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A review by morgob
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
5.0
Goodness gracious!! I have a feeling this book is for a niche group of people, like other writers. I can definitely see people who are not writers enjoying this, too, don't get me wrong, but I read some reviews of this and it seems that the plot is maybe just geared towards specific readers. This is a book by an author, writing about an author writing a story about an author writing a story. Yeah, it's a bit trippy! The story is basically divided in two: the main plot, about four strangers who meet coincidentally (or is it??) in a library, they hear a scream, a body is found, one of them is the killer; the other half of the story is a series of emails sent from a man named Leo to the supposed author of the murder mystery. Leo is communicating with the author and she is sending him her manuscript chapter by chapter while he gives her advice on it and spews rather another story.
The murder mystery part was excellent. It keeps you guessing the whole time, the big reveal at the end satisfactory. I also felt drawn to Freddie (the main character) from the beginning because of our common interest in writing and also using people she sees around her as inspiration for characters. Probably a lot of people do that, but it's so cool to see it in a story. And then those people discovering that you're using them for material. I honestly had difficulty putting it down, but I had to, on account of I had to work most of the time during the day. I loved the characters, even some of the minor ones.
Some spoilers here...
I picked this book up at the library on Tuesday. The title struck my interest and I had not heard of it before, so I'm really glad I picked it up. The synopsis hooked me, and though the first couple of chapters were rough to get into as far as following the pattern and the story between the book and the emails, I am so glad I took a chance on a book I'd never heard of and knew nothing about, for once.
The murder mystery part was excellent. It keeps you guessing the whole time, the big reveal at the end satisfactory. I also felt drawn to Freddie (the main character) from the beginning because of our common interest in writing and also using people she sees around her as inspiration for characters. Probably a lot of people do that, but it's so cool to see it in a story. And then those people discovering that you're using them for material. I honestly had difficulty putting it down, but I had to, on account of I had to work most of the time during the day. I loved the characters, even some of the minor ones.
Some spoilers here...
Spoiler
Leo, the character in the book and in the emails, creeped me out to no end. I was so glad at the end when the real Leo was apprehended and thrown in prison and the one in the book jumped out right at the end with his creepiness. Seriously, from the very first email I sensed something off about him. I definitely got some red flags. He was also just so presumptuous about her taking his writing advice. At a couple of moments, I was reminded of Misery, the way he was suggesting all of these things for her to write instead of the story she was writing. Anyway, I loved the creepy guy story. It felt very real. (Total side note here, but I wonder if female readers are better at picking up on the creepy Leo moves than male readers. Just a thought that has nothing to do with the story, I just wonder)I picked this book up at the library on Tuesday. The title struck my interest and I had not heard of it before, so I'm really glad I picked it up. The synopsis hooked me, and though the first couple of chapters were rough to get into as far as following the pattern and the story between the book and the emails, I am so glad I took a chance on a book I'd never heard of and knew nothing about, for once.