The Woman in the Library: A Novel

The Woman In The Library is a stand-alone novel by award-winning Australian author, Sulari Gentill. Aspiring author Leo Johnson, whose opus has now attracted publisher rejections in double figures, sits in Boston Public Library’s reading room, awaiting inspiration from his uncooperative muse. His Australian correspondent, best-selling author, Hannah Tigone, takes his emailed description and incorporates it into her new novel, sending Leo chapters as they are written. Leo enthusiastically offers comments, culture and location tips, crime-scene photos, plot suggestions, and other literary feedback. Aspiring mystery author, Winifred Kincaid (Freddie), taking advantage of her Marriot Fellowship, sits in Boston Public Library’s reading room, subtly (she thinks) examining her table neighbours, noting their descriptions and giving them tentative titles in the novel she would write about them. The silence of this private study of Freud Girl (liberally tattooed, psychology student?), Heroic Chin (Harvard law student?) and Handsome Man (dark-haired, dark-eyed classic beauty, a writer?) is suddenly broken by a piercing scream. In the immediate aftermath, four strangers become friends. When the body of a woman is later found in a nearby library gallery room, the four speculate about the murder, curious to know more but, it seems, some of them are omitting relevant facts and keeping secrets. And the drama doesn’t end there: one of their number is mugged, another injured in an altercation with a homeless man, cell phones go missing, creepy messages are received, a food hamper mysteriously appears, someone’s mother is attacked and someone else dies. This novel is very cleverly constructed: chapters of Hannah’s fictional murder mystery alternate with Leo’s emailed input. Hannah sometimes incorporates Leo’s feedback into ensuing chapters, and the story she creates is thoroughly gripping, with more than enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing right up to the thrilling climax. From his emails, Leo initially seems earnest and extremely thorough, but as the story advances, Hannah is probably grateful for the restrictions COVID has imposed on international travel. The concept of a story within a story keeps the reader on their toes, and it’s easy to be thoroughly absorbed in Hannah’s story until Leo’s emails remind the reader it is fiction. But of course, it’s all fiction. And while one murderer might be an obvious pick, even the most astute reader is unlikely to settle upon the other. This format does give the reader a peek into the world of the writer, and what needs to be considered and researched when creating a believable work of fiction. Smart and funny, this is murder mystery at its most entertaining. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.

I confess. Not unbiased because I really geek the writings of Sulari Gentill. Even if it's not Rowley Sinclair in the story. And even if it's in the same town that Rowley was most recently staying. And besides, one of the *characters* is a library! This is a very unusual story within a story as well as a mystery within a friendship tale. The publisher's blurb is a little murky, but not bad as hooks go. Don't want to get long winded or give anything away, but I LOVED IT! I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

I wasn’t expecting this story-in-a-story mystery and wasn’t sure if it was going to get confusing along the way. It did not. Instead, it pulled me in so fast, keeping me enthralled along the way. I literally could not put this book down. The characters were all intriguing and I didn’t have a clue who the killer was. Of course, at some point the author gives us enough to know where to look, but then the anticipation really began to mount as I waited to see how it was all going to play out.