A review by thebakerbookworm
The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a fun little mystery and a decent audiobook. It's a book-within-a-book story, and story A kept me guessing and intrigued while story B was honestly cracking me up.

Story A is the main one, the one from the book summary, and I was expecting more of a locked-room mystery, but the library part is only at the beginning and then they quickly move on. There are a lot of red flags that distracted me from the obvious culprit, so I stayed on my toes the whole time, never really sure who the big bad was. I liked the characters, though the plot is definitely the main focus.

But what really set this book apart was story B, where we discover that story A is actually a book being written, and the author is corresponding with a beta reader about her work. Through these letters, we learn about the Australian author and the beta reader, who lives in Boston where story A takes place. These letters were mostly at the end of each chapter, with the beta reader giving commentary on the previous chapter. Like I said, they just cracked me up and the twists and turns that story B takes really made this murder mystery unique.

Give this one a listen if you like libraries or a story-within-a-story plot or books about writers or a classic whodunnit mystery.

Thanks to Libro.fm, Dreamscape Media, and the author for my ALC!
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