“Still, there might be something fitting about a friendship based on a common love of words being founded on an exchange of the same.”
― Sulari Gentill, The Woman in the Library
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill has been on my to-read list since it was published in June 2022. After listening to this title, I can firmly say that I haven’t read anything like this before. If you decide to read this book, go into it with an open mind. The description of the book barely scratches the surface of what the book is really about, but this review is going to be just as vague because *spoilers* would happen if I didn’t!
The Boston Public Library’s reading room is ornate and quiet. All of that is shattered one morning when a woman’s terrified scream radiates through the room. Four strangers sitting in the reading room reach out to each other, start talking, and become friends. Security guards investigate the noise, instructing everyone to stay put while they look for the source. They find nothing… at first.
Harriet, Marigold, Whit, and Caine are the four strangers brought together by the scream. They all have their own reasons for being in the reading room that day, some with secrets they are reluctant to share. The investigation into the scream casts suspicion upon the four with readers being led to believe that one of the four may be a murderer. Each person in this book has a story to tell, but if they are telling the truth or not is a whole other matter.
“The story of her life etched on her skin… She’s like a walking book. Patterns and portraits and words. Mantras of love and power. I wonder how much of it is fiction.”
― Sulari Gentill, The Woman in the Library
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