The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

I’ve read many books that use the format of the epistolary novel, and, in my humble opinion as a reader, this one uses the technique in a great way.

The Woman in the Library is a mystery novel by the Sri Lankan-Australian author Sulari Gentill. The story is told through the eyes of two different characters: the Australian aspiring novelist Hannah, and her American friend and fellow prospective author Leo. Hannah is writing a crime novel set in Boston, and the chapters of her book alternate with Leo’s emails to her, as he reads and gives his opinions on the story.

The main story is essentially the one Hannah’s writing, a book within a book. In it, we follow the friendship between four unknown persons – aspiring Australian author Freddie, mysterious but charming novelist Cain, psychology student Marigold and young attorney Whitt, who meet and bond in the Boston Public Library, after they sit together in the reading room, and a bloodcurdling female scream upsets them. It is soon found out, that the scream came from a young woman, member of an old and famous Bostonian family, that was found murdered in another library room.

The rest of the story is the complicated investigation into the death of this woman. Every corner leads to more questions than answers, characters hide their true identities behind masks, red herrings abound and nobody seems to be exactly who they claim to be. Freddie finds herself in the middle of this mess, as the unknown murderer starts targeting her and her friends, while her feelings about Cain become complicated.

On the same time, outside the story, we witness the relationship between the author Hannah and her friend Leo, through their one-way correspondence, were he gives her ideas and critiques about her story.

I won’t say that this is some groundbreaking novel in the History of mystery fiction, but it is nicely written and structured, and the story is interesting and compelling. I personally enjoyed it, and I’ll look into the author’s other titles in the future.