The Woman in the Library
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-15 06:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Sulari Gentill
- ISBN：1464215871
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In every person's story， there is something to hide。。。
The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet， until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream。 Security guards take charge immediately， instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained。 While they wait for the all-clear， four strangers sitting at the same table， pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck。 Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer。
Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY， an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all。
The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet， until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream。 Security guards take charge immediately， instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained。 While they wait for the all-clear， four strangers sitting at the same table， pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck。 Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer。
Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY， an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all。
Reviews
Rebecca
，
This was such a disappointing read— the premise （murder in a library） is great！ But the correspondence by email pulled me out of the story at the end of every chapter， and what happened with the protagonist was super predictable
☕Katie
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3。5 Stars
John Christian
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Enjoyed this it is a homage to books and writing wrapped up in a murder mystery
Pietro
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This is one of the best books I have read this year！ It was thoroughly engaging， and once I started I found it difficult to put down。 The structure of the book—with each chapter framed by emails sent to the author by a friend—is innovative and compelling。 I felt as if I was reading the story alongside another person， and privy to their comments and reactions to each chapter。 In addition， the emails provide a secondary narrative that starts off light and becomes much darker。 I adored this framewo This is one of the best books I have read this year！ It was thoroughly engaging， and once I started I found it difficult to put down。 The structure of the book—with each chapter framed by emails sent to the author by a friend—is innovative and compelling。 I felt as if I was reading the story alongside another person， and privy to their comments and reactions to each chapter。 In addition， the emails provide a secondary narrative that starts off light and becomes much darker。 I adored this framework and the opportunity to consider each chapter through this feedback and wonder about the possibilities for the plot if certain details were in fact altered。 I loved the Boston setting， and the Boston Public Library as the site of the murder that draws the four principal characters together。 The mystery itself is intriguing and twisty without being too complicated。 Thanks to NetGallery for the ARC—I will be recommending this book to people all summer！ 。。。more
Maria
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I didn’t have trouble distinguishing which parts were letters and which were manuscript。 Guessing listening to the audiobook helped。 I’m not sure I understand the ending， but I’m gonna sit with that for a while。 Not sure I’m supposed to。 Overall， lovely and twisty and nesting。 Spoilers below:THAT ENDING！ Heart dropping lol。 Loved the interplay of Hannah and Will’s letters。 How he slowly reveals himself to be a creep （white men like me don’t get book deals。 Even though he dresses that up in self- I didn’t have trouble distinguishing which parts were letters and which were manuscript。 Guessing listening to the audiobook helped。 I’m not sure I understand the ending， but I’m gonna sit with that for a while。 Not sure I’m supposed to。 Overall， lovely and twisty and nesting。 Spoilers below:THAT ENDING！ Heart dropping lol。 Loved the interplay of Hannah and Will’s letters。 How he slowly reveals himself to be a creep （white men like me don’t get book deals。 Even though he dresses that up in self-deprecating language， the sentiment is still there）。 I liked the secondary puzzle of figuring out what Hannah would （or wouldn’t） take from Will’s letter to sprinkle into the next chapter。 Stalking for sure a theme here。 Can’t wait to figure out why he’s still in the novel。 :）Questions: Of course， what the hell is Leo doing at the hospital！Did Will kill his agent？Is Hannah goading Will？ Intentionally made him upset to get him to come to Australia and be arrested？ That would keep him close… Not gonna lie I’m getting that vibe。 Especially because Winnifred （assume to be Hannah’s proxy） seems oddly unconcerned about the stalking behaviors of other characters。 Though whether she is stalking Leo or wants to be stalked I’m not sure。Libro。fm ALC 。。。more
Molly
