Welcome to Litsy!

This month‘s Mother-Daughter Murder Mystery Book Club read with @AmyK1 was so different from most other books I‘ve read, and so interesting!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@wideeyedreader and I read this one for our November Mother Daughter Murder Mystery Book Club choice. We both flew through it in 2 days 😂 I enjoyed it-it kept me guessing.

Listening to the audiobook and liking it.

I‘ve always wanted to read 1 of Sulari‘s 📚 since I saw her speak at the SWF yrs ago. 📕 club has finally made me do it. So wasn‘t into it at the start but it‘s got me now & it‘s quite clever. Can‘t say I‘ll read any more as it‘s a bit too light but if you‘re into mysteries, it‘s perfect. I‘ve taken myself to another town to try & escape for a bit. Seems it‘s impossible. I‘ve still had a lovely day. I‘m currently enjoying lunch in a country pub.

This had a lot of promise.
But it seems like the secondary story is the most intriguing.
Glad I borrowed it from the library as the villain is the most easily picked. The whys are admittedly more muddled, but the meta conversation is the more intriguing.

I usually don‘t like a story within a story, but I really liked this one. The letters from Leo really ramped things up a bit (though there were times I took a minute to unscramble things in my head, as we had Freddie, a character in Hannah‘s book, using real life events to write her own book. But Leo was reading and commenting on Hannah‘s book!). I still thought the letters worked well and it brought an added tension. Cont in comments...

⭐️⭐️

Had a hard time getting into this one since you bounce between 2 stories. But once I was on board I flew through it. Loved the book within a book within a book. Going to read some more by this author. I need to read more mysteries I think!

I don‘t want to overstate things, but I think The Woman In The Library is going to be one of the best books I read this year. It‘s a meta-fictional mystery, a book-within-a-book, with two puzzles playing out on the page. This twisty and mischievous novel was a true delight to read. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-woman-in-the-library-sulari-gentill/

Very fun concept 🙂
Some of the main story line wasn‘t entirely my thing, but the story in the story in the story was unique and overall I was thoroughly entertained.
Nice quick read as well.

A book within a book within a book. The main mystery was a touch predictable but I enjoyed the unique structure and the writing. One specific character was a bit on the nose, and some may take a bit of offense on his commentary. However, I look forward to more from this author. 4⭐️ another #roll100 pick done

This book is so good! A mystery within a mystery❤️❤️

Happened on this book by random while waiting for a library hold to come in. However, I really enjoyed the mystery and the way the author crafted it all together. And the writing style that went between the story and the story within the story was great. My only complaint was that it felt like the [fictional] author's story got ever so slightly rushed at the end, like there was an entry or two missing. Aside from that though, a 4.5 solid stars!

☕🍫

I enjoyed the story within the story technique. Hannah is writing a murder mystery about Freddie who is writing a murder mystery. A “fan” Leo is in Hannah‘s life and Freddie‘s. I did not like how Freddie's friendships and love interest came about very quickly and without any real reason (they all heard a scream). I did like how each chapter ended with a cliffhanger and Leo writing to Hannah. ⬇️

Make a great day everyone ( #BookSpinBingo ) - 🍂

My plan is to finish 2 more books for #Scarathlon #TeamWhoYaGonnaCall during the #20in4 readathon (thanks for hosting @Andrew65) -

Make a great day everyone 🎃

The girl cats are still shy, but this handsome fellow has been demanding pets since I first arrived. He also participated in two book clubs on zoom, but he had no opinions about the books. Among the humans, some of us liked the tagged book more than others.

DNF- I tried listening to this one over audio. I think I made it about 10% of the way through. I was having a hard time of a story within a story. Maybe because life is chaotic & busy here most days it was hard for me to focus. Or maybe I just don‘t read enough mystery books to enjoy the genre. #bookspin

@RosePressedPages thank you for my wonderful, cozy fall package. That hand soap smells amazing! The mysteries are great for this time of year. I love it all.

Also, a huge thank you to our hosts. @Avanders @Chrissyreadit #FFFS #FallingForFallSwap

Not a lot of “there-there” in this mystery, and it certainly almost no connection to a library. It is no spoiler to say that the 1st murder occurs, and the characters meet in one but that‘s all. The plot involves a writer crafting a mystery, sharing the chapters with a colleague, who predictably turns out to be evil but not really involved in the plot. Speaking of same, you‘ll figure out the murderer quickly. I didn‘t bail, but should have.

My mystery book club is doing #darkacademia in October. This looks like the book that will “win” the poll. #bookbinge

My #bookspin for this month. Not the kind of mystery I usually go for, but I liked it. Cool storytelling and just when I started thinking where one line was going, a plot twist appeared, that made everything even more interesting.

