The Woman in the Library - by Sulari Gentill

Review by Julia

Best consumed with:

A warm chai latte, with a twist (like a hint of Baileys). 

What’s it all about?

 It’s partly about four strangers, in the Boston Library, who suddenly hear a bloodcurdling scream. It turns out to be a woman being murdered. All four end up being suspects, and one of them is actually the murderer. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s another story running in parallel to the murder which has its own twists and turns.

Why did I choose this book to read?

I decided to judge a book by its cover (and so glad I did!). I went browsing in the shops for a book to read on the plane to HK (I was moving there for a few months for work) and was instantly intrigued by the cover. It's a retro picture of a scared woman, on a book cover, with a dark hand picking up the book off the shelf - so Hitchock meets Inception. And the tagline was “Four strangers. A quiet library. The perfect place for murder”. I was done choosing! 

What did I love? 

Would it be lazy to say EVERYTHING? This novel is extremely intricate and the plot summary above does not do it justice (but I don’t want to give too much away!).

The two stories are run in alternate chapters, which is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. At first, I was a bit disappointed by this as I thought it would detract from becoming invested in each of the stories - however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sulari is extremely talented and with each new chapter I almost forgot about the other storyline, it was really well done.

I didn’t love the quirkiness of four strangers to begin with, but they eventually grew on me. From the blurb, I knew that one of them had to be the murderer, but I didn’t want to believe that as I felt that I had become friends with them (is that weird?). As the book progressed, the characters and the Boston setting started to leap out from the page - I felt like I was in Boston with them all, going on a crazy adventure.

Sulari Gentill (who I hadn’t heard of before) is a Sri-Lankan born Australian author. She won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Fiction (2018), was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (2011) and has been shortlisted for the Davitt Award. For The Woman in the Library Sulari was awarded a Copyright Agency Cultural Fund Fellowship. So, long story short, Sulari is extremely accomplished and it absolutely shows in this novel. Can’t believe it took me so long to find her!

What did I not love? 

Initially, the characters in the Library and what happens afterwards seemed a bit too ‘convenient’. They are all quite different and quirky, and just happen to be together in the Library when the murder takes place, and then just happen to become friends and later prime suspects? I don't think so! But eventually I became more invested in each character - the plot and the writing simply made it work. 

Book club recommended? 

Yes! I’ve recommended it to my husband, my mother-in-law, and my best friend, who all loved and raved about it. 

The Ultimo Press 2022 edition includes an interview with Sulari and a list of reading questions at the end, perfect for a book club!