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Overall a very fun read， but I got majorly distracted by the weird assertions the American beta reader character made about the US that I think showed poor research on Gentil’s part。 1） He says that’s it’s uncommon to see heavily tattooed people in the US。 In my own experience as an American， this is very untrue。 A simple google search shows that the US is one of the top countries for percentage of the population with at least one tattoo and， furthermore， that many of those people have multiple Overall a very fun read， but I got majorly distracted by the weird assertions the American beta reader character made about the US that I think showed poor research on Gentil’s part。 1） He says that’s it’s uncommon to see heavily tattooed people in the US。 In my own experience as an American， this is very untrue。 A simple google search shows that the US is one of the top countries for percentage of the population with at least one tattoo and， furthermore， that many of those people have multiple tattoos。 2） He says that no one in the US uses the word “beanies” for winter hats。 I literally cannot think of another name for that style of knit hat other than to call it a knitted hat？ Again， I feel like a simple google search could have corrected this mistake！3） He says that a character from North Carolina would have an obvious southern accent （not necessarily true） and would use words like “yonder” and refers to restaurants as “joints。” I’ve never heard anyone use the wonder “yonder” in a serious manner and I’ve lived in the South。 And “joint” isn’t a particularly southern thing to say。 Finally， this wasn’t something the fictional beta reader said， but the fictional author wrote a scene where the Australian narrator of the story-within-the-story orders a pizza with pineapple on it and the two American characters with her act like they’ve never heard of that before。 Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada。 Pineapple-on-pizza is a very common pop culture debate in the US。 Even if an American has never actually tried this pizza topping， they’d definitely be aware that it’s very common。 At first I thought that all of these little details were clues that the beta reader wasn’t actually American or that he was just messing with the fictional author， but that turned out not to be the case。 I think the author just made some weird assumptions about the US and then never bothered to actually look into them。 Those parts were really distracting and took me out of the story and ultimately didn’t even serve any purpose。 。。。more
Jamie Park
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There were a lot of things I loved about this book but also I am just so slow。 I didn't grasp parts of it or I lost the plot for a bit。 But it was good。 This is on me， not the author。 There were a lot of things I loved about this book but also I am just so slow。 I didn't grasp parts of it or I lost the plot for a bit。 But it was good。 This is on me， not the author。 。。。more
Mary
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I didn’t mind this book， but the story within a story fell flat to me and didn’t really pay off。 Everything also felt a bit overly long， which made the conclusions not particularly surprising or impactful。 It was still an interesting idea， though， even if it didn’t quite fully get the bus into the station。
ANGELA DAUENHAUER
，
This book was very different than what I expected， and was fascinating with the dual story lines。 I loved that。 The author interlaced so many story lines and clues that you're really kept guessing， and changing your mind about the killer。 Some parts seemed a little slow， but I enjoyed it a lot overall。 This book was very different than what I expected， and was fascinating with the dual story lines。 I loved that。 The author interlaced so many story lines and clues that you're really kept guessing， and changing your mind about the killer。 Some parts seemed a little slow， but I enjoyed it a lot overall。 。。。more
Sarah Midgette
，
This was such a cute murder mystery！ I loved the twists along the way that kept me engaged and trying to figure it out！ This took place within a library and it was a story within a story which was so unique in my opinion。 I loved that part！ This book had it all -- romance， mystery， friendship， and murder and it was all cleverly done。 I loved it and think its the perfect， cozy， mystery for summer。
Sara
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I enjoyed so much of this book。 Telling two stories side by side hooked me for sure。 Unfortunately both endings fell flat for me。
Sunsettowers
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I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself。A story within a story， The Woman in the Library does a fantastic job of interspersing letters from a fan and fellow writer with the story the letters refer to-the tale of a writer who finds herself caught up in both a friendship group and a mystery when she and three other people hear a woman scream at the library。 The thing is， out of those four peo I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself。A story within a story， The Woman in the Library does a fantastic job of interspersing letters from a fan and fellow writer with the story the letters refer to-the tale of a writer who finds herself caught up in both a friendship group and a mystery when she and three other people hear a woman scream at the library。 The thing is， out of those four people， one of them is a murderer。 This is such a clever book。 Gentill explores the idea of writing itself， and the different processes， influences， and styles that come into play， all while juggling a highly suspenseful mystery full of twists and turns。 While Freddie， the forementioned writer， is spinning her novel around her three new friends and her perceptions of their personas， she is also being caught in a web of secrets from the past and a possible serial killer。I would definitely recommend this book。 I flew through it。 。。。more
