When I first picked this up, I didn't realize it was structured as a book within a book. Austrailian author Hannah Tigone is writing a mystery about an Austrailian author in Boston. She shares chapters as she writes with superfan Leo. It begins with letter from Leo, and honestly, he comes off as pretty creepy. The story of author Freddie, Whit, Marigold and Cain begins in the Boston Public Library. They are unknown to one another and sharing a large square table. A scream and eventual discovery of a dead body leads to friendship between them, even as we wonder if one of them could be responsible. A lot of layers are revealed as the story moves forward. I was continually surprised at some of the direction things went and the ending was well done. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. The bulk of the book is the story of Freddie. She is in the public library's reading room with three strangers trying to work on her latest novel. She draws inspiration of the people around her, whom she names Heroic Chin, Freud Girl and Handsome Man. Suddenly, they hear a woman scream. That scream immediately forges a bond between them and they become friends. Framing this story of Freddie is the story of Hannah, an Australian author who is writing the novel in which Freddie and her new friends, Whit, Marigold and Cain appear. Hannah is sending draft chapters to Leo in Boston, who is commenting on them...and more. Sounds complicated, but the writing makes it clear.

Both the Hannah/Leo story and the Freddie et al story are compelling. The characters are complex and the book is a page-turner I found hard to put down. A thriller with intelligence that never stretched my ability to suspend disbelief too far. ( )

This mystery had some intriguing components, including three different people writing similar mystery novels (two of which were characters in the novel itself), and a character critiquing the novel itself. I was disappointed with the ending because the motivations of the final culprit's actions weren't fully explained. It was definitley a page-turner. ( )

Maybe because I listened to this with some distractions but I enjoyed the concept but found it a little hard to follow. Want to pick up a hard copy to see what I missed@ ( )

A story within a story alongside the notes from a beta reader. Great execution of telling the tales. Will look for more by this author. 2022 read. ( )