Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Woman in the Library

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The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

26 reviews

rishel's review

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chaotically_katie's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.75

It had so much potential, and it’s such an interesting style of writing. But the lack of focus on the murder victim, and the main plot point of the scream, really disappointed me.

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liteartha's review

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mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

a two-fold story: a novel following a murder in the boston public library and the increasingly suspect email feedback of the novel's beta reader.

unfortunately, the story within a story format was a complete miss for me. the stylistic choice of presenting an author's manuscript interspersed with notes from her beta reader at the end of each chapter completely disrupted the flow of what was already not a particularly compelling mystery novel. i was so distracted by the commentary that i find it hard even now to comment on the murder mystery part of it all because it felt so... fake? almost entirely without consequence as it was presented as though "written" by the fictional author hannah tigone and not sulari gentill.

thank you to netgalley and poisoned pen press for providing this digital review copy in exchange for an honest review

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leandrathetbrzero's review

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

↓ Other Mystery/Thriller Hybrids ↓

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
The Playground by Jane Shemilt
The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press and #Netgalley for gifting me an ARC of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill in exchange for this honest review!

Freddie Kincaid visits the Boston Public Library in the hopes of making good progress on her current mystery manuscript. She finds inspiration in the table’s three other inhabitants, nicknaming them Freud Girl, Heroic Chin, and Handsome Man. As she creates their personalities and backstories in her head, a woman’s scream breaks the library’s silence. This mysterious scream acts as a bonding experience, and the four strangers forge an unexpected friendship. They become almost inseparable when a body is found.

The novel’s first few chapters had me on the edge of my seat. I found myself immediately invested in Gentill’s first-person protagonist, Freddie. Her thoughts and dialogue were authentic and very believable, although she did read older than 27 years old (imo). On that note, I also found characters like Marigold and Whit to act younger than they are meant to be. I was 100% on board for the brilliant chemistry between Freddie and Cain (aka Handsome Man). As thrilling as the narrative, was with each new clue and the ever-rising tensions between the four main characters, there are a few aspects to this novel that made it a less than satisfying read for me.

At the end of each chapter, the reader experiences an extra layer of metafiction with a letter from Leo (beta reader/pen pal) to Hannah (the “author” of Freddie’s storyline). The reader learns quickly that Leo is responding to Hannah’s most recent additions to an ongoing manuscript. To recap: Gentill is writing about Hannah as she writes about Freddie. While the correspondence intrigued me at first, it soon grew tiresome. The red flags and creepy intimacy of Leo did give me goosebumps, but then I just found myself annoyed by Leo. For instance his insistence on including COVID into the novel, and his obviously wrong assumptions about the culprit(s) and the characters’ relationships had me yelling at him aloud in frustration. The psycho pen pal is a fun idea, for sure, but I felt it was forced into this novel, and I would have preferred to simply read The Woman in the Library without the epistolary commentary.

I was most disappointed with the ending. I correctly identified the person(s) responsible for the crimes committed, but the actual motive was surprisingly less complicated and sinister than I imagined it would be. In fact, this is a rare moment in which I believe my imagination came up with a better motive to match the narrative’s tone. My only additional critique focuses on Gentill’s tendency to rush things. The relationship between Freddie and Cain is measured in weeks, yet they have fallen in love with each other already. Furthermore, the story ends a bit abruptly, and at a strange moment. I assume the final scene shines a light on Gentill’s dark humor which I would not have minded, but I wish it was grounded in more substantial past clues/scenes that support such an ending.

I do not regret reading this novel in the least. The blend of thriller and mystery ingredients kept me on edge for most of the novel. I enjoyed the “frame-up job” angle, as it added to the tension and feelings of distrust among the characters. I believe this book could be a good match for those who enjoy metafiction, multiple storylines, and mysteries that are thriller-leaning.

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carireadsbooksandtarot'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? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

As a fan of Gentill’s Rowland Sinclair series, I was quick to request an ARC of her newest book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. Perhaps I just prefer my mysteries to be set in bygone eras, like the 1930s Australia setting of the Rowland Sinclair series, but this modern-day stand-alone just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Our main character Freddie is an Australian writer on a fellowship in Boston. One day as she is struggling to write at the Boston Public Library, surrounded by strangers, the silence is interrupted by a woman’s terrified scream. This strange occurrence leads her to befriend the three people sitting closest to her: Cain, also a novelist, Whit, a failing law student, and Marigold, a psychology graduate student. Later, they learn that a woman was killed in the library that day. Soon, Freddie is receiving strange calls and messages, suggesting that her new friends are in danger…and one of them might be a killer.

Thrillers are not my preferred genres and the more I read, the more I find that I prefer mysteries to have historical settings. In her Rowland Sinclair series, Gentill masterfully wove in political events of the day with each mystery. She also created a group of characters that were charming, witty, and fun to be with, characters that I was happy to visit with again and again. In the Woman in the Library, the characters never felt real, and none of them seemed like people I’d be particularly drawn to spending time with. They became strangely close and loyal to one another in a very short span of time which was necessary for the story but felt forced. There was also another story in the form of letters to the “author” of Freddie’s story, Hannah, and a reader named Leo. Leo praises Hannah’s work which feels strange as it’s basically Gentill praising her own writing, and offers suggestions, including that Hannah should include mentions of the pandemic and address the races of her characters. It was a strange and, in my opinion, unnecessary addition to the book to include these side letters.

This is a quick, short read tied up in an implausible explanation lacking a good motive- but maybe that’s the way with most thrillers. I will continue to read any historical mysteries Gentill writes in future, but I’ll stay away from modern-day thrillers. I might just be done with thrillers in general.

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starklinqs's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

4.75

Thanks to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m not going to spoil this book’s format, as it’s not in the description, but it’s truly a unique one that I haven’t read in a thriller before, and it immediately drew me into the story. I found myself caring immensely about both stories (and if anything, that’s why this gets 4.75 and not a perfect 5/5, because I was so invested in BOTH and wanted to know more about one of the stories than what we got). I’ve never read this author before but I definitely want to check out more of her stuff from now on - this book had me so invested, and I was dying trying to figure out what was going to happen. I honestly should have slept a while ago but I couldn’t, because I just had to keep reading to find out what happened next.

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