Elise - ABook&ACup
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still not sure about what I read， I really liked the idea， but the problem maybe was with the execution
Krysta
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A story within a story cleverly done amongst murder， mystery and intrigue。 In this book， we are reading an author's story while simultaneously interspersed chapters are feedback on said story from a long distance critique partner。 The story within is about four strangers who meet under seemingly coincidental circumstances at the Boston Public Library when a scream is heard and later， a body is discovered。 None of them are witnesses or accused of any foul play， yet they all manage to get wrapped A story within a story cleverly done amongst murder， mystery and intrigue。 In this book， we are reading an author's story while simultaneously interspersed chapters are feedback on said story from a long distance critique partner。 The story within is about four strangers who meet under seemingly coincidental circumstances at the Boston Public Library when a scream is heard and later， a body is discovered。 None of them are witnesses or accused of any foul play， yet they all manage to get wrapped into the investigation as more about each person is revealed through the investigation， and more incidents occur。The Woman in the Library kept me guessing and I enjoyed how it only unveiled clues to the mystery a little a time。 I especially loved having Boston as a setting as observed from a foreigner， in this case an Australian writing a novel on a scholarship in the States。 It added additional perspective to have the critique partner comment on it as a native Bostonian。 There are references mentioned that also add commentary to current affairs and cultural issues。 It seemed everyone is a suspect and yet， we can't figure out how or why。 The intrigue kept me reading and overall entertained。 I also enjoyed how much this book was about writing and processes and how much one's writing can be personal or from experience。 。。。more
Rebecca
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This was a very fun read。 The ending。。。。。 hmmm。
Jenn Reviews
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Initially， I was bored。 I almost stopped reading - and then the story took off and sucked me in， becoming difficult to put down because I wanted to know what happened！ While I did accurately figure out what was going on before it was revealed， it was still a great read。
Betty Dickie
，
The clever device that Ms。 Gentill uses in this book is initially interesting， then becomes intrusive。 The book is about an aspiring Australian author in Boston on a fellowship。 She goes to the Boston Public Library for inspiration and becomes involved in a murder mystery。 Each chapter is prefaced， including the first chapter， by a letter to Hannah， an established writer who is sharing her chapters with a devoted fan。 It's initially interesting， but becomes somewhat intrusive， as the library sto The clever device that Ms。 Gentill uses in this book is initially interesting， then becomes intrusive。 The book is about an aspiring Australian author in Boston on a fellowship。 She goes to the Boston Public Library for inspiration and becomes involved in a murder mystery。 Each chapter is prefaced， including the first chapter， by a letter to Hannah， an established writer who is sharing her chapters with a devoted fan。 It's initially interesting， but becomes somewhat intrusive， as the library story takes off。 When the fan becomes creepy and somewhat dangerous， the police and FBI get involved， and the reader is torn between the two story lines。 Good writing and character development though。 Looking forward to her next。 。。。more
Sherri
，
Unfortunately this book was not for me！ I didn’t like the idea of story in story and the section that Leo was writing to Hanna was the part I disliked the most！ It constantly reminded you that what you are reading is just a story created by its writer ， which totally diminished the excitement of a novel specially a mystery novel！
Rachel Holt
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The last thing I want to do is tear apart someone's brainchild， so I'll try to be tactful in my critique of The Woman in the Library。。。Firstly， the premise was gripping！ I was so excited when I first read the synopsis months ago and I'd been eagerly looking forward to its release（I was thrilled to be selected to receive an ARC）。 A Woman is killed in a Library， four people hear her scream and one of them is the murderer？ Sounds like a great mystery！ For me the book， however， fell short in every a The last thing I want to do is tear apart someone's brainchild， so I'll try to be tactful in my critique of The Woman in the Library。。。Firstly， the premise was gripping！ I was so excited when I first read the synopsis months ago and I'd been eagerly looking forward to its release（I was thrilled to be selected to receive an ARC）。 A Woman is killed in a Library， four people hear her scream and one of them is the murderer？ Sounds like a great mystery！ For me the book， however， fell short in every aspect（characters， dialogue， plot）。 Great idea， poor execution。 The subplot of emails between Leo and Hannah was semi-original， but distracting and an annoying interruption to the mystery。 The characters。。。。oh my。 Honestly， I might have liked the book if all the characters were，well， not the characters。 Everyone was either annoying， unlikable， or unrealistic。 All characters are supposedly 23 or over， but act like teenagers with their whiny and immature dialogue。 I know that The Woman in the Library is supposed to be one of this summer's best New releases， but I found it to be hugely disappointing。 😔 。。。more
