Want to get the latest book news delivered to your inbox each day? Sign up for our daily Book Pulse newsletter. Big Books of the Week DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Entertainment Weekly talks with Nabil Ayers about My Life in the Sunshine:Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family (Viking), and “music and books that inspire him.” Colton Haynes answers fan questions about his new book, Miss Memory Lane (Atria; LJ starred review), on GMA. Above all I appreciated the aspects of Gentill’s approach that were akin to a masterclass in novel writing, which flows throughout the novel in different forms. For example, not only do we see the way Hannah responds to Leo’s critiques in subsequent chapters, we are also given insights into Freddie’s writing process and how she absorbs her surroundings with the eye of a novelist. A motif throughout is Freddie’s analogy of her process being like ‘working on a bus’:

I very much enjoyed Sulari Gentill’s new novel, “The Woman in the Library”. Gentill cleverly writes a mystery within a mystery. Sound confusing? It’s not, but it’s enough to keep the reader focused. A story is hidden inside another story about a writer’s building another thriller story: are you confused with the story line reminding us of smart thriller book version of Inception screenplay! At least nobody’s dreaming in this book! It’s only 3 dimensional story so you have to wear your 3D glasses during your read not to get lost! Four strangers are sitting in the Boston Public Library when they hear a shrill scream. The scream ends up bringing these four twenty to thirty-somethings together. When they learn that a body was found shortly after the shriek of terror, they all inadvertently became entangled in the case. This encounter inspires Freddie, the protagonist, for the novel she is currently writing. As Freddie’s story grows more and more complicated, so too does Hannah and Leo’s. The cat and mouse games between the various characters lead to several thrilling surprises, and a tense, satisfying ending for Hannah and Leo’s story. I was a little less clear on what was signified by the end of Freddie’s tale, though I did think that the whodunnit overall was successfully executed. Because neither Freddie or Marigold noticed him right away in the elevator, it gave the impression he was purposely trying to blend in and stalk Freddie until he could have his twisted hero moment. But Freddie’s reaction felt like it was the straight up foreboding cliffhanger of a horror movie.This “story within a story” opens up with a letter from Leo Johnson, a beta reader, to Australian author, Hannah Tigone, a mystery writer, who cannot travel to Boston to research her latest novel, because of Covid restrictions. Although many things can be “googled” there is nothing better than a local who can help with getting the “lingo” right, as well as provide social commentary on current events. Moving along, the first chapter of this novel was awesome! I was immediately hooked and could not wait to see how all this would unravel. I have to say, Gentill’s style of writing is very good as that first chapter set the tone for what I felt was likely to be a solid murder mystery. Wow, it delivered on that aspect and then some! But, as Gentill’s readers have also come to expect, she interlaces the fast-paced plot with discreet commentary on some big contemporary issues. Endell Street Military Hospital– set up in 1915 by Louisa Garrett Anderson and Flora Murray in Covent Garden in London, it is the first hospital run by women for men. This has the format of a story within a story, which I usually love. But it didn't work here. The outer story, with Hannah authoring the murder mystery, doesn't mesh with the actual inner story itself, and her correspondences with Leo are by far the weakest parts of the whole thing. Every time we get to Leo's letters, which is at the end of every single chapter, I dreaded reading it. Not only was it obnoxious and irrelevant, but it took away from the little forward momentum of an already slow story.

What if they never find out who killed Caroline?' Marigold's voice trembles. 'We heard her scream. A scream is supposed to bring help, and we heard her scream.' Set up in 1938 in memory of suffragette and internationalist Myra Sadd Brown, the library contains many books, pamphlets and journals relating to campaigns for and by women in the commonwealth countries. This is a fun whodunnit that is told from Harriet’s POV. Alternating chapters tell a story within a story through Leo, a fan of an author named Hannah, who is writing the story we’re reading. She sends him chapters of her book and he responds to each one, helping with advice. Will his insight be impactful?Each chapter of Hannah’s book, is followed by the latest correspondence from Leo, who becomes more and more invested in her novel, as Freddie’s story progresses. There are TWO mysteries-one for each author, and BOTH were equally as engaging! The social commentary on racial equality, pandemics, and homelessness is well-written. Gentill does a nice job introducing these ideas without it becoming too preachy. It also helps to account for the real world issues that we are dealing with in 2022. Woman of Lightis a beautifully written story of unity, adversity, and the struggles of the Lopez family in the 1920s and 1930s. Perfectly connecting the past and present up to a meeting point for the family. I 100% recommend this book!”— Syrena Arevalo-Trujillo, Barrio Books, Tucson, AZ In the Media

The Woman in the Library" by Sulari Gentill is the fictional story of Hannah, a mystery writer, penning a murder mystery crafted by fictional mystery writer Winifred Kincaid. Freddie is trying to solve the case of who killed Caroline Palfrey, leaving her body hidden under the buffet table in the library gallery. "So recently strangers, Freddie is surprised by how comfortable she is with these people...a demonstration of trust in each other."" Foursome" Freddie, Marigold, Cain and Whit, go to the Map Room Tea Lounge for friendship and Freddie states, 'my first coffee with a killer.'" Who killed Caroline Palfrey? THE AUTHOR: Once upon a time, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write.

Searching the collection

Hannah is writing a novel in Sydney where there are COVID, bushfires and floods. It’s set in Boston, Massachusetts, where a would be author called Leo is a fan. He sends her tips on Boston and the words Americans use. Her story is a murder mystery that’s centred on Winifred (Freddie), an Australian author on a writing scholarship. One day in Boston Public Library, there’s a scream and later a woman is found dead. The scream unites Freddie with the woman and two men sitting near her: they form a friendship but Hannah tells us right at the start that one of them is a murderer. Leo is very approving of this scenario. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. Several surprises are in store for both Freddie and Hannah’s stories, making THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY a mystery that will keep readers guessing right up until the stunning finale."

i requested an ARC of this on netgalley with great haste and love in my heart, because it's set partially in the boston public library, otherwise known as the single greatest place in the world. The surprising ending was also remarkable. I was thinking to give four stars because the whodunnit subplot’s culprit was a little obvious even though the author tries harder to deceive us by pointing out the other characters as suspects. But the unique two intercepted storylines ( both of them are interesting) and smart ending earned my additional half star.Sisters Doing it for Themselves– an oral history project run by the Women’s Resource Centre covering interviews with leaders of organisations in the women’s voluntary sector. Campaigns for maternity rights, abortion, childcare, the rights of married women, the rights of single mothers and the rights of lesbian mothers. NADWORNY: So from what I've read, you became an author after studying astrophysics at university. And you went to law school. You live on a truffle farm in the Australian Snowy Mountains. How did this come to be? How did you find writing? The Women’s Library is the oldest and largest library in Britain devoted to the history of women’s campaigning and activism. It was officially inaugurated as the Library of the London Society for Women’s Service in 1926 and it had two aims:to preserve the history of the women’s suffrage movement andto provide a resource for newly-enfranchised women to take their part in public life. It just seems indecent not to do anything. We heard her die.' There is an earnestness in Marigold's voice.