There are several events and situations here that flirt a bit with horror, my favorite reading genre. The main protagonist, Freddie, was my favorite character by far. The way she processed everything through the lens of an author, plotting connections and possibilities as if it were a novel she’s writing was great. I also loved the reference to “Misery” by Stephen King which is one of my all-time favorite horror novels as well as all the awesome coffee references since I’m a coffee maniac as well. There was so much meandering of the characters going about their lives and hanging out, the whole book just felt disorganised and disjointed. I wasn’t impressed with how the mystery came together and the reveal. Most of the actual investigation was in the last 10%. You know that moment when a major puzzle piece is revealed and leads the character to have that light bulb moment thinking they’ve figured out the mystery? That puzzle piece was rather weak I had to reread to confirm. I had to reread when I real Best-known for her Rowland Sinclair detective stories, in this new novel Sulari Gentill puts merriment into a murder mystery.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill | Waterstones The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill | Waterstones

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 » 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!The Woman In The Library, Gentill’s fifteenth novel since her 2010 debut, A Few Right Thinking Men, adds to her growing reputation among Australia’s crime fiction writing elite, while bringing a welcome blast of fun to the genre, playing to her signature witty strength. I simply did not care for the characters, the plot is just written in a bland manner, the characters are flat. Story within a story? KMN. Y'all made it seem like such an interesting read, but am sorry it just did not work for me. I found myself skimming through it and I just had to stop. 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? less than impressed with this one. which is such a shame because a murder in a library sounds exactly like my kind of thing. And third one she obviously likes a little more is charismatic author, 30, with mysterious past, she called “ Handsome Man” ( she could be more creative but she’s charmed by this man at first sight, who can blame her!) his real name is Cain McLeod ( or not! )

The Woman in the Library Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary The Woman in the Library Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary

This mystery is a story within a story that's fun and playful but knowing too much before you begin might spoil it for you. Just know that I was intrigued and pleasantly confused through its entirety. Essentially, the author is having fun with all of the "tropes" and writing devices available to a professional story-teller. And to make things even more interesting, the main character (who is a celebrated author) has an Avid Fan. (Or is he really a delusional stalker? Hmmmmm!) I have read other books within a book that worked well, this I thought was a mess and the letters from Leo just broke up any interest or tension I felt for the story that Hannah was writing. 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.)

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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. In Gentill’s less-than-successful fourth mystery featuring Australian artist Rowland Sinclair (after 2017’s Miles Off Course), Charles Hardy, a real-life Australian senator, asks for Continue reading » Set in 1933, Gentill’s entertaining fifth mystery featuring wealthy Australian artist Rowland Sinclair finds Rowland in London, ensconced in a penthouse suite at Claridge’s, after being left for dead Continue reading » Outside of Freddie’s head, Freud Girl is actually Marigold, a heavily tattooed psychology grad student who seems to be developing a crush on Heroic Chin, or Whit as he’s more commonly known. Whit is doing his best to flunk out of Harvard Law so that he won’t have to follow in his parents’ footsteps and join their law firm. Finally, Handsome Man is Cain, who is also a writer researching his next novel, depicting the life and death of a homeless man surviving on the cold Boston streets. As the foursome begin to build stronger relationships based on their initial rapport, they’re each excited to have found genuine new friends. Trouble is, one of them is a murderer. 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!

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill | Goodreads

But Gentill has thrown in extra layers, weaving in a second, equally entertaining narrative, creating a story within the story in which she explores the art of writing itself. 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. Hannah Tigone has a beta reader who she corresponds with throughout the book. You will be privy to their correspondence throughout the book.Why would an Aussie writer base her book in Boston when she'd never been there?? I don't think any author would do this. How can you write about a place you know nothing about? The Woman in the Library” by Sulari Gentill is the first novel I’ve ever read by this author as I was excited to see what kind of murder mystery I was jumping into. Now, before I get into my review, I want to let you all know about the trigger warnings I found while reading. In this novel, there are moments of parental abuse, both physical and sexual. If either of these triggers you, please don’t read this novel. This was a clever whodunit. I was fully invested and did my own detective work while reading. There were sections in this book were things slowed down a little, but I didn't mind. I was enjoying the book too much.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill | Crime Fiction Lover The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill | Crime Fiction Lover

This mystery is fun, with a great group of characters to get to know. I suspected quite a few folks at one time or another…and yet, I wasn’t completely blown away when all was revealed. That didn’t deter my engagement. The Last Tigers of Hong Kong: True Stories of Big Cats that Stalked Britain’s Chinese Colony • John Saeki A murder at the library, people bonded by a scream, another murder or two, a manuscript, lots of book talk, someone playing Nancy Drew, interesting turns that had me double guessing myself and swaying my opinion of the murderers identity. Which one is a murderer?!!I’ve never read anything like this novel before in regards to how it was formatted and let me tell you, it was quite refreshing. Besides that, I loved that the setting does indeed take place in a library with writers, authors, and all the conversations you’d expect them to have as they do what they do best. As a professional sports writer and book reviewer myself, this novel truly hit home for me as it felt pretty real and even creepy to me in some parts. This was an enjoyable story (perhaps more than one) that held this reader's interest as four people come together in a library after hearing a piercing scream. The four people bond and as our main character, Hannah is writing a book, and she decides to incorporate her newly found friends into the story line. It's something like art imitating life. At the very end, after Letters-Leo has been arrested, in last section of Freddie’s story, Book-Leo arrives at the hospital to take Freddie and Marigold home, in a weird cliffhanger that fizzled out. Were we supposed to think that was sweet? That Hannah had written in a reliable, kind version of Leo to counteract what her penpal had really turned out to be?