Anna Fox lives alone, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.
Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother and their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble and its shocking secrets are laid bare.
What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.
4.5 stars
“A shut-in. No hero. No sleuth. I am locked in. I am locked out.”
Wow, did I speed through this read. Completely engrossing, compulsively readable, and just downright good ol' fun. The Woman in the Window is thriller at its best.
There's just something about an unreliable narrative that I really love. And we cannot trust our protagonist, Anna, at all. The excessive drinking and pill-popping makes us question everything Anna sees and does, but at the same time I want to believe her. Anna also has agoraphobia and is unable to leave her house. She passes the time spying on her neighbors and watching old movies, but imbibing in bottles and bottles of Merlot makes us wonder if she is just projecting these movies into her life. What is real? What is a hallucination cooked up from alcohol and pills?
This pulls us into the plot of our story. One night, when Anna is spying outside her window, she witnesses something horrible. Of course, before seeing whatever it is she thinks she saw, Anna got high on pills and drunk on wine. The police get involved, but then all of us - reader and protagonist - after left wondering, did Anna imagine this? What really happened that night? She is just the perfect narrator for this kind of story. None of us trust her, not even Anna herself.
Surprisingly, I did not guess the twists in this novel. In hindsight, certain things seem pretty obvious, but I never put the book down long enough to give myself time to guess at what was going to happen. And it was actually a ton of fun to be surprised! I feel like I need to go back and reread this novel, to appreciate all these hints that are dropped. I absolutely love the writing style. It's short, to the point, and hard-hitting. This is a fast-paced story, and I got completely swept up for the ride.
The Woman in the Window is a suspenseful read, full of twists and turns. I raced through this book, each chapter short enough that I would tell myself "just one more." Next thing I knew, it was way past midnight and I was on the last chapter. I so enjoyed this book, and Finn did a wonderful job weaving us through this tale. I felt as intoxicated reading this novel as Anna is for most of it.
If you're in the mood for a popcorn thriller, you should definitely check this out!
*A movie was made of this book, featuring Amy Adams who is just amazing. Covid-19 pushed back the release date, but it may be coming to Netflix soon! I can't wait to see Adam's take on the role of Anna. It's going to be such bloody fun.
"Who knows what goes on in a family?"
About the Author
A.J. Finn, pseudonym for Daniel Mallory, has written for numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the Times Literary Supplement (UK). A native of New York, Finn lived in England for ten years as a book editor before returning to New York City.
Comentarios