I really enjoyed this one! It took a minute to get into because 4 characters are given off the bat, and it took me a minute to remember who was who. The style of back and forth writing took me a minute to understand and get into. I still don't really see the point of it. I also think this book would have been good without it. Just the story. Not a story within a story within another story because I ended up loving the actual written story 4.5/5

When I picked this up I had no idea it was a story within a story (within a story). An intriguing premise, I liked the outer story better as it was dark (and could be further developed). The inside story is a bit meh..maybe it‘s just a framework or devise for the outer story? I‘m confused now. 😅 It‘s also clever that the author acknowledges certain real life events during which the book was set. Overall parts entertaining, so low Pick.

DNF at 13% - I was bored.

Part of my haul on independent bookstore day!

Winifred 'Freddie' Kincaid is an Australian author currently living in Boston, USA on a scholarship. She's taken to visiting the Boston Public Library, taking note of the people sitting around her in the reading room to try & drum up ideas & characters for her next book. That particular morning, the quiet atmosphere is disturbed by the loud scream of a woman. (Continued)

Distracted from reading by the birds having a duel in my backyard.

A fun, quick mystery. There was an appealing story-within-a-story situation, but wasn‘t really developed enough. A soft pick, but an easy, entertaining read.

Another book on my list and I‘m not sure why! An Aussie author who seems to have won awards for a WW2 mystery series. This is a stand alone and it got me in initially but I got a bit bogged down. By the end I had worked out one bit but maybe I was meant to. The other bit I hadn‘t. Glad this was a library book.

I feel like the premise of this book was great but I was bored for most of it. I did get invested in the ending but just wasn‘t a fan overall. ⭐️⭐️

This book was set up in a style I haven‘t come across before. It was interesting and had me turning the pages. However, the ending was so abrupt and fell short it left me dissatisfied.

This is a surprise pick for me. At first I was only keeping with it because of book club, but then I got really invested in the two stories and all of a sudden I was done.

Okay, THIS is what I want my murder mysteries to be like. Book w/i a book w/i a book? If a book tells the story of an author writing a story that begins with an author writing a story...feels kinda M.C. Escher! Speaking of drawn hands, can I just say how much I love this cover?
Incidentally, I'm sorry for anyone who picked this up thinking it was a thriller. The pace is slower, but the gradual build up of tension and reveals really worked for me.

That moment when a sentence just makes you 🥰.
I LOVE the thought of a colourful flower garden as a box of smarties.💐

Millenials and their side gigs...😜

I would love to be recast as a dog. 😁🐶

I can't tell if this book is flirting with me or threatening me. 🤔😏

Hmmm…🤔 I absolutely love the creativity of this plot, which has a whole book-within-a-book and a fictional-mystery-within-a-fictional-mystery thang going on. I bow to all writers, and I am profoundly awed by the skill it takes to get thoughts and plots onto paper for my tiny brain to experience!

That said, I just finished this and I am not entirely sure that I know what the hell really happened.

And, well, I don‘t much care. 🤷‍♀️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

As if “the editor”/narrator made this note in the book. We were just talking about this! @Andrew65 @TheSpineView 🤣

My #bookspinbacklog #bookspin pick for December. This was just okay for me. 2.5 ⭐️. I was interested in what was happening, but not so much in the Hannah/Leo storyline, which I found disruptive. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This chilling story within a twisty mystery is pretty good. It gave extra context that I thought was told in an original way. I will certainly check out the authors' other works seeking this kind of originality.

This was a weird book. An author writing a book about a mystery, while corresponding with another writer. I wasn't that surprised at who did the murder. I found the book to be just okay. I think it would have been better, if the author wasn't communicating with another author about it. I just didn't see the point in that.

#81
Another enjoyable listen

Containing a book within a book, this story has unreliable characters and narrators- if you‘re into that, you may enjoy this.
With Boston serving as it‘s backdrop, that‘s what drew me in.. and probably the bigger reason why I stayed. This was a solid ‘ok‘ from me.

I thought this was going to be a little more Agatha Christie based on the title. Instead there was a mystery that included an author character, along with a framing device of an author writing the mystery, and feedback from a “super fan.” I liked it, but as an audiobook it was sometimes a little hard to follow, and I thought the end was abrupt. Overall a fun read.

Great book! The last sentence left me shocked and needing to read the book again immediately. The story is of 4 strangers in the Boston Public Library reading room when a woman screaming startles everyone. Soon her body is discovered.The 4 strangers form a friendship and begin trying to solve the murder. One of them is a murderer one is an author. Excerpts of her book and correspondence with a fan tell the story. Nov. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

This one has lots of positive reviews, so I'm dismayed that I found it largely meh. It has everything that I thought I'd enjoy: writers, libraries, close circle of suspects, metafictional aspects with an outer story framing an inner story. But I confess I have no idea what was the purpose of the outer story framing other than to annoy me, & the inner story, where the snoozeworthy mystery is nestled, has a tepid romance plus aggravating characters.