This crime thriller had me guessing all the way to the end! I’m so glad I finally picked this one up because it did not disappoint!
Publisher Synopsis
USA TODAY BESTSELLER * MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD NOMINEE * 2022 BOOKPAGE BEST MYSTERIES AND SUSPENSE * LIBRARY READS TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2022 * CRIME READS BEST NEW CRIME FICTION
“Investigations are launched, fingers are pointed, potentially dangerous liaisons unfold and I was turning those pages like there was cake at the finish line.” –Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times must-read books for summer 2022
Ned Kelly award winning author Sulari Gentill sets this mystery-within-a-mystery in motion with a deceptively simple, Dear Hannah, What are you writing? pulling us into the ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library.
In every person’s story, there is something to hide…
The tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning–it just happens that one is a murderer.
Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with The Woman in the Library, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.
Title Information
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Release Date: June 07, 2022
Pages: 288
Series: No
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Murder Mystery, Thrillers – Crime, Thrillers – Suspense, Popular Fiction
My Review
This was my first thriller for the fall season and it did not disappoint. This fast-paced, multi-award winning crime thriller has sat on my TBR shelf for far too long. It was one of those books that I picked out right after it was published and that I had every intention of reading immediately, but my mood never matched the book until now. I recently came across this idea of having an antilibrary which consists of books that you have yet to read. The idea is that you will pick up the right book at the exact right time that you need them the most. I thought it was such a beautiful sentiment and I will adopt any excuse to romanticize my TBR. Turns out that now was the best time for me to read this genius murder mystery that had me thinking about it long after I turned the last page.
Woman in the Library begins as a right place, wrong time chance meeting of strangers. As their friendship develops, this odd pairing of people simultaneously add comedic relief and a creeping sense of unease which is exactly what I wanted in this crime thriller. I really enjoyed the layering of narratives which I think added so much to the overall tension of the plot. You’re reading along and becoming immersed in the first plot and then all the sudden you’re not sure anymore which storyline you’re actually in. Sulari’s breadcrumb trail is so subtle that I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end! The misdirection away from the true murderer was genius in its execution. While the characters develop throughout the novel, they develop at a slow pace which allows the reader to stay immersed in the “whodunit” theme of the plot. This isn’t a mystery that gives you all the answers up front starting with the body and working your way back to the murder. This crime thriller unravels with each turn of the page. A perfect read for a travel day or a rainy weekend, you’ll be sure to have a hard time putting this one down.
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