The Woman in the Library – Sulari Gentill

Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime author, is crafting a new novel that begins in the Boston Public Library: four strangers; Winifred, Cain, Marigold and Whit are sitting at the same table when a bloodcurdling scream breaks the silence. A woman has been murdered. They are all suspects, and, as it turns out, each character has their own secrets and motivations – and one of them is a murderer.

While crafting this new thriller, Hannah shares each chapter with her biggest fan and aspirational novelist, Leo. But Leo seems to know a lot about violence, motive, and how exactly to kill someone. Perhaps he is not all that he seems…

The Woman in the Library is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship – and shows that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

 

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

 

A book from the “what I read on my summer holiday” collection. I was fascinated by the blurb of this story, four strangers in a Library when a murder takes place – one of the four is a murderer but if the four were sitting at a table then how can one of their number be a killer?

Well it isn’t Sulari Gentill who will tell this story it is Hannah Tigone (Okay it IS Sulari but let’s give Hannah her place too). Hannah is writing about Winifred, Marigold, Cain and Whit – four strangers who are in a Boston Library. They are sitting at a table togegther when a scream is heard – the four are forged in a new friendship and Hannah will write her novel about these new friends and the steps they will take to discover more about each other and, more importantly, about who may have killed a woman in the library.

As Hannah writes she gives her readers a background into each of these four players in her story. They all have secrets, they all have a reason to keep them secret and Hannah is going to spin out the tale and deliver a whip-smart whodunnit. But between the chapters about the friendly four and their strengthening bonds Sulari Gentill is also telling her readers about Hannah’s life away from the story she is crafting. Hannah is getting feedback from Leo – he is reading her early chapter drafts as each chapter is completed and providing his own observations and feedback. Leo is a bit of an enigma and does seem to enjoy a bit of mansplaining but he also has thoughts and opinions of friendships, secrets and he seems remarkably well informed about murder too.

All very mysterious and very nicely put together. At approximately 270 pages in length I found The Woman in the Library a sharp and well exectuted murder tale (no puns intended here). Hannah’s story gives a satisfying murder tale with a seemingly impossible pool of suspects and Sulari’s story about Hannah is darker and more perplexing – reading to see how that plot unfolded was very much the reason I zipped through The Woman in the Library in just two enjoyable sittings.

I enjoyed the very different approach to the story telling here and this is a book I’d recommend readers look out for when it hits the shelves next month.

 

The Woman in the Library is published in hardback in the UK on 15 September 2022 and you can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-woman-in-the-library/sulari-gentill/9781761151545