect. This also, now that I'm thinking about it, reminds me of Black Mirror - if you're a fan of that show, as I am, I think you'd like this.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Being locked in a library overnight sounds like my book loving self's dream come true. However, for these students this is far from a dream.

Seven students enter their university's rare books library and perform a ritual the night before graduation. Until suddenly the lights go out, and one student drops dead.

Now, I initially thought this would be an amazing locked door mystery that would have me wanting to not put the book down. This was not the case. The book had a lot of promise and on paper it seemed like it would be the perfect book for me. The execution of it was very flat and unfortunately had me a little bored.

I am certain that this book is not an accurate reflection on the authors ability as a writer. I think there just needs to be changes made to how the twists are executed as well as the believability of the story itself.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

That Night in the Library is a Mystery Thriller that takes place the night before graduation in the basement of the University's rare books library. Davey, one of seven protagonists, invites 6 carefully chosen classmates and friends-of-friends to perform a ritual overnight. The ritual is based around the Greek festivals/rituals known as the Eleusinian Mysteries. The exact process of the rituals is still unknown to this day, but as cited by Davey they would include fasting, a sacrifice, and ultimately coming out of it fearless.

On paper this was a very cool premise that begged to be a murder mystery; a dark secluded basement with no access to the outside world, 7 people who are not all well acquainted with each other, and an ancient ritual taken from real life history. Unfortunately, this book ended up feeling like a series of murders by pretentious & annoying college students followed up with "oops, did I do that?"

Not one character was relatable. Not one character felt important. I disliked Faye and Davey the most, but there wasn't a character I could say that I enjoyed. This story is written in multiple POVs with at least one chapter dedicated to each character, but I would say at least 50% of the book was Faye who was as insufferable as the rest. Maybe I would have liked another character more had we gotten to see their POV more often, but the characters were hardly described to a point that until about halfway through the book I was still confused who was who.

Lastly, and this may be personal preference, but I was so massively disappointed in the ending. I don't like to use spoilers in my reviews, so I will only say that the ending made perfect sense compared to how some horror stories tend to be more open ended, and I am at least grateful for that.

The overall feeling I got from this book was as if you had written a slasher movie into a book. I wish it were more suspenseful, and that the murders didn't feel so...convenient? Perfectly timed? Even a bit predictable. I still think there are plenty of people who will enjoy this story, but in the same way that slasher movies aren't for me, this book just wasn't for me.

I was so excited for this but found myself unable to get into it like I had hoped. I couldn’t really connect to the characters and found them quite bland. Nothing against the writing style or the author, I just don’t think this was for me.
I’ve also learned I’m not a fan of “x amount of people in one place and someone dies, but who did it” style novels.

I give this book a 2.5 only because I did keep reading to see how it ended. A most unpleasant group of students have a party in the basement of a rare book library and the event gets wildly out of control. The motivations of the characters all seemed unbelievable as was the ending.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.
My opinions are my own.

Locked room mystery in a library with a dark academia vibe - everything I want in a book! However, I could not fully get through the book, and I had to DNF it. I don't know what it was about it, but I was getting confused between characters and it just felt extremely slow to me. However, I love the atmosphere that was created with the library and the ritual and everything. Overall, just not for me, but I may come back to it one day and try to read it again because I have read Jurczyk before and I loved her work.

I love locked room mysteries but unfortunately this one did not keep my attention or keep me engaged. I could not get into it at all and unfortunately I had to DNF.

I find it hard to rate a book I don’t particularly like- because it’s amazing to put your creative “baby” out into the universe - and such a big feat! But… to be honest, this one wasn’t for me.
I didn’t connect to any character- I found the writing lacking, plot boring, and just wasn’t a fan.

That doesn’t mean I’d never read anything by the author again- but this one was a let down.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing me an arc in exchange for my honest review

The premise of this book was perfect. Seven college students locked in the library and someone ends up dead. An old ritual to perform and characters whose personalities left so much to be desired that you don't care if they die. I liked the idea of everything but some parts just fell flat. I disliked all of the characters except for one, and I mostly just felt bad for them. The story was a little slow at times and I didn't really need the flashbacks into each characters life. The plot was a bit twisty and kept me engaged. I liked the writing and would definitely read this author again.

This was just okay. The premise has been done before - it's a pretty standard locked room mystery. One person dies and everyone starts turning on each other. The setting being in a rare books library was fun, but none of the characters were very likeable, and there was nothing so new about the story that kept me hooked more than any other locked room mystery would.