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sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Still not completely sure as to what I want to rate this, but I think 3 stars (or somewhere in that range) is where it sits for me. I had an enjoyable time reading it but there were a few things that didn't work as well for me.
The first was the dual storyline. I felt as soon as I was getting sucked into the murder mystery story, the letters would come in and bring me out of it, reminding me that the murder mystery story wasn't real in the context of the story. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed both storylines but they felt like two different stories to me. I also would've liked to see the two stories connect a bit more at the end.
The ending also confused me a bit.It felt like it had wrapped up just for her to see Leo in the elevator and him saying they might need his help, but I didn't really see the benefit of that in context. Also, what did it mean? I read a few analyses online but it seems like I'm not the only one who feels this way.
The murder mystery storyline was interesting, though there were only four main characters with one being the narrator so that left only a few options for who did it. The big reveal didn't absolutely shock me but I hadn't quite pieced it all together, so it was not a horrible conclusion to that storyline. But, like I said before, I wasn't as invested in this part as I could've been knowing that it wasn't a real timeline of events in the context of the story.
I enjoyed the characters, despite them being not the most developed, and I liked getting to know Cain's backstory and how it wove into Hannah's story.
I felt like this book had good moments that sucked you in, but ultimately the two different parts of the story didn't quite work together as well as they could've for me. In saying this, I still enjoyed my time reading this and there was some good exploration into the extent to which real world issues can and should be woven into stories.
The first was the dual storyline. I felt as soon as I was getting sucked into the murder mystery story, the letters would come in and bring me out of it, reminding me that the murder mystery story wasn't real in the context of the story. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed both storylines but they felt like two different stories to me. I also would've liked to see the two stories connect a bit more at the end.
The ending also confused me a bit.
The murder mystery storyline was interesting, though there were only four main characters with one being the narrator so that left only a few options for who did it. The big reveal didn't absolutely shock me but I hadn't quite pieced it all together, so it was not a horrible conclusion to that storyline. But, like I said before, I wasn't as invested in this part as I could've been knowing that it wasn't a real timeline of events in the context of the story.
I enjoyed the characters, despite them being not the most developed, and I liked getting to know Cain's backstory and how it wove into Hannah's story.
I felt like this book had good moments that sucked you in, but ultimately the two different parts of the story didn't quite work together as well as they could've for me. In saying this, I still enjoyed my time reading this and there was some good exploration into the extent to which real world issues can and should be woven into stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, and Stalking
heathermarie08's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At first, I really didn't like this writing style. Just a tad confusing and took me a bit to get in the groove of it. But as I got used to it, it began to feel almost as if I was discussing the book with another person (the author to author emails). It was also exciting to see the remarks from the other author put into the rest of the story. The story is enjoyable and kept my interest. It ends up turning into 2 stories in one which is fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Minor: Blood, Racism, and Gun violence
katekatiekait's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
hmetwade's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Stalking
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
heather_harrison's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Thank you NetGalley & Ultimo Press for my e-ARC.
The Woman in the Library is a murder mystery, which begins in the Boston library with a group of young(ish) adults with the transfixing scream of a mystery woman. Our protagonist, Freddie (Winifred), toys with the idea of using the other three at her table as inspiration for her writing, and a friendship is quickly struck up within the group.
Each chapter is ended with email correspondence to Hannah, the writer of the above tale, from her 'beta reader' Leo. As the story progresses, his input becomes more forceful and dark, and alludes to something very chilling.
White this did first through me a bit and was a little confusing, once I acclimatized I enjoyed the meta aspect of the story, and felt like it really lifted it from the usual murder mystery template.
I also enjoyed the corrections of her Australian writing colloquialism from Leo, and the 'discussion' around whether or not to acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise his correspondence was unsettling which certainly reflects well on Gentill's writing skills.
The Woman in the Library is a murder mystery, which begins in the Boston library with a group of young(ish) adults with the transfixing scream of a mystery woman. Our protagonist, Freddie (Winifred), toys with the idea of using the other three at her table as inspiration for her writing, and a friendship is quickly struck up within the group.
Each chapter is ended with email correspondence to Hannah, the writer of the above tale, from her 'beta reader' Leo. As the story progresses, his input becomes more forceful and dark, and alludes to something very chilling.
White this did first through me a bit and was a little confusing, once I acclimatized I enjoyed the meta aspect of the story, and felt like it really lifted it from the usual murder mystery template.
I also enjoyed the corrections of her Australian writing colloquialism from Leo, and the 'discussion' around whether or not to acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise his correspondence was unsettling which certainly reflects well on Gentill's writing skills.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Stalking, Racism, and Domestic abuse
siobhanward's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-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
2.5
This book has pretty mixed reviews and I can see why- the idea of the book is great (the murder in a library, the book within a book), but the execution is flawed. I don't know what was up with Leo constantly making incorrect corrections - if Freddie, an Australian, is describing something, why would she use American terms? I was waiting for there to be a reveal that he wasn't actually American or something, but that never came.
I also found the mystery hard to follow - I think Leo's constant interruptions didn't help, but overall it was just hard to follow what as happening. I didn't feel like any of the characters were super well-developed, which meant that the end came and I really didn't care a whole lot. I wish that this had been better, because the premise was great.
I also found the mystery hard to follow - I think Leo's constant interruptions didn't help, but overall it was just hard to follow what as happening. I didn't feel like any of the characters were super well-developed, which meant that the end came and I really didn't care a whole lot. I wish that this had been better, because the premise was great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
crichardson83's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Stalking
lauren_e_d's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was an ok book. I enjoyed the mystery and how the 4 were brought together, and I actually did enjoy the subplot with the emails. However I think the email thing could have been more interesting and drawn out because it felt resolved quite quickly. In terms of the mystery, I liked it although I had a suspicion of who it might be. It wasn’t the best mystery ever but an easy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
paronomaniac's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual assault