To be honest there wasn’t anything that I really liked…I quite enjoyed the Australian vs American English words, that was fun. 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. Freddie has decided to spend the day writing at the Boston Public Library (BPL) but she finds herself distracted by the artistic detail of the ceiling and by the three other people who are sharing her table-People she has made notes on, so she could base characters on them later on-giving them the monikers Handsome Man, Heroic Chin, and Freud Girl. (Cain, Whit and Marigold)

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill Editions of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Guess what? This is the plot of a work of fiction by Australian author Hannah Tigone. Unlike her protagonist Freddie, she is in Australia, working on her new book, and is sharing her chapters with Leo Johnson, a struggling writer and fan of Hannah’s previous work. Leo is based in Boston and shares his opinions and suggestions with Hannah. (Hannah also names another character in the book, Freddie’s friend, neighbor and fellow scholar, Leo). Travel restrictions on account of the COVID pandemic render Hannah unable to travel and Leo attempts to help her in her research, the tone of his letters becoming more forceful and disturbing as the plot progresses.my favorite thing (a book) set in my favorite place (the boston public library)...this is everything to me. 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? 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.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill | Waterstones

The clever framing of these two entwined narratives – a device Gentill also employed in her novel Crossing the Lines – is carried off in a voice that clearly reflects the joy she takes in the absurd. They both heard a woman’s scream at the library and their common panic connected the foursome to share coffees and stories at the Map Room. First chapter implies one of them is a murderer. But which one? Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 6/7/22.

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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. I just finished Woman in Library, and I, too, was disappointed and disconcerted by that ending. Abrupt, no closure, no explanation. That might be okay if it were a cliffhanger for the next book about Freddie, but I think it’s a standalone book. I thought, “That’s it? So what’s next?” These questions made for kind of an interesting look at inspiration and fiction, but it was sort of flat as a thriller ending. I didn’t feel that, OMG, what a twist, it was Book-Leo the whole time! He got away with it all! But I also didn’t feel like we’d gotten a satisfying ending and full explanation of the crimes, and that now Freddie’s good friend was here to help everyone return to normalcy. I mostly felt like I must have missed something that would have made the ending clear. It turns out to be a story within a story within a story and at times I will confess I did find myself confused. However, the concept and carry through made this a tale of a murder done by .......... a fun but circuitous read! (I am not telling.)

THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY | Kirkus Reviews THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY | Kirkus Reviews

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.' I’m not totally without direction … there is a route of some sort, but who hops on and who gets off is determined by a balance of habit and timing and random chance. There’s no symmetry, no plan, just the chaotic, unplotted bustle of human life. Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.Four strangers meet in the Boston Public Library when they all hear a woman scream. The scream bonds them into a new friendship. When the owner of the scream is found murdered, one of them is accused. Who killed the woman in the library? 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. It felt more ominous to me, though. Since we’ve discovered that Letters-Leo is a murderer, and Book-Leo was inspired by Letters-Leo, it’s not an entirely comfortable ending. We know that Letters-Leo consciously imitated Book-Leo with the cupcakes, and that Letters-Leo also said he’d do anything for Hannah… So, was the point that Book-Leo was the better version for Freddie? Or that Book-Leo was just as dangerous as Letters-Leo, but Freddie will discover that offstage? Set in Australia in 1933, Gentill’s entertaining third mystery featuring portrait artist Rowland Sinclair (after 2016’s A Decline in Prophets) will appeal to fans of Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Continue reading » This book appeals on all levels: the Boston Public Library, which the author describes in enticing detail, is now on my list of places I need to see BIKTB. Bookish people and wannabe writers will appreciate the discussion of the mechanics of writing a novel/thriller. Loads of misdirection, and not one but TWO budding romantic relationships - and, oh no! one of them, according to Freddie, is a KILLER!!! (This blind-siding clue is tossed at the reader very early on in the narrative, so no spoilers here.)

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill - Publishers Weekly The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill - Publishers Weekly

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. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, ten historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world, and the Ned Kelly Award winning Crossing the Lines (published in the US as After She Wrote Hime). In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV. IN 2019 Sulari was part of a 4-member delegation of Australian crime writers sponsored by the Australia Council to tour the US as ambassadors of Australian Crime Writing. Even the farfetched nature of the plot is endearing, especially the quirky little asides, such as Freddie’s elderly neighbour, who fabricates her medical qualifications before stitching up a gash to Cain’s head. 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’: and that plot-line is actually okay. not amazing, but decent enough to keep me reading. what really ruined the book is the additional plot of someone corresponding with the author of the story (this is a story within a story within a story). it adds absolutely nothing to the book. if anything, it disrupts the flow of the mystery in the main plot, taking the reader out of moments that could have been tense if not for the disruption. i started skipping these interludes by the 50% mark because i realised they have absolutely no impact or connection to the storyline that i was actually somewhat interested in.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. I was completely absorbed and enthralled by The Woman in the Library, just as I was by After She Wrote Him. It's an unusual, clever, and incredibly satisfying read. A book that I will read again.