By: Sulari Gentill
“No…a story is about leading a reader to meaning. The revelation is theirs, but we show them the way. I suppose the morality of the writer influences whether you can trust what they are showing you.”
Writer Winifred, or Freddie as she calls herself, is in Boston on a scholarship. On a seemingly uneventful day, she enters the Boston Public Library and sits at a table in the Reading Room. She observes the others that are also at the table, and begins to take notes on them – for a story. Suddenly, they hear a woman scream. Security escorts them out and now these 4 strangers bond over the woman that was murdered in the library. Now as they turn friends, there is a revelation that one of them is a murderer, but who, and why?
This book started out confusing for me, but once I understood that it’s a book within a book, it was easier to understand. I do rate this a 4 star book as I did enjoy it. I thought the author did a good job of keeping the who mysterious – even though she was trying to point the reader in one direction that I thought was way too obvious. What I did enjoy was the plot arc between Leo and Hannah. I almost wish there was a little more of that.
However, I did have some problems with it. I hated the way that the author portrayed Leo the beta reader from the United States. There’s a line in the book about how he resents that his once white privilege is now a burden. It disgusted me. As I said above, it was very obvious what they author was trying to do. Which may have been her point, but it felt juvenile for me.
All in all, a good read. So please, get your copy here!
Book Addict Book Blog 