A review by njohnson2018
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I think the concept of this book is fantastic.  Overall, I don’t think it is paced or executed well. In general, the writing was unrealistic and kind of annoying to read- even when I think this was intended to add to the story, it was still distracting. 

Plot specific review starts here: 

I had the feeling from the beginning that Leo was weird, and I was PSYCHED to see the first FBI letter! However, the “real life” Leo plot felt underdeveloped and kind of like an afterthought to the “main” mystery. I felt like the main story could have felt a little bit more connected to the Leo story. Also, I felt like the author used a lot of shorthand to tell us that Leo is a bad person- things like making him say it was hard to get published as a straight white man, etc, felt a little too on the nose as a red flag that he was dangerous. I much more enjoyed his insistent suggestions and rewrites of Hannah’s chapters as a way to develop how the reader sees his character- although I did still hate the way he spoke. It felt so unrealistic and forced- no one writes like that, even pretentious murderers. It was so distracting.