The Woman in the Library cover art

The Woman in the Library

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Woman in the Library

By: Sulari Gentill
Narrated by: Edwina Wren, Nick Ravenswood
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.99

Buy Now for $25.99

About this listen

Four strangers. A quiet library. The perfect place for murder.

‘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.

©2022 Sulari Gentill (P)2022 W F Howes Crime Crime Fiction Detective International Mystery & Crime Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Murder Suspense Thriller

Critic Reviews

"Wickedly clever, highly original and thoroughly entertaining—I loved it!" (Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands and Treasure and Dirt)

"Sulari Gentill pulls back the curtain on writers and their fixations, revealing the duplicity, the secret rages and the jealousy. Everything, no matter how dire, is material in the end." (Jock Serong, author of The Rules of Backyard Cricket and The Burning Island)

"This elegantly constructed novel is intelligent, funny and profound. Who could ask for more?" (Publishers Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant
This was a good listen. Lots of plot development and twists. I didn’t love the emailing with Leo and thought the story would have worked well without it.

The women in the library

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a really easy listen, good story with a different style and was enjoyable.

Great listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Nothing. Just loved the whole three of her books. Fantastic. I highly recommend. Thank you.

What a brilliant authori just love her narrative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fantastic narration and a very light easy listen! However I feel like the ending was so fast and a little underwhelming there are so many questions I still have and even at the literally last line. It just seemed so unexpectedly abrupt considering how meandering and unrushed the rest of the novel was. A red herring is great and expected tool of every mystery... But it must still be explained? I feel so many question marks were left unresolved or unexplained in the end that this was hardly a satisfying listen.

The characters also act shockingly naive and frankly irritating at times, not at all how a normal group of adults with barely weeks of acquaintance would normally act. And you can't convince me for a moment any of these main cast of characters are meant to be in their early to to late 20s. None of them act like it. A fine listen but not a good mystery.

A bit disappointing overall

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved the fresh delivery/meta element of this mystery novel. I was gripped the whole way through. “Leo” makes my skin crawl (performance was superb) and was a fantastic element to the story - the reddit misogynistic troglodyte vibe was captured so well. The twists were fantastic and kept me guessing.

Aside from the story, the descriptions were rich and fresh. I loved the setting and the premise of an Australian author navigating the beautiful city of Boston. Again, the performance of the various American characters by an Australian woman was equal parts convincing, captivating, and impressive.

Probably my favourite novel I’ve read in ages. Would recommend to any mystery lover

Love!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I liked but did not love this book. However, I will be reading more by this author

Different

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found the audio to be very good and story was excellent. I cld not stop listening

Riveted

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Kept me guessing all the way to the end. Loved it. Would recommend. Great narration too.

Cracker of a read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really enjoyable listen. Story told from different perspectives, with everyone having something to hide. Could not pick whodunnit.

Loved the way this story was told

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
After a run of mediocre ‘light’ books, poorly written & narrated, this was an absolute delight. Had heard a review & interview with Sulari Gentill on ABCRN Bookshelf and was intrigued.

The result was more satisfying than expected. Loved the 2 level plot, (& the anonymous ‘author … like a hall of mirrors!) with many of my responses (initially at least) to the main ‘crime’ story being voiced by ‘reader’ Leo ( as well as the ‘crime story character Leo’ … eg “all novels are romances”).

Generally reveled in the accurate, deft, and affectionate, observation of cultural differences. So enjoyed ‘the author’s’ plot line responses to Leo’s advice - a wonderful lightness of touch and the humor even in the tension. ( Only ‘clunk’ was at the beginning calling a law firm Abercrombie & Kent … couldn’t see a reason for this on any level … goodness - I sound like Leo!).

And all of it written with a comfortably sure, real and ‘natural’ Australian (& American) voice - with gentle witticisms & delightful sentence structures!

Can’t speak highly enough of the narration of Edwina Wren & Nick Ravenswood. Wren’s warmth & understanding of plot & characters really came through (recently listened to a ‘Grim’ murder story … mostly cos I’d just been to the Yorkshire Dales … where the narrator made all the women sound like a Benny Hill or Monty Python caricature). Yes Gentill wrote the likeable friends but Wren brought them beautifully to life.

Ravenswood’s gradually, almost imperceptibly ‘changing’ (no spoilers!) Leo was masterful. And I thought both their dealing with changing accents was so natural to almost need no comment - other than well done,

We’re all in need of light reads. This was an enjoyable, entertaining (without compromising on quality!) read and listen after a long drought of either.

Enjoyable on every level

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.