Scan barcode
snhmyers's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book drew me in just by the first sentence of the summary. It felt fast paced at the beginning, somewhat slower in the middle, and it picked up again near the end. I LOVED the creative point of views that the author used! Wonderful book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Death, Child abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, and Sexual assault
originally_olivia's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This mystery kept me guessing until the last moment! So many misleads, a really interesting format, and fantastic characters. I was convinced it was Leo who was the killer. Sending Freddy those anonymous gifts, being at the library that day, running by Boos crime scene, so I was definitely disappointed by the outcome. I wanted the real Leo to know how the author really saw him and that she knew all along. But I guess that would’ve given him the attention he so desperately wanted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, Violence, and Murder
samw0327's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Very meta which made it a slightly more challenging read. A book about a woman writing a book about a woman writing a book. 😂😵💫
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Rape
josefineisreading's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really really enjoyed this! I read it for my book club and it kept us hooked the whole way through mainly because we had no idea where the story was going and who was responsible for all this chaos. It was quite fast paced and easy to read with chapters being only a few pages.
I think the ending was pretty packed together but it would’ve been nice if we had a few hints along the way. I’m not sure if this is done on purpose because this story is essentially a manuscript. Not sure about the very end of the book because I’m pretty sure this is stand alone but I guess we make our own assumptions. At first it was confusing with what was going on with the emails and the actual story but I think it was cool. Wish we could’ve gotten a bit more out of it. Overall, I really enjoyed it but that was because I could speculate with others.
I think the ending was pretty packed together but it would’ve been nice if we had a few hints along the way. I’m not sure if this is done on purpose because this story is essentially a manuscript. Not sure about the very end of the book because I’m pretty sure this is stand alone but I guess we make our own assumptions. At first it was confusing with what was going on with the emails and the actual story but I think it was cool. Wish we could’ve gotten a bit more out of it. Overall, I really enjoyed it but that was because I could speculate with others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Violence, Medical content, and Stalking
Moderate: Drug use, Incest, Addiction, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, and Alcohol
kasper99's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Murder, and Child abuse
kyliejohnson201's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Stalking, Body horror, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault
displacedcactus's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-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
This was a fun detour from my usually fantasy-heavy reading list. It's very meta, and at times the framing device irritated me, but it does pay off. I don't think it will particularly stick with me but it was a good read for cross-country flight!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault and Child abuse
racl's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It wasn't bad, and as someone who's not huge on mystery as a genre, it was easy and engaging enough to read.
Freddie, the main character, feels like a blank slate to me in a lot of ways - what we know about her is circumstantial, and her actions are fairly often contrary to her own perception of self.
The fiction within fiction gimmick was enjoyable - for me it helped separate the main mystery into more manageable chunks while adding another layer on top.
I won't read it again, but I had a good enough time with it.
Freddie, the main character, feels like a blank slate to me in a lot of ways - what we know about her is circumstantial, and her actions are fairly often contrary to her own perception of self.
The fiction within fiction gimmick was enjoyable - for me it helped separate the main mystery into more manageable chunks while adding another layer on top.
I won't read it again, but I had a good enough time with it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Stalking, Blood, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
bzliz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Woman in the Library is a thriller/mystery that manages to be satisfying and exciting without frequent graphic or gruesome descriptions of murdered people. It is a story within a story- each chapter is part of a manuscript by a writer named Hannah, which she sends to her beta reader, Leo. Each chapter is punctuated by the subplot of his emailed reaction to her writing and occasionally by other correspondences. Her story follows Freddie, an Australian writer living in Boston, who believes she may have overheard a woman being murdered and bonds to her table mates at the time the woman screamed- Marigold, Whit & Cain.
The story takes several turns and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery along with Freddie and while I can’t say I was too shocked at the ending, there was just enough left that I hadn’t pieced together to be surprising. I believe the email subplot is the darkest part of the story because it’s meant to be the “real” world. I particularly like that although we see Hannah’s work and we see Leo’s response, we never see her directly nor do we see her messages to Leo. I just found that intriguing.
If you’re like me on occasion and need to see whodunnit, spoilers ahead:Whit killed Caroline because they were working on a scheme to do a close up story about Cain (who killed his stepfather as a teen and served 8 years in prison) and Whit didn’t want her to steal his thunder. Her scream while Whit was sitting by Cain was meant to bond them together, which it did, along with Marigold who was sitting there hoping to talk to Whit and Freddie who just happened to be there. He actually killed her later and somehow a man called Boo witnessed enough to know her death was fake until it wasn’t anymore. Whit tried to pay him off but Boo stabbed Whit because of some confused sense of justice for Caroline. Whit then killed Boo. Meanwhile Cain has been blamed for everything and is on the run. Freddie is helping him as best she can while being observed by the police. Her neighbor Leo (named for the “real” Leo) gives me weird stalker vibes but it doesn’t amount to anything. Cain is proven innocent after Whit shoots him and confesses his crimes to Freddie and Marigold.
The “real” Leo has been acting as a research resource for Hannah while he shops around his own book. He starts sending her photos of crime scenes, then bodies, claiming to have found the crime scene later but actually he killed those people and his emails get increasingly creepy with suggestions on how to brutalize characters or punish Freddie for falling for Cain. He finally tries to get to Hannah and is apprehended by Australian police. His final letter to her comes when he’s in jail.
The story takes several turns and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery along with Freddie and while I can’t say I was too shocked at the ending, there was just enough left that I hadn’t pieced together to be surprising. I believe the email subplot is the darkest part of the story because it’s meant to be the “real” world. I particularly like that although we see Hannah’s work and we see Leo’s response, we never see her directly nor do we see her messages to Leo. I just found that intriguing.
If you’re like me on occasion and need to see whodunnit, spoilers ahead:
The “real” Leo has been acting as a research resource for Hannah while he shops around his own book. He starts sending her photos of crime scenes, then bodies, claiming to have found the crime scene later but actually he killed those people and his emails get increasingly creepy with suggestions on how to brutalize characters or punish Freddie for falling for Cain. He finally tries to get to Hannah and is apprehended by Australian police. His final letter to her comes when he’s in jail.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug abuse