Review of THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill

 3 Stars

I decided to read this novel because so many reviews called its structure clever.  Having finished the book, I’m left wondering what left readers in such awe.  Embedded narratives and nested stories are not that unusual. 

Hannah Tigone, an Australian writer stuck in pandemic lockdown in her home country, is writing a novel set in Boston.  She corresponds with Leo Johnson, a wannabe writer and fan who lives in Boston, who is happy to help Hannah research her setting.  The novel she is writing is narrated in the first person by Winifred (Freddie) Kincaid who is living in Boston because she has won a prestigious writers’ fellowship.  While in the Boston Public Library, Freddie and the other library patrons hear a woman scream.  That scream serves to introduce Freddie to three people seated beside her:  Whit Metters, Cain McLeod, and Marigold Anastas.  The four bond over that scream; Freddie even uses it as the inciting incident for her mystery novel.  A woman’s body is discovered in the library and more violent incidents occur; Freddie realizes that one of her new friends is a killer.

Each chapter of The Woman in the Library is a chapter in Hannah’s book.  At the end of each is a message from Leo offering criticism and suggestions.  It is these missives that I found most interesting.  Initially Leo is sycophantic but gradually he becomes pushy and then his commentary becomes disturbing.  He starts sending increasingly violent photos of crime scenes. 

There are several aspects which I found problematic.  The instant friendship among the four just seems ridiculous.  A scream can certainly act as a catalyst for conversation, but to have such intimate friendships develop immediately seems forced.  Then they don’t do anything but hang around together!  Though Whit and Marigold are in their early 20s, Cain is 30 years old and Freddie is 27.  Why then do they often behave like teenagers?  Freddie once refers to herself as behaving as a fourteen-year-old, and later accuses Whit of acting that age.  Whit’s mother once refers to them as “kids” and that’s a perfect description! 

Joe, the doorman, is a character who appears and disappears.  Why does he sometimes call to let Freddie know that someone has arrived to see her (e.g. two detectives) and other times doesn’t (e.g. two lawyers)?  Sometimes people are just able to go to her apartment and bang on the door?  And what’s with the episode with Mrs. Weinbaum?  The ending just seems gimmicky.  The reader is left to question whether Hannah is showing contempt for Leo or whether Hannah’s Leo and Freddie’s Leo are supposed to be similar characters.

None of the characters is likeable or memorable.  They are just bland and two-dimensional.  Marigold comes across as a stalker, yet the other three set no boundaries and let her continue her nosiness?  Freddie is just silly much of the time.  Hannah is not present as a character, but I couldn’t help but wonder why an Australian writer would base her novel in Boston when there’s no particular reason to do so. 

The book is not badly written, but neither is it of exceptional quality.  It left me shrugging my shoulders as to why so many readers were so impressed.