Hello friends and happy Wednesday! Today I’m going to be posting my review of Sulari Gentill’s novel The Woman in the Library.

The Woman in the Library by: Sulari Gentill: In the Reading Room at the Boston Public Library, a scream is heard. Four people who were complete strangers are forced into proximity because of this and form a bond… only one of them is a murderer. Meanwhile, each chapter we read, was a plot to a bigger story, as these chapters were being fed to a mysterious Leo, who is giving feedback to the story, unbeknownst to him the true reason he’s been asked to critique it. This was a meta trippy read, that was quite unlike anything this reader has read before, for that it gets a whole star rating because it felt so clever. This felt like two stories in one and the reader didn’t know which one they wanted to pay more attention to; there were moments when the main story was kinda lacking, but the secondary story was really interesting, then it would flip. The plot was really fast-paced and always had the reader on their toes. They didn’t really care so much for the mystery/thriller plot, but it was the hidden mystery/thriller plot that was super captivating. The writing was really good and clever; the reader enjoyed how everything weaved together so seamlessly and the reveal was so subtly done, it felt really sneaky, but was smartly done. As for the characters, they kinda felt flat because it didn’t feel like we truly got to know them. The characters from the main story had some depth to them, but the way their friendship formed felt fake and nothing truly felt real. The whole romance plot between Freddie and Cain, had no chemistry and felt forced together for the sake of moving the plot. Even the other romance plot points felt a little too much. Leo’s character was brilliant though, the reader loved how he was crafted and how he was used to create so much suspense and tension. He could get a bit annoying, always talking about the pandemic was a bit much, but the reader doesn’t fault the author because he was a very good unlikable character. In the end, this was so different that it’s really worth the read even if mystery/thriller isn’t your genre. The amount of literary jargon that was used was enough to get anyone who loves the talk of books and writing, a good time. This is definitely a recommended read for those who love layers to their story with a good twist.