THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill

A great murder mystery from the wonderful Australian writer.

I was lucky enough to listen to Sulari Gentill speak at the Brisbane Writers Festival in May 2023, and such was the joy she exuded, I immediately went and bought her book, The Woman In The Library. A murder mystery, it is not the usual book I would normally read, but for the delightful woman who wrote it. Over the past few months, it has sat on my “to be read” shelf…yes, there is a shelf. Several, in fact!

I was prompted to pick up The Woman In The LIbrary last week when I was searching my shelves for something to read that did not involve families, grief, or anything vaguely emotional. I sadly lost my eldest sister recently and I needed to get lost in a story that wouldn’t evoke emotional responses - I was having enough of my own! This wonderful novel was perfect for the task.

TWITL is the story of four people who meet by serendipity in the Boston Library, and while there hear the scream of a woman who is later found dead. The main character is Winifred - known as Freddie - and Australian writer in the United States, and she is joined by Cain, Whit and Marigold. Each chapter is a chapter of a manuscript by Australian writer Hannah, who sends each chapter to a friend and fan in the USA, Leo. Each chapter ends with Leo’s feedback on what he has read.

Sounds very meta, right? It is a little. But it also WORKS.

I pride myself on very often being able to pick where the story is going and who the mysterious murderer is, but with this one, I genuinely didn’t know until it was revealed. I had a strong sense of who I didn’t think was the killer, which was correct. But a great story is one I can’t predict the end of, and this one kept me guessing.

This wont be the last Sulari Gentill book I will read - I was hooked on this one pretty quickly and powered through the final two-thirds in one day. It was an easy read - I was able to keep track of who did what and when, even with the two layers of the story. What luck I had to listen to Sulari back in May - and how glad I was to have this story to immerse myself in during a difficult time in my own life.

I absolutely recommend this one - you’ll love this excellent yarn!