The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

In every person’s story, there is something to hide...

From award-winning author Sulari Gentill comes a mischievous, twisty crime novel in the vein of Only Murders in the Building and White Lotus.

Four strangers in the Reading Room at Boston Public Library are introduced by a scream. Caught up in the subsequent murder investigation, each one finds themselves revealing more than they intended about their pasts as they race to solve the murder before one of them gets hurt.

Whilst their stories unfold, so does another. Dear Hannah...

As correspondence between the author and an avid fan becomes interwoven with the core tale, the boundaries between what is fiction and what is real life begin to blur, highlighting the lengths people will go to keep their secrets.

Through these entwined narratives, Gentill delves into the complicated nature of friendships, the lives we show versus the lives we lead and the ways in which art can imitate life. Or perhaps it’s the other way around?

A sharply thrilling literary adventure, The Woman in the Library is contemporary crime with a clever twist.

About the author

After setting out to study astrophysics, graduating in law and then abandoning her legal career to write books, Sulari now grows French black truffles on her farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of NSW. Sulari is the author of The Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, historical crime fiction novels (ten in total) set in the 1930s. Sulari’s work has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Best First Book), the Davitt Award, the Ned Kelly Award and the ABIA. She won the Davitt Award for the A Decline in Prophets, and the Ned Kelly Award for her most recent standalone novel, Crossing the Lines. @SulariGentill

Review

‘The Woman in the Library’ is a thoroughly entertaining mystery that has a multilayered story and keeps the reader guessing! This has to be one of the most uniquely structured books I have read in a while with a story within a story within a story! It took me a while to figure out what was happening with the letters before every chapter but when I did it was a brilliant reveal. I have been meaning to read Sulari’s historical series for awhile now after I listed them on my website and I will be picking them up for sure now. I enjoyed her style of writing and getting to peek into a writer’s mind in this book!

The story opens with Freddie, an Aussie on a writing scholarship, sitting at a table in the Boston Public Library with three strangers. They hear a scream. All three are intrigued and they become fast friends whilst trying to figure out what happened. In a friendship born out of chaos they reveal things about themselves very quickly and it soon becomes clear that not everything is black and white. Whilst this is taking place the story is broken up by letters to a published author, Hannah, in Australia from an avid fan.

There are enough red herrings and clues to keep the reader guessing throughout the book and although the mystery was the main part of the story I enjoyed the back stories of the four friends being teased out and explored. This book has all the feel of a classic crime novel but is set in the modern day and that made it a great read for me. While I did guess some of the plots in advance it didn't stop me from enjoying the experience. Please say there is going to be a follow-up!!!!

Let me know if you read this one!