Monday, September 5, 2022

Brief Book Review - The Woman in the Library; Sulari Gentill

 

The Woman in the Library; Sulari Gentill
Poison Pen Press - 2022
(library Loan)

This was a book that I passed on initially but, my self-imposed pressure, based on reviews from some who enjoyed it, and the setting of the Boston Public Library held lots of appeal..  Unfortunately, this book was a struggle and ultimately a disappointing read for me.

The setting of the Boston Public Library, a blood-curdling scream early that ultimately ends in the murder of a young woman, makes fast friends of four strangers sitting at the same table who bond after the crime.  The more the group discusses what they recall the plot thickens and suspicions intensify. Hannah Tigone is a mystery writer based in Australia who shares the book she is writing with a Boston based mega fan named Leo who critiques her work it for locale and other accuracies, since the pandemic has preventing Hannah from coming to Boston herself.  Her novel is shared basically through email exchanges at the ends of the chapters and the whole correspondence gets very odd and uncomfortable as well at at times.

I'm not a fan of a story within a story kind of novel and found this one hard to get into and even confusing at times. I think I was expecting more of a traditional mystery. I'm not even sure this can be classified as a traditional mystery as it also seemed heavily character driven. I especially found the correspondence distracting and felt it added very little to the mystery overall. Sorry readers I can't recommend this one.

RATING - 2.5/5 stars

17 comments:

  1. Sorry this book was a miss for you!

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  2. Yeah, I should have gone with my initial gut feeling and passed. Not every book is meant for every reader unfortunately.

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  3. This seemed to have a lot going for it so what a disappointment that it didn't live up to the hype. I started listening to this one but got so confused that I'll have to try a physical copy instead. That's if I get to it.

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    1. I can imagine the confusion on audio as the print was challenging enough for me at times. Perhaps it just wasn't for me - quite different

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  4. I've seen this one all over the place and wondered what it was like... now I know! Thanks for such an honest review, Diane.

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  5. Yep, always follow your gut instincts.

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  6. I pretty much agree with you about this book. I ended up rating it as three stars but it was a disappointment. I had hoped for something better.

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  7. I actually forgot you read and reviewed this one. I liked the first several chapters but, then started to feel frustrated and lose interest.

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  8. This one got a lot of low ratings on Goodreads. One reviewer even said, "felt like a Scooby Doo mystery." So, rest assured, you're not in the minority. I'll pass.

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  9. I'm not a huge fan of that story within a story kind of novel. When I first saw this book I wanted to read it, but the more I hear about it the less I think I would enjoy it. So I'll be passing on this one.

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  10. I trust your judgement .... and if you don't like it .... then I need to steer clear.

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  11. Bummer that this book was a disappointment though the premise sounds interesting. Think I'll have to give this a pass.

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  12. I've been on the fence about this one. The premise didn't grab me but I've seen some good reviews for it. I don't love the story within a story either and so I think I'll take a pass on this one.

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