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A review by katykelly
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
5.0
Story in a story in a story - loved this structure!
This one is going to be hard to both describe and review without giving anything away. But it was definitely worth the read and effort to write about.
What could easily have been just another murder mystery is made into something more by the clever structuring of the story - which is itself the creation of an author writing the book and discussing it chapter by chapter with a fan. Oh and the character in HER book is a writer writing a book too.
Confused? It's actually easy to follow.
The main action starts, wonderfully enough, in a public library, as a writer is observing those around her to use as potential characters in her own work. But true to form, there's a woman's scream, a lockdown, a body. And the writer speaks to the people she's been studying and friendships are formed. Though she tells us - the narrator/author of the murder story through her main character - that one of them is a murderer.
Now as we move through this mystery of working out who the dead woman is, how any of the characters might be connected to her, how the friendships/budding romances between the foursome develop, the writer of THEIR story also shares with us messages from a fan of hers (the author of the mystery is a well-known writer of the genre already). This fan, we learn, comes from the city in which the author is setting the story. Due to COVID lockdowns, she's stuck in Australia so he offers to help with geographical tips, language phrases, and comments about his own struggles to become a published author. His correspondent's words are never shared, only her chapters.
Gradually as the murder mystery itself moves through the usual red herrings, twists, amateur detective work, escalating violence, backstories and character development, its writer and fan/reader also develop their own plot, which sneaks up on the reader (us, in case you are lost in the maze or readers and writers involved in the layers by now!).
Ohh, it was great. I re-read a few pages now and then as some things were quite subtly placed in the pages to seem low-key and trivial. Which turns us (the reader of the writer of the writer - keep up!) into the detectives too.
What could have been a fairly standard murder mystery became something much more exciting and concentrated.
I hope I've kept this broad enough to tantalise without giving anything away. Apart from the fact that it's highly enjoyable, mind-twisting stuff that gives depth and finesse to this piece of fiction.
I'd recommend this for those who enjoy the genre but also those who might be weary of tropes and lazy plotting. This will give you something to get your detective teeth into.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
This one is going to be hard to both describe and review without giving anything away. But it was definitely worth the read and effort to write about.
What could easily have been just another murder mystery is made into something more by the clever structuring of the story - which is itself the creation of an author writing the book and discussing it chapter by chapter with a fan. Oh and the character in HER book is a writer writing a book too.
Confused? It's actually easy to follow.
The main action starts, wonderfully enough, in a public library, as a writer is observing those around her to use as potential characters in her own work. But true to form, there's a woman's scream, a lockdown, a body. And the writer speaks to the people she's been studying and friendships are formed. Though she tells us - the narrator/author of the murder story through her main character - that one of them is a murderer.
Now as we move through this mystery of working out who the dead woman is, how any of the characters might be connected to her, how the friendships/budding romances between the foursome develop, the writer of THEIR story also shares with us messages from a fan of hers (the author of the mystery is a well-known writer of the genre already). This fan, we learn, comes from the city in which the author is setting the story. Due to COVID lockdowns, she's stuck in Australia so he offers to help with geographical tips, language phrases, and comments about his own struggles to become a published author. His correspondent's words are never shared, only her chapters.
Gradually as the murder mystery itself moves through the usual red herrings, twists, amateur detective work, escalating violence, backstories and character development, its writer and fan/reader also develop their own plot, which sneaks up on the reader (us, in case you are lost in the maze or readers and writers involved in the layers by now!).
Ohh, it was great. I re-read a few pages now and then as some things were quite subtly placed in the pages to seem low-key and trivial. Which turns us (the reader of the writer of the writer - keep up!) into the detectives too.
What could have been a fairly standard murder mystery became something much more exciting and concentrated.
I hope I've kept this broad enough to tantalise without giving anything away. Apart from the fact that it's highly enjoyable, mind-twisting stuff that gives depth and finesse to this piece of fiction.
I'd recommend this for those who enjoy the genre but also those who might be weary of tropes and lazy plotting. This will give you something to get your detective teeth into.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.