The Woman in the Library book review

by Bonnie Tollefson

The Woman in the Library, Sulari Gentill, Poisoned Pen Press, 2022.

I try to avoid browsing libraries and book stores as I find way too many books I want to read. Occasionally, however, I am in a mood that nothing looks good. That is what happened the other day when I stopped by the RVM library for a book to do my quarterly book review. I checked the new large print, I checked the non-fiction, then moved onto new fiction. Nothing looked good until The Woman in the Library called gently to me and I took it home.

Sulari Gentill is an Australian author who writes a series of 1930’s historical crime novels set in Australia, but this book is something different for her as it is a stand alone mystery, set in modern day Boston. Her main character is Hannah – an Australian author who is in communication with Leo, a fan and fellow, although unpublished, author. The story is told thru Hannah’s writing. Her main character is an Australian writer, Winifred (Freddie) selected for a Boston scholarship/fellowship program. Freddie is working in a reading room of the Boston Public Library when a scream rings out. The four people at the table are startled into conversation. When a body is later found in a nearby room, the four bond over the shared experience. The pandemic prevents Hannah, the author, from making a planned trip to Boston for background research for the book, and her fan, Leo, offers to help her with maps of the area, ideas on where Freddie could live and suggestions of restaurants and movie theaters. In acknowledgment of Leo’s help, Hannah actually uses his name on a character in her book.

Confused yet? We actually only meet Hannah thru her writing of others and later thru letters received by her from law enforcement, when she becomes suspicious of the information that Leo is feeding her about murder and dead bodies. Leo seems to want to take over the direction of Hannah’s story, insisting on who needs to be killed off and how, and then chastising Hannah when she doesn’t follow his suggestions or uses his ideas in unexpected ways. There are two simultaneous story lines in this book: one is the interaction between author, Hannah, and fan, Leo. The other is the interaction between the four who become friends. I won’t provide any spoilers here, just some questions to whet your curiosity. Who is fan Leo really? Who of the four is a murderer? Who is a stalker? Who can Freddie trust? Who falls in love? After all – as Freddie’s friend, Leo says – every book no matter the genre is at heart a romance.

This book is available thru the RVM library as well as from the Jackson County Library System – although the last I checked there was a waiting list for the JCLS copies.