The Woman in the Library

 The Woman In The Library is a mystery novel by Sulari Gentill.

Four strangers meet up in a library reading room. They hear a scream, head out for coffee, become friends. The main character is a writer, from Australia.. Another character becomes inspired to write his own book. It is a story about a homeless man, Isaac Harmon.

Another character is a published author, Hannah, from Australia who writes to a friend, Leo, in Boston to get local info. Why is her fictional author meeting up with people at the Boston library? Where do they go for coffee? She inserts Leo into her novel. It can get confusing. 

Clint Isaac, "takes up residence in and around Boston Library." <instant transport back in time>

Author says Clint's outline: 

"threads of backstory, self-discovery, and social-commentary radiate from the novel's very human centre."

Cain, the author, "ran away from home at 15 and lived rough for a couple of weeks."

"Lasted two weeks, would have been less...Isaac kept him out of trouble and made sure he didn't starve."

Leo writes Hannah saying "sleeping rough is not an American term," tho' people could figure it out by context. Leo finds the term "charming, but less defeated than homeless, less permanent." <learned "sleeping rough" when I started linking Homeless blogs to this Blog>