The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

 

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📚 Book Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

⭐️ 4 out of 5 stars
Five-Word Summary: A Layered Mystery That Delivers

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✨ Initial Thoughts

When I first cracked open The Woman in the Library, I wasn’t sold. I went in expecting a classic whodunit… and instead, I got a book-within-a-book-within-a-book. 🌀 Confused? Same. But the longer I sat with it, the more it clicked. This novel is not your typical mystery—it’s clever, meta, and totally unexpected.

Once I got past the initial confusion, I realized I was actually reading something kind of brilliant. This is one of those stories that rewards patience. If you like your mysteries with a twist (or five), keep reading!

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🧩 What Is The Woman in the Library About?

It’s a murder mystery nested inside a manuscript, written by fictional author Hannah Tigone, who is working on a book called... yep, The Woman in the Library. Hannah isn’t alone in this process—she’s corresponding via email with a fan and beta reader named Leo Johnson, who’s helping her shape the novel from afar.

Let’s break it down:

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🖊 The Novel Inside the Novel

In Hannah’s book, four strangers are seated near each other in the Boston Public Library when a woman’s scream pierces the silence.

• Freddie Kincaid – an aspiring writer and the narrator

• Cain McLeod – a moody, mysterious author

• Marigold Anastas – a bubbly psych student

• Whit Metters – a charming law student

The scream becomes the thread that pulls these four together. They form an unexpected friendship and start investigating what could have happened. Shortly after, it’s revealed that a woman named Caroline Palfrey was found murdered in the library—the timing seems to match the scream.

But as their bond deepens, suspicions rise. One of them might be hiding something... maybe even murder.

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📧 Meanwhile… in the “Real” World

While we read Hannah’s fictional mystery, we also read her email exchanges with Leo, her overly enthusiastic fan. At first, he seems helpful—he researches Boston, gives feedback, and suggests plot twists.

But things get weird.

Leo’s emails start to feel...off. He becomes possessive, starts suggesting violent additions to the story, and eventually sends Hannah photos of real crime scenes. Red flag, anyone?

Turns out, Leo might actually be a serial killer, and Hannah realizes she’s in danger. She contacts the authorities, but Leo manages to get dangerously close before he’s finally caught.

So while we’re reading the fictional murder mystery, we’re also watching a real one unfold behind the scenes.

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🧠 Who Killed Caroline Palfrey?

Back in the fictional manuscript, Freddie and her new friends start unraveling Caroline’s murder. Clues lead them in different directions, but the big twist is:

Whit—the charming law student—is the killer.

Whit and Caroline were co-authors who had a major falling out. He murdered her the night before the scream was heard in the library. Strangely enough, we never actually find out what caused the scream, which leaves the mystery with a lingering eeriness.

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❤️ What I Loved

✔️ The layered structure grew on me—it’s ambitious and totally unique.
✔️ The tension between the fictional plot and real-world danger was brilliant.
✔️ Freddie and Cain were interesting, flawed, and compelling.
✔️ Leo’s arc was chilling in the best way.

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🤔 What Didn’t Work For Me

✖️ I’ll be honest—it’s confusing at first. You’re juggling fictional characters and a “real” author at the same time.
✖️ Some characters in the manuscript aren’t deeply developed.
✖️ The origin of the scream is never explained… which might bother some readers.

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📌 Final Verdict: Should You Read It?

If you're looking for a straightforward whodunit, The Woman in the Library might trip you up at first. But if you're into something clever, layered, and a little experimental, this one is totally worth sticking with. It’s equal parts literary mystery, psychological suspense, and metafictional fun.

I loved the book-within-a-book structure once I got used to it, and the way the fictional murder echoed the real-life danger unfolding outside the manuscript? Genius. 😮‍💨

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

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📚 If You Liked This, Try These:

• 📝 The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz – another twisty story about a writer, with dark secrets hidden in plain sight

• 🔪 Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz – a layered murder mystery with a manuscript at its center

• 🎧 The Night Swim by Megan Goldin – a podcast-driven thriller full of emotional depth and courtroom tension

• ✉️ Dear Child by Romy Hausmann – for readers who like unreliable narrators and nonlinear storytelling

• 📖 Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson – an ode to classic mysteries with a modern killer twist