The Woman In The Library: ….About That Ending

In The Woman In The Library, the ending of Hannah’s novel and Freddie’s story felt a bit abrupt to me. Was it weird for you too?

If you’ve somehow found this post without reading the book, I have a non-spoilery book review. But this post is my spoiler-filled reaction!

At the very end, after Letters-Leo has been arrested, in last section of Freddie’s story, Book-Leo arrives at the hospital to take Freddie and Marigold home, in a weird cliffhanger that fizzled out. Were we supposed to think that was sweet? That Hannah had written in a reliable, kind version of Leo to counteract what her penpal had really turned out to be?

It felt more ominous to me, though. Since we’ve discovered that Letters-Leo is a murderer, and Book-Leo was inspired by Letters-Leo, it’s not an entirely comfortable ending. We know that Letters-Leo consciously imitated Book-Leo with the cupcakes, and that Letters-Leo also said he’d do anything for Hannah… So, was the point that Book-Leo was the better version for Freddie? Or that Book-Leo was just as dangerous as Letters-Leo, but Freddie will discover that offstage?

These questions made for kind of an interesting look at inspiration and fiction, but it was sort of flat as a thriller ending. I didn’t feel that, OMG, what a twist, it was Book-Leo the whole time! He got away with it all! But I also didn’t feel like we’d gotten a satisfying ending and full explanation of the crimes, and that now Freddie’s good friend was here to help everyone return to normalcy. I mostly felt like I must have missed something that would have made the ending clear.

What did you think? Let me know if it made sense to you!

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  • I just finished Woman in Library, and I, too, was disappointed and disconcerted by that ending. Abrupt, no closure, no explanation. That might be okay if it were a cliffhanger for the next book about Freddie, but I think it's a standalone book. I thought, "That's it? So what's next?"

    In all, Gentill did a great job of juggling the novel within the novel, the characters that inspired the fictional ones, the letters to Hannah subplot. But maybe she was coerced by some editor to quickly finish to keep to a schedule. Not good. Don't know if I want to read her next one. Cardinal Rule: Don't fool your reader.

    • Yes! That's exactly how I felt! I loved the mystery novel wrapped in a mystery novel, the Boston locations, the characters, the whole thing, but I don't understand the last pages and I don't know what we readers were supposed to get from it!

  • I really liked the book, but disliked the last part with LEO. I thought it was ominous and that he was a creep, but why leave the reader hanging like that. It was a bummer ending.

    • I still wasn't sure if we were supposed to think it was a creepy, ominous ending OR if we were supposed to think Book-Leo was a good friend, like what she wanted from Letters-Leo. Ugh, it was definitely a bummer to have so many cool twists and then leave the book feeling confused!

  • I concur I did not see a resolution the plot(s). How did the woman in the Woman in the Library get killed?

    • Oh I thought that part was clear, it was Whit/Heroic Chin the whole time, with lots of cool misdirections to make the others look guilty. It was really just those last couple paragraphs that confused me!

  • ORRR…maybe what Gentill was trying to suggest is that Letters-Leo actually got out of prison as he threatened to do when he said he would see Hannah in the flesh again, and HE finished the book FOR HER by writing himself/Book-Leo back into the story. Did anyone else think that a possibility?!?

    • aaaaaaah that's such a great interpretation! like he was in her home putting himself back into the story!

  • I just finished this book (as a audiobook) tonight and had to find somewhere to talk about this. The very end could be taken as sweet, if you don’t pay any attention and want to see the best in people. But it didn’t come off that way to me. Book-Leo had already been a little stalkery. He took inspiration from an act Cain did- send groceries to replenish used items- and did it more and more extravagantly to prove he was “better”. And, like Letters-Leo, he showed overt interest in Freddie/Hannah. And he tried to shoehorn himself into her relationship, declaring Cain no good and trying to sow seeds of doubt.
    Because neither Freddie or Marigold noticed him right away in the elevator, it gave the impression he was purposely trying to blend in and stalk Freddie until he could have his twisted hero moment. But Freddie’s reaction felt like it was the straight up foreboding cliffhanger of a horror movie.
    I haven’t felt this uncomfortable about an ending since I watched the version of Black Christmas from the 70s.

    Side note: I was imagining Paul Wesley as Whit the whole time, so it seemed like he was definitely going to be one of the killers. Though, I admit that I was a little shocked that Marigold wasn’t involved. I was preparing myself for a double perpetrator ending, like a movie from the Scream franchise. I was even prepared for Book-Leo to have been involved in the prime crimes as well. But no, he was just independently shady.

    • I thought Gentil, through Hannah, deliberately wrote the ending poorly as an F U to real Leo and what he represents. She's incorporating some of the writing elements he wanted her to (gore, whodunit cliches) and it's bad. The book is not really a thriller, it's metafiction designed to explore the often toxic relationship between writers and readers, and at the end book Leo pushes past healthy boundaries just like real Leo.

  • A late comment - I too thought the ending flat. She wrapped up the stalker angle perfunctorily. But I enjoyed the tangled plot and characters and setting (my mom was from Fall River just outside Boston so I have a fondness for the region, having spent lots of time there growing up). I really like Gentill's mystery series featuring Rowland Sinclair and his bohemian friends in '30s Australia. I'm on the seventh one, Give the Devil His Due. (The title for this edition anyway. For some reason the books can have alternate titles. Probably depends where they are published?)

    • Oh that's so funny, I wrote this review when I lived in Boston but I've just moved to Fall River!

      I'll look up that series, I liked this one a lot (until the very last few pages!) and I almost always like historical mysteries.

  • Did they address who attacked Whit's mom? Did I just miss that? I really was enjoying the book but the ending disappointed me. Felt too rushed and like there was a deadline to finish it.

  • So glad I came across this post! I just finished the audio version and I was like - what just happened? I agree the ending was rushed and not particularly satisfying. The book itself was entertaining, the characters likable and the plot kept you engaged. It was the ending that caught me off guard. Nice to know it wasn't just me!!

  • No matter which Leo ended up in the elevator - it was a creepy ending. There were so many twists and layers that it felt a little, " Oh no, here we go again!"

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