Debbie De Salvo
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I enjoyed this。 Cleverly written and original。 However， I felt truly uncomfortable reading about the editor in the novel telling the writer to depict her character’s race。 Why？！ Especially today。 I just cannot move past this。
Kamilah Mathieu
，
I enjoyed this one。 Admittedly it took a few chapters to adjust to the meta of it all。 But once I was reeled in， and it was easier to adjust to the concept of letters about a book that was about a book - it became a smoother read。 It kept me guessing in certain aspects， which I could appreciate。 I was never really quite sure who to believe。 Without spoiling - I would’ve like to have seen more development with the storyline of the letters written between the beta reader and author。 Towards the en I enjoyed this one。 Admittedly it took a few chapters to adjust to the meta of it all。 But once I was reeled in， and it was easier to adjust to the concept of letters about a book that was about a book - it became a smoother read。 It kept me guessing in certain aspects， which I could appreciate。 I was never really quite sure who to believe。 Without spoiling - I would’ve like to have seen more development with the storyline of the letters written between the beta reader and author。 Towards the end I found myself feeling it left something to be desired。 As far as the motive… Meh - it was okay。 It wasn’t bad。 It wasn’t awe-striking。 It was okay。 Somewhat believable but it could’ve been more。 Still an enjoyable read I would recommend。 。。。more
Hensley Michael
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Love the clever way that this book is written。 Lots of twists and turns。
Jennifer
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This was。。。 okay， I guess？ The word "corny" comes to mind， but I can't quite put my finger on why。 Though I've never necessarily read a book like it （mystery/thrillers aren't my general bag）， much of the plot and most of the characters did feel in some way cliched and even 2D。 While many who reviewed the book say they found it exciting and were unable to put it down， I just kinda wanted to get to the end as I found the whole thing a bit tiring and try-hard。 It was as if the author was like， "Loo This was。。。 okay， I guess？ The word "corny" comes to mind， but I can't quite put my finger on why。 Though I've never necessarily read a book like it （mystery/thrillers aren't my general bag）， much of the plot and most of the characters did feel in some way cliched and even 2D。 While many who reviewed the book say they found it exciting and were unable to put it down， I just kinda wanted to get to the end as I found the whole thing a bit tiring and try-hard。 It was as if the author was like， "Look， I can write a mystery， but it's a highbrow mystery。 See how intelligent and different this is？" when it really wasn't。 Even the story within a story thing I found a bit obvious and unnecessary as I had Leo figured out from about page 3。 The main mystery took me until about 10% in before I clocked it， so I'm afraid much of the impact was lost on me。 Didn't hate it， certainly didn't love it or even like it all that much。 It was all just a bit blah， which is sad to say as I had really high hopes。 Nevertheless， thanks as always to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC。 。。。more
PattyMacDotComma
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4。5★“Cain shows us his plot， an intricate flowchart created on his laptop， and explains the themes and subplots which radiate from his central premise。 There’s something beautiful about the chart。 It’s like a spider’s web spun to catch a story。 I’m fascinated by it， and a little regretful that my work does not begin with gossamer webs。”This has several layers of story and mystery， but the author’s own flowchart must have been a good one because I never felt lost。 The story I think of， and follow 4。5★“Cain shows us his plot， an intricate flowchart created on his laptop， and explains the themes and subplots which radiate from his central premise。 There’s something beautiful about the chart。 It’s like a spider’s web spun to catch a story。 I’m fascinated by it， and a little regretful that my work does not begin with gossamer webs。”This has several layers of story and mystery， but the author’s own flowchart must have been a good one because I never felt lost。 The story I think of， and followed， is the middle one， with Winifred （Freddie）， and the three people she met at the Boston Public Library and became friends with after they heard a blood-curdling scream。 Freddie is an Aussie writer， living in Boston courtesy of a writing grant， looking for inspiration。 She studies the other three people at her table in the library and tries to imagine them in a story。 She dubs the outrageously good-looking fellow “Handsome Man” and the guy with the strong jaw and cleft chin “Heroic Chin”。 The young woman has tattoo sleeves and is reading Freud， so she becomes “Freud Girl”。 Obviously， this mystery will revolve around who screamed and why and is there a body？ But the first pages of this book， just before Freddie’s story began， there is a letter to Hannah from someone named Leo， asking what she’s writing now and speaking of his own work。 It turns out that THIS， this story of would-be author Freddie and the other three is Hannah’s new novel。 We are reading it as she is writing it。 Hannah is Australian but has set her novel about Freddie in Boston， where Leo lives， and he’s keen to be involved and help。 （She’s an admired author， he’s hoping for help to get published。） She sends him chapters and he alerts her to the Aussie words that need changing。 He also tries not only to second-guess where she’s going with the plot but also tries to influence the action。 So Hannah （with Leo） is the top level story; Freddie， Cain， Whit， and Marigold are the active， middle level （the main， for me）; and then the novel that Freddie is writing is the bottom。 She also has a helpful man named Leo， living in her building， and the ‘real’ Leo is flattered to be included in her novel。 Freddie is written in the first person， which makes her story sound like the real one， but Gentill is careful to intersperse chapters with letters from Hannah’s Leo， advising and being pushy and nosy about how he thinks Hannah’s story should go。 Cain is also a writer， and Freddie is curious about his flowchart technique。 During an online call she sees the room behind him。“ ‘Is that your plot？’ I ask。 ‘My God， it looks like you’re sitting in a police incident room！’He laughs and holds up his laptop so I can see that the strings run onto the ceiling where more notes are tacked to the plasterboard。 The lines cross and weave around the entire room。 ‘This，’ he says， ‘is what procrastination looks like。’ ”Because they heard a body was discovered in the library， they continue to get together to discuss what they should do。 The plot continues to get darker as there is an attack and another murder， and people’s pasts are revealed。 Freddie is writing her own novel， using these people， but she realises she has to think so much about things that she becomes suspicious of them。 “Could they both have known her， both have loved her？ Might one of them have killed her？ The last thought jolts me。 My characters are too connected to the real people who inspired them， and those real people are my friends。 New， but already beloved， wrapped in the excited crush of friendship’s beginning， untarnished by the annoyances， disappointments， and minor betrayals which come with the passing of time。”Gentill works her magic and weaves a fine， tense， suspenseful mystery within a mystery， with Gentill writing about Hannah writing about Freddie writing about Freud Girl and the others （she never gets around to naming her characters）。 Having two Leos could be confusing， but somehow isn’t。 （in the acknowledgment at the end， Gentill tells us there is even another layer – a friend in Boston helped her with this， but he’s a much nicer guy than Hannah’s Leo was。）I loved it。 I miss Gentill’s wonderful Rowland Sinclair historical mystery series and hope to see Rowly again， but meanwhile I have to forgive her for taking the time to write this。 Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy for review。 。。。more
Rosemary
，
One is immediately pulled into this book and immersed in a complicated but intriguing plot。 Characters are well drawn and there is a strong temptation to sneak a peek at the ending。 Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheWomanInTheLibrary for an advanced digital copy。
Grace
，
I really liked how this was written - hard to know what was being written by the author character and what was real。 I do still feel a little confused about a couple parts of the book which is getting this E instead of 4。
Jeanine
，
I enjoyed the clever format and appreciated all of the twists and turns。
Holly B
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Well played， new author to me， well played！！I loved the idea of this clever mystery within a mystery。 The way the fictional reality in the story played alongside the fictional in a unique format。 The different plots/ two stories playing out chapter by chapter。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。 W Well played， new author to me， well played！！I loved the idea of this clever mystery within a mystery。 The way the fictional reality in the story played alongside the fictional in a unique format。 The different plots/ two stories playing out chapter by chapter。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 HAD to know WHO did it！ I kept wanting to read more to find out， always wanting to get back to the book。 It was fun to guess along with Leo （one of the characters， perhaps a nemesis） as he tossed around theories。 He annoyed me with his pushy emails that became more demanding as he tried to guide the direction of Freddie's novel。 I have some serious questions about Leo！！ Anybody else？Bought the kindle ecopy/ Released on June 7， 2022 。。。more
QweenJaymes
，
3。5/5
Shilo
，
For how quickly I zoomed through this one， I'm not sure how much I actually liked it。 I think I was a lot more interested in the Leo/Hannah story than I was in the Freddie story， so I'm a little underwhelmed。 For how quickly I zoomed through this one， I'm not sure how much I actually liked it。 I think I was a lot more interested in the Leo/Hannah story than I was in the Freddie story， so I'm a little underwhelmed。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Woman in the Library
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Woman in the Library&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft