Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. After reading the blurb I was not sure what to expect from this book but I was pleasantly surprised after reading it. I am a big dystopian fan so I really enjoyed that element to the story. I didn’t really form a bond with the main characters ( the twins ). I enjoy a book more when I’m routing for the main character but I just didn’t feel it with the twins. I did enjoy the overall concept of the book and found it interesting. It is definitely worth a read. 4 stars from me.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Library Suicides’ by Fflur Dafydd.

This was a strange one. It is set in a seaside town in a small unnamed country. We don’t know much about the wider world though learn that after the ‘Great Sickness’ paper and books have been banned in this country due to concerns about the transmission of germs. One place where books still exist (for now) is in the National Library, located on a hill in the town.

The main plot focuses on identical twins, Ana and Nan, whose mother, Elena, was a renowned novelist who took her own life. They blame her death on the scathing reviews of literary critic, Eben.

Desperate to clear his name, Eben seeks access to Elena's diaries at the National Library, where the twins work. They see this as an opportunity for revenge. It’s quite an elaborate plan that involves them tricking Dan, a hapless security guard, into triggering a lockdown that will trap them, their colleagues, the public, and of course, Eben inside the labyrinthine building.

I mean what could possibly go wrong? No surprise that it turns out to be quite a lot.

I wasn’t quite sure what genre this novel was aspiring to be. There are dystopian elements though these didn’t feel quite developed enough. There also seemed to be an element of satire or dark comedy, though was this intentional?

I felt that while ‘The Library Suicides’ undoubtedly had a high concept premise at its core, I struggled to feel a connection with its characters and plot. However, I remained keen to see how the story resolved.

On a side note I only discovered on reading the author’s Acknowledgements that this book began its life in 2009 as a Welsh language novel, ‘Y Llyfrgell’ and was adapted by the author as a film in 2016. In the earlier Welsh version the story was definitely a revenge thriller set in Wales. So, the dystopian elements appear to have been a new direction for the English edition. This could account for why the world building felt underdeveloped to me.

There were clearly a number of ideas that Fflur Dafydd had wished to explore utilising the concept of a national library as a repository of knowledge and an archive for history. For me, the weaving of the revenge plot with this possible dystopian future felt a bit clumsy.

Nan and Ana are twins with a score to settle. Someone needs to pay for the loss of their mother and they've got a plan. Surely identical twins don't have any secrets? Surely their plans are exactly the same?

I liked the idea behind this book and the premise of the twins swapping in and out for each other was an interesting one. Unfortunately (I am clearly getting old), at that point the story becomes a bit more formulaic and, although the setting is a good one and the ideas are clever, it's all too clear what is going to happen in the end.

I did enjoy the read but I wouldn't want to read it again. If you like crime novels, you will enjoy this one. It just isn't one that I will find that memorable.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Sadly for me this wasn't my cup of tea. I (like many others it seems) didn't realise it was dystopian/fantasy which I always steer clear of.
I found this hard going & didn't connect with the story. If it wasn't a NetGalley then I would have DNFd for sure.

I was really excited for this one but I just could not get into it properly. The characters were strange and unlikeable, It feels YA but also like it shouldn’t be YA at the same time. I picked it up twice and put it back down again before finally conceding that this book just wasn’t for me. I struggled to finish it and the pace did get better toward the end but the slow start wasn’t the best incentive to keep reading to get there.
I’m sure if dystopian futures and revenge based stories are your thing you’ll probably find something to like here, I just didn’t like this particular take on the theme.

I have no words to explain my feelings!

There is just so much to unpack on this story that I have no idea where to begin!

Twin sisters, Anna and Nan are looking to get revenge on a journalist, Eben, who did negative reviews of their mother’s books, allegedly causing the suicide of their mother.

Eben is lured into the library with the notion that he will have access to the twin’s mom diaries, he wants to read the so he can write her biography and clean his name. However, all part of the twins plans to murder him.

On the day though, everything goes wrong. All the plans they had go out the window because nothing works as it was supposed to work. One of the twins is losing her mind. The other one is focus on revenge. Eben just wants to get out of the library and the security guard is just trying to understand what’s going on and how he end up in the position that he is.

With all the twists that this story has, and not just on the personal level of the characters, but in the political situation of the country that they are living in. It’s just insane, it is one thing after the another, the end is just perfectly unjust.

All that was left in me it’s just this feeling of unfulfilled raightjusness!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I’m sorry, I just couldn’t finish it.

The cover and the blurb is what got me but the book did not. I had to DNF it two days in.

The building of this dystopian (?) world went very slow and sluggish and wasn’t worth it for me, at all. The characters were strange but not in a way “ooh I want to learn more!” but just pure offputting strange.
It seemed like a laboured read but maybe I’m just not smart and sophisticated enough to get it. Did not enjoy. At all.

Not my cuppa tea, not even in the slightest.

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

Being Welsh, I wanted to love this but unfortunately, it fell flat for me.
It was half a strange/weird thriller, half a dystopian locked room revenge plot - it was... a lot, and yet still managed to not be very concise.
The whole plot was a tad foggy and the world-building was difficult to follow from one scene to the other.
I think I would have preferred it if it was a thriller or dystopian, not both.

Dystopian literary thriller with a YA leaning. Good book club choice.

Ana and Nan are identical twins of a famous author whose work has been very influential in determining government policy. After being hounded by a critic, their mother very publicly commits suicide.

In this dystopian future, paper and physical books are now banned to prevent the spread of disease. Access to these books is very restricted and history is reshaped as certain books disappear from all records.

Various layers unfold as we learn more about the various characters and their backgrounds, as well as the machinations of government forces behind the scenes.

An interesting and thought-provoking read.

Whilst I am not against the dystopian novel (as I have read quite a few good ones), I do prefer to have advanced knowledge of the type of book, which is not given anywhere here in the blurb about the story. That being said, it is an okay read but just that. I didn't really like the characters but a strong story will carry them through and this didn't happen here. I think this will a bit of a marmite book where you either get it or you don't. It wasn't really for me however there will be other readers who will thrive on this type of story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

I was excited to read this one. The blurb had me intrigued, I started reading this and was somewhat confused and conflicted after reading the blurb. I was not expecting a dystopian story, so I struggled massively to get into this one. I persevered but found the characters difficult to like or feel any sympathy towards the twins Nan and Ana and felt their relationship somewhat strange and the motives unbelievable. I have no doubts of Fflur Dafydd’s ability as a good writer, the book was descriptive and helped with the visualization but it just didn't catch my attention, the premise is good and there was heaps of potential.


Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn't realised that The Library Suicides was a dystopian story until I started it. If I had I would not have read it as it's not my type of genre at all. I did persevere but found it quite drawn out and I just could not connect with any of the characters. I'm sure if you like this style of book you will love it but it just didn't work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This one took me a couple of attempts to read but once it pulled me in , I read it quickly and was looking forward to getting back to it when I put it down. I read a lot of thrillers and this is one of the more unique tales I have read in this genre, which was nice! One to pick up without knowing much, so wont give a synopsis but this is a well paced, clever, thought provoking page turner. Worth sticking with and one that will swirl around your head after you have finished reading it.
I enjoyed this author's writing and will keep an eye out for whatever they write next.

3.5- 4 star

An interesting book that was not what I was expecting.

Lots of twists and turns and easy to read. A little dystopian which is not normally something I would enjoy however I did like this book.

Best read without knowing what you're letting yourself in for! As others have said, summarising the plot somewhat spoils the experience. A fabulous thriller with plenty of twists and an ending that you don't expect. Definitely recommended!

I was provided this book for free in return for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Set in a distinctly dystopian future - well for us book lovers anyway - where print books are a thing of the past and all text is digitised, the library is the setting for this novel. Following identical twins Nan and Ana as they seek revenge on the reviewer who drove their mother to suicide, the story takes many twists and turns.

Unfortunately there is little to like about either character, or about Dan or Eben and I found myself struggling part way through the novel to maintain my desire to read on.

This novel is set in a world where ‘The Great Sickness’ was the excuse for destroying all the print works and I can see why it is being re-released in the current climate - but not quite my cup of tea!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The Blurb really caught my interest but I found it quite hard to get into. I wasn't expecting the fantasy/dystopian aspects to the story, and felt lost alot of the time, not knowing where and the when the story was taking place. I also struggled with the characters of the Twins, they just didn't appeal to me and I need to connect with the characters to enjoy a story. Some great ideas in this book for sure just not for me I'm afraid.

The title of this book totally gripped me and I was lucky to receive an eBook arc, so thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley.

What I enjoyed
- The character development
- The dystopian setting
- The twists and turns throughout the book
- The suspense, as i felt I needed to know how the story was going to unfold.
- The ending

What I didn't enjoy
- The extremely slow beginning
- How I struggled at certain parts to follow the story
- The vagueness in certain areas, however it did add a certain more intrigue throughout the book.

All in all, a decent read

I was not aware this was a fantasy/dystopian novel when I started it. The story was interesting but I didn't like any of the characters and found it very long winded.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Library Suicides was described on Waterstones website as a "captivating locked-room psychological thriller" those words made me think of a much darker tale than Fflur Dafydd's excellent story. The description quoted above describes it as "an intensely memorable and provacative literary read" - yes to this. It's quirky, clever and wonderfully constructed. I tend not to read books which get classed as "literary" as I don't feel I am their target audience and I don't have the depth of knowledge to compare these reads to other offerings. In the case of The Library Suicides, I had fun with the story and thought the characters were marvellous - I particularly enjoyed how easily they became real for me.

I didn't get the gritty darkness I had expected from The Library Suicides and I think that's taken some of the shine off the story for me which is a real shame as these characters do get the chance to shine under the care of Fflur Dafydd.

Twins Nan and Ana are a complex duo who have a plan. They are going to their place of work, the National Library, they will lock down the building, they will hold their colleagues hostage and - most importantly - they will have literary critic Eben Prytherch trapped inside with them. Exactly where they want him.

Nan and Ana's mother, Elena, was a famous novelist but Eben was one of her fiercest critics - irrationally so. When Elena took her own life the blame was placed firmly at Eben's door. Now Eben has been granted access to Elena's diaries (all stored in an archive in the National Library) and he wants to tell her story, perhaps to absolve himself of some personal guilt? Or perhaps to find a reason to shift the blame on Elena's death onto someone or something else?  Irrespective of his motives it comes as a surprise when the Twins agree to allow Eben to read their late mother's words. But the reader comes to understand the true reason for their motivation.

Not mentioned in the book description is the backdrop to The Library Suicides. The story is set in a time after a great disease has taken a toll on much of the population. There is a great fuss made when one character touches a stranger. Books and paper are no longer in use. Libraries are digitising and destroying as paper can transmit disease. I found the unexpected dystopian twist to the setting to be a real plus point in my enjoyment of the story.

You can tell I found this tricky to review. Many positive elements, humour and quirky characters which kept my attention long past the point I would have set aside a book which I felt "wasn't really for me". I had a real desire to find out how the twins would execute their plan (as it were) and once the stoned, ex-con security guard started to show a bit of initiatve and a desire to do the right thing I was totally onboard for the rest of the journey.

Not my normal read and a very different type of story than I had expected (that's on me) great characters, moral dilemmas and a fascinating build up to...well to something I hadn't expected...this book will shine and delight many readers.