The Woman In The Library by Sulari Gentill

The Woman In The Library by Sulari Gentill

Blurb:

In every person's story, there is something to hide...

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until 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.

My Thoughts:

Before I share what I thought about this book, I'd like to share a picture of the setting for the beginning of the story -'The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library'.  The first part of the tale talks about the 'green shaded' lamps at the communal tables and also about the lofty ceiling.  Can you see it?  Good!  I was delighted to realize that when I visited the Boston Public Library a few years ago, I took a picture of the reading room and many other parts of the library as well.  If you want to see some of them, you may go here.

    

The Woman In The Library is a book told in a sort of epistolary style - a 'story within a story'.  We read  the book that Hannah, an Australian author, is writing and her correspondence with Leo who is a sort-of 'beta-reader', I guess.  Their interactions are at the end of the chapters of Hannah's book, which Hannah is apparently sending to Leo to get his reactions.  That book tells of the four people who were sitting at the same table in the Boston Library when a woman screams loudly.  Security people rush in and tell everyone to stay put.  The four individuals begin chatting with each other and friendships are formed from that point.  Now, these four people all have secrets and their own reasons for being in the library that day.  And one of them - well, one of them is a murderer.

Sulari Gentill lives in Australia and she writes a historical mystery series and has also written a couple of stand-alone books.  Her historical series is about Rowland Sinclair and it's set in Sydney in the 1930's.  I think there are about 10 books in that series.  I listened to a great author event (podcast) with Sulari and Barbara Peters of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore.  Really a lot of fun to hear.  

I recommend this new book and hope many might try it and see what they think.