Lowbridge by Lucy Campbell

Happy Friday! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for Lucy Campbell's Lowbridge. 

In 1987, a girl goes missing in the small town of Lowbridge. The case is never solved. 

Cut to 2018. Katherine and her husband have come to Lowbridge in the wake of terrible loss. Facing a growing problem with sleeping pills and alcohol, Katherine stumbles on the local historical society and throws herself into helping set up events highlighting Lowbridge history. 

When she sets her sites on the opening of the women's health center in the mid 80s, she unwittingly opens a can of worms the whole town would rather see buried. And in doing so, she becomes obsessed with not one, but two missing girls from that decade. 

I have a confession to make: I'm a little obsessed with Australian and New Zealand crime fiction!

This one is a bit quieter than some of the others I've read. It's a slow burn even though it starts with a girl going missing. 

But after that tragic beginning, the story jumps back to the months leading up to the event and alternates between 1986/87 and Katherine's story in 2018. 

Campbell teases out the story, hinting at the tragedy Katherine and her husband (who grew up in Lowbridge at the time of the missing girls) have suffered. But it takes a bit for that to come truly to light. Mostly, it's the affect of their loss that's the focus. And Katherine is really in a bad place. Though she keeps this to herself, she finds distraction in learning about her new home and friendship with the women of the historical society. 

And it's here that we get the first hint about the identity of the the missing girl(s). Because the 1980's story focuses on three girls (two in particular), Louisa, Sim, and Tess. 

Like I said, it's a bit of a slow burn, but I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. The anticipation of Katherine finding the story, all the while following the girls and wondering about their fate. 

Lowbridge is an excellent debut, one I highly recommend to anyone looking for an intriguing story with a rich, small town setting. 

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Good morning, everyone! Today I am super excited to be part of the Random Things blog tour for Sulari Gentill's latest, The Woman in the Library!

This is a book that has been getting lots of buzz from places I pay attention to! Plus, it's been touted as the perfect read for fans of Only Murders in the Building and White Lotus (the latter of which I admittedly haven't watched, but I adore Only Murders!). All that's to say, of course I had to read (and listen, as it turned out). 

Hannah is an author living in Australia. She's chosen to pen her latest novel set in Boston, which is why she's sending chapters back and forth to her friend Leo. Leo is willing and able to offer critique while Hannah is waiting to be able to take a research trip to the States. And his info on the layout and various Boston-isms that might elude the Aussie are genuinely helpful. 

Within the pages of Hannah's novel, Freddie, also a novelist from Australia but living in Boston as part of her fellowship, is working on her own novel. The Muse visits while sitting in one of the many reading rooms of the Boston Public Library and characters begin to form, inspired by the patrons that surround her. They are strangers, until a scream rings out. The mystery behind the scream in the library links the four whose collective curiosity cannot keep them from digging into the nearby happenings. 

Of course, with Hannah behind their actions, the four become mixed up in a case that could cost them much more than their academic careers!

This is a cleverly layered novel that truly blossoms into much more than you'd expect it to from the start. 

At first, the story within a story—the frame of a novelist penning a book that is the bulk of the book itself—took a bit for me to ease into. It felt as though Leo's letters were pulling me from the narrative. But as that part of the tale began to unfold a bit more, I was increasingly and equally intrigued by both parts of the tale!

I have to say, as someone who's been in a major reading slump of late, I seem to be on a roll with excellent reads to pull myself out of it!

I always did love books about books and The Woman in the Library is kind of the ultimate book about a book! And though Hannah's story is from the outset happening in the fringes of the book, it is incredibly fun! But I wouldn't want to spoil any of this delightfully thrilling book!

As an aside, I did listen to part of this one on audio via Libro.fm. Narrator Katherine Littrell is a joy to listen to as she gives voice to the variety of characters throughout!

The Woman in the Library is out now in the US and the UK!