The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
My dad recommended this book to me as we both share a love for dark thrillers such as Gone Girl, Dark Places or The Girl on the Train. Although not quite as groundbreaking or shocking as the 3 I just mentioned; The Woman in the Window definitely did not disappoint.
Finn wrote this gripping page turner so realistically. Anna’s point of view is disjointed and haphazard; perfectly imitating a broken mind filled with guilt, depression and too many medications mixed with wine. In this it is similar to The Girl on the Train since we have an unreliable, alcoholic narrator and significant confusion of what is true and what is imagined. Did she hallucinate, or dream, and did she have her medicine or double up today? Finn also did a great job of describing the suffocating claustrophobia of staying housebound for almost a full year.
Finn added a plot point of Anna’s love for old black and white horror films which perfectly added to the creepy atmosphere of the book. Did Anna see something because it was real or was her mind just reliving the movie she just watched? All of these aspects made me quickly read the novel in just a day because I just had to know what happened and couldn’t put it down.
Synopsis: 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, 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?