THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY - Sulari Gentill


 The peaceful afternoon in the Boston Public Library by the terrified scream of a woman. Library security guards quickly work to contain the scene and have everyone currently in the library remain where they are. Four strangers at a library table strike up a conversation while they wait and they develop a strong friendship that will grow beyond the library. Each of them has a reason for being in the library the day that the woman was killed, and one of them is a killer.

In a secondary story, the author of the story about the murder in the library sends each chapter of the book to a reader in Boston (Leo) who sends back comments and suggestions. Leo gets quite bold as time goes on and he begins to offer some inappropriate advice as well as actual crime scene photos from recent murders in the Boston area (to help the author with her authenticity). Leo's comments and suggestions are included in the second half of each chapter until it is evident that the author is concerned and has shared the concern with local authorities.

The authorities want the author to stop the communication with Leo, but instead the author wants to draw Leo out, reveal who he actually is or where he lives so that the authorities can be informed. But Leo stays elusive while offer more and more realistic advice on murder ... to be used in the book, presumably.

This two-story format is not completely new, and typically I love the blending of realities this way.  There is the story, which is surrounding by the 'real' author and a possibly deranged beta reader, both of which are pieces of fiction created by the real author.

Yeah, I like that kind of stuff.

But the two different stories were too divergent for me.  I found myself much more focused on the author/Leo story and wanting to skip ahead through the 'library friends' section to get to the Leo section.  After all, why would the writer include the 'real life' portions if they weren't important, and if they are important, why should I care about the fictional characters when there's a more interesting drama being played out? (And for the record, I know the 'real life' section is also fictional, but I'm looking for a way to define it.)

Although a character in the fictional portion is named for the beta reader Leo (again, with the hopes of drawing out more information about him), there really isn't any cross over.  These two stories don't take place in the same time, place, or reality. So the two stories work against each other, competing for attention.

Leo's going off the rails was pretty evident and easy to predict early on, so the revelations about him as we go don't turn out to be any surprise. I highlighted a section in my book, fairly early on, and noted "this is going to be important later" and I was right.

We have all the ingredients of a murder mystery, except for a breath-taking chase and ending. This sort of fizzles out, which was disappointing.

Looking for a good book? The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill is two mysteries rolled into one book, but it's hard to give them both equal attention and the end winds down without packing a punch.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

The Woman in the Library

author: Sulari Gentill

publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

ISBN: 9781464215872

paperback, 288 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MURDLE VOLUME 1 - G. T. Karber

Image
 I enjoy puzzles of many different varieties. I had not heard of 'Murdle' before this but essentially this is a combination of the game of Clue and a Sherlock Holmes micro story. With suspects, possible murder weapons, potential locations, and/or motives plus some very brief hints, readers are meant to combine the logic of what's know with deductive reasoning to identify the killer (or killers?) in 100 different mystery word puzzles. I will admit right off the bat that I did not do all 100.  I didn't even do half of these, but I did so some random sampling through all the categories (Elementary, Occult Medium, Hard Boiled, and Impossible). I did not get any correct in the Impossible category (of course not ... they were impossible!) and only one correct in the Hard Boiled (of five). The Elementary puzzles were, as expected, pretty easy and the Hard Boiled only a little bit more difficult. Each mini mystery comes with a grid printed in the book to help the reader-detecti
Read more

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - wherein he acq
Read more