Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - The Woman in the Library

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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

50 reviews

trippyotter's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely love all the layers to this story! Once you have an idea of what's happening, a new detail is added, and you're left wondering what will happen next. This was my first book written by Sulari Gentill, and I can't wait to read her other books.

The story begins in the reading room of the Boston Public Library, where our strangers hear a scream, a scream that will terrify and unite them in their curiosity to unravel the mystery. A mystery that has no simple answer and will test their newly developed friendship.

As the secrets unravel and their bonds are tested, ties will strengthen between the couples that will begin to divide their loyalties to each other.

Over the course of several weeks, as details are discovered, you'll begin to question the agenda of several of the strangers. Was the chance encounter between them, on that fateful day, just happenstance or was it orchestrated?

As the mystery starts to unravel, will their friendship survive the truth of what happened?

Will they survive the truth?

I'd also like to mention that besides loving the story, the foodie in me couldn't get enough of the food tour of Boston, real or fake!

But, I think my only complaint, if any, would be how little time is actually spent in the library. After the murder, there's very little time spent in the library, majority of the time will be spent in Freddy's apartment, local eateries, or walking about the city. It all meshes wonderfully with the story, but I do wish more time was spent in the library.

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e_flah's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The Woman in the Library had a lot of different things happening in one fairly short book. For the most part, I found the layers of mysteries entertaining though I was disappointed with how brief the whodunit wrap-up at the end was. My biggest complaint was the lack of character development. All of the main characters felt a bit flat and didn't do much to keep me invested in the story.

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someryarns's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ckraney's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5 stars. I loved the format of this book—the book within a book. I thought the crimes and clues were well plotted and I was prepared for a masterful reveal. I was disappointed by the twist at the end and it felt like it cheapened all of the previous work. Such crimes seemed more intricate than how they were tied up in the end. (It’s hard to explain without spoilers!) I wish the ending had been as well thought out and crafted as the rest of the story. It would have been a 4 star book in that case.

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linneak's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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literarypenguin's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Woman in the Library is an exciting and thrilling mystery!

Four strangers sit at the same table in the beautiful ornate Reading Room in the Boston Public Library, all seeming ordinary and normal until a bloodcurdling scream echoes in the halls of the silent library. These four strangers are thrust into a mystery involving murder, friendship, and romance!

The choice of a novel being written inside a novel was an interesting choice and I found it entertaining and brought a bit of extra mystery to the book. I did feel like the emails from Leo were a bit annoying at times and took me out of the story at times but they weren't that distracting. The characters were unique and each had a good bit of suspicion put on them whether they were the murderer or not. I quite enjoyed Winifred, I did have to look up some Australian sayings to better my understanding of them and once I did it made what she said that much more enjoyable. The mystery did have me guessing at times and I was surprised to find out who really did do it!

I don't want to spoil too much about the mystery and how it is solved. I suggest reading this book to find out what happens and the twists it will take you on to the very end!

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A murder mystery within a murder mystery, this is a solid thriller. The real killer was hiding in plain sight and was so painfully obvious that I didn’t even consider them as a candidate. The characters are mostly likeable and diverse. The plot is believable. The end was good but arrived to with little pomp or circumstance. There are some glaring spelling/grammar mistakes throughout that are a bit annoying but all in all a solid book.

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