THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY (2022) - Review

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
On sale: June 7, 2022

And now for something completely different. Author Sulari Gentill has concocted an unexpected format for her mystery. It's a story within a story within a story. Similar to locked room puzzles, there seem to be only four possibilities for the murderer, but are there?

FIRST SENTENCE: "Dear Hannah, What are you writing?"

QUOTE: "And so we go to the Map Room to found a friendship, and I have my first coffee with a killer."

THE STORY: Hannah Tigone, an Australian author had planned to visit Boston to write her next book. When the pandemic puts a halt to her traveling, Leo, a colleague who lives there becomes her beta reader. Every chapter ends with a letter from Leo offering advice and details about Boston and American life.

Then there's the story of the book itself. Winifred better known as "Freddie" is writing "The Woman in the Library". She has won a Marriot Scholarship to enable her to write her mystery set in Boston. Working in the Boston Public Library, she is attempting to decide the plot for her mystery when a woman screams. Four other people seated nearby begin to talk about what might have just happened and they quickly become friends. When they discover the woman has been killed, they become sleuths.

WHAT I THOUGHT: The author has written a carefully written and plotted mystery adding humor as the story unfolds with its many twists and turns. Besides the puzzle the friends seek to solve, the story is about friendship and writing (every character is writing a book). It's always fun to recognize the current references to things we know that are scattered throughout.

More than once, especially in the beginning, I found myself wondering what story I was reading, but it's worth the struggle. Although you can listen to the audio book, I would expect it could add another level of confusion.

The book also includes A Reading Group Guide and ‘A Conversation with the Author’ about how she stumbled on her plot.

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "The Woman in the Library" by Sulari Gentill from NetGalley/Europa for my honest review.


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