The Woman in the Library
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Crime Fiction Lover Best Indie Crime Novel of 2022
‘A seriously fun read.’ - Dervla McTiernan, author of The Murder Rule
‘Wickedly clever, highly original and thoroughly entertaining – I loved it!’ - Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands
‘Sulari Gentill delivers another murder mystery gem.’ - Tim Ayliffe, author of The Enemy Within
‘And then there is a scream. Ragged and terrified. A beat of silence even after it stops, until we all seem to realise that the Reading Room Rules no longer apply.’
Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime author, is crafting a new novel that begins in the Boston Public Library: four strangers; Winifred, Cain, Marigold and Whit are sitting at the same table when a bloodcurdling scream breaks the silence. A woman has been murdered. They are all suspects, and, as it turns out, each character has their own secrets and motivations – and one of them is a murderer.
While crafting this new thriller, Hannah shares each chapter with her biggest fan and aspirational novelist, Leo. But Leo seems to know a lot about violence, motive, and how exactly to kill someone. Perhaps he is not all that he seems...
The Woman in the Library is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship – and shows that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This thrilling excursion into metafiction from Australian author Gentill (Crossing the Lines) wittily examines the writing process itself. Australian mystery writer Winifred "Freddie" Kincaid has come to Boston after receiving a prestigious writers' fellowship. While she's seeking inspiration in the Boston Public Library, a woman's scream breaks the silence. Freddie seizes on this incident as the ideal start for her new opus, which involves "a group of people united by a scream." Each chapter of Freddie's book includes a letter written to famous Australian author Hannah Tigone by a dedicated fan, Leo Johnson, a fellow writer in residence who offers to be her beta reader. Hannah is writing the story of Freddie Kincaid, who's writing the story of the murder in the library. Leo's emails influence Hannah's view of her characters and subsequently Freddie's story. Leo's emails shift from sycophantic to profoundly disturbing when his novel is rejected by Hannah's agent. The agent dies a few days later, and murders in the two realities begin to multiply. This elegantly constructed novel is intelligent, funny, and profound. Who could ask for more?
