Review: The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

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Release date: January 2, 2018

Publisher: William Morrow

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb:

What did she see?

It’s been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, too terrified to step outside.

Anna’s lifeline to the real world is her window, where she sits day after day, watching her neighbours. When the Russells move in, Anna is instantly drawn to them. A picture-perfect family of three, they are an echo of the life that was once hers.

But one evening, a frenzied scream rips across the silence, and Anna witnesses something no one was supposed to see. Now she must do everything she can to uncover the truth about what really happened. But even if she does, will anyone believe her? And can she even trust herself?

Review:

When a book is optioned to be a movie before it’s release you just know it’s going to be good and I’m so pleased to say that this is worth all of the hype and I can absolutely understand why I’ve been seeing it everywhere. There is something very cinematic about the way this is written, it really is begging to be a movie and I’ll be anxiously awaiting it’s eventual release.

The best psychological thrillers keep you guessing and there is much back and forth here. Anna is a woman on the brink, she’s unraveling at the seams but she isn’t your standard, is she reliable or isn’t she narrator. I was fascinated by the insight into Anna’s mind and loved not knowing exactly what she would do next, that sense of unease is a must for me in a psychological thriller. Not only is she incredibly well drawn the entire book is multifaceted and well accomplished, you can tell that Finn knows exactly what he’s doing and every element of the plot has a purpose, a reasoning behind it and I was blown away several times while reading this.

This starts off slower but the pacing gradually increases throughout the book all the way up until a breathless, tense ending. There was something menacing about the style of this book, an unnerving feeling that made me anxious but also totally engaged. It’s on the longer side, especially in my experience of a thriller, but at no point did it feel drawn out or just too much. You know how sometimes it seems like authors are trying to hard, whether it’s with crazy, unbelievable plot twists or overdone writing that drags on? There was not a hint of that here and the fact that this is a debut is all the more impressive, I’ll be following Finn’s career closely.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

25 thoughts on “Review: The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn”

  9. Amanda @Cover2CoverMom says:
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    Whoa the film rights were sold before the book was even released?!?! I didn’t even know that happened! That’s crazy. Anyways I’m happy to hear this book lived up to the hype for you. I’m sure this is one I’ll be seeing a lot of this year 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. Woodrow Nichols says:
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    I started this watching the Olympics and didn’t put it down until 3:30 in the morning…I really couldn’t put it down. I guessed some of it all right, but when my guesses were confirmed it was in a pleasurable way, the way a good mystery is supposed to. It was not a stupid first person present unreliable narrative like I’ve been accustomed to expect. This is handled in a most excellent manner.

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