The Woman in the Window

had to mention that i watched the MOVIE yesterday!! amazing. book was (always is) better. read this!!

Better than average twisty thriller with some really neat bits in it. I think the main problem with these type of thrillers is that I've read so many I spend too much time second guessing everything. The red herrings in this one are quite good but I wasn't totally surprised at the big reveal. Looking forward to the film, the casting looks spot on.

A brief synopsis:

Dr. Anna Fox, a child psychologist, is agoraphobic. Separated from her husband, she lives alone in New York City, unable to leave her home. She spends her time watching classic films, drinking a lot of wine, playing chess online, and her favorite pastime, spying on her neighbors. When a new family moves in across the park from her, she becomes obsessed with them. While watching their house, she sees something terrible happen. But why does no one believe her?

What I enjoyed:

The first twist. I really didn't expect it. It was about three quarters through the book, and after finding it out, I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end. And that's why I got four hours of sleep last night, thank you very much, A.J. Finn. I am admittedly kind of a snob when it comes to mysteries or thrillers. Having grown up with Nancy Drew, then moved into Mary Higgins Clark stolen from my mom's collection, I now as an adult find mysteries and thrillers overwhelmingly predictable for the most part. Maybe it was because I was so tired when reading this, but I really didn't anticipate this one. I gasped and was so excited that I hadn't guessed it. It was kinda bizzare, which I loved. That was definitely, I think, the best part of the whole book.

Something I also really liked was the sneaky little Easter egg of the title itself. I didn't realize it until I was done reading it. But the protagonist, Anna, is a huge fan of classic black and white movies. They're talked about and quoted a ton in the book as Anna is always in the house and watching at least one a day. The Woman in the Window is also the title of a classic mystery film from 1944. :)

What I didn't enjoy:

The first three quarters of the book were slow. Not excruciatingly slow, but slow enough that I was like, “Can we please just get to the point?” There's a lot of lounging about the house, watching old movies, drinking wine. Like, lots of wine drinking. I'm unsure if the author was trying to show us how unreliable a narrator Anna was because she was drunk all the time and mixing it with pills, but I got that in the first few chapters. It was totally unnecessary to constantly talk about it for the entire rest of the book. It took away from the plot and was boring. (And also made me feel a little like the author thinks we're simpletons that are unable to latch on to a concept.)

I feel a little guilty saying this because maybe if I had read this one first, I would have liked it more, but this book was SO similar to The Girl on the Train that I was bored. It's SO similar, I was a little blown away. I actually just did a reread of Girl on the Train because my husband was reading it for the first time and it had been years since I read it so I read along with him. Because of that, it was very fresh in mind. Female narrator is unreliable because of alcoholism, sees something terrible happen, no one will believe her, she can't remember if it's real. Yikes. They're almost the exact same plot, y'all.

Recommend for:
Huge fans of The Girl on the Train that want to read more like it. Or someone who likes a light mystery but rarely reads them. I for sure do not recommend this to anyone who is an avid mystery reader. This is one that if you've read one, you've read them all.

Some people are just wired wrong, even a child.

2.5

Dr. Anna Fox is a recluse, diagnosed with agoraphobia she never leaves her home...her safe space. While wheedling away the hours she takes to playing chess online, helping others with her condition via a forum, and watching her neighbors. She sees them come and go, attends book club meetings, watches the children grow older, all through the lens of her camera.

Soon new neighbors move in across the way and she relishes the new distraction. Until one night she sees something she shouldn't, and calls the police. However, due to her condition, no one believes she saw what she saw. No one believes that someone has been in her home... photographing her while asleep. She is just the crazy recluse seeking attention...or is she?

I have had this book on my shelf for over a year. I'm glad I finally picked it up. I'm in a thriller mood lately and this fit the bill perfectly. It is definitely a slow burn, and I found the home scenario a bit tiresome at times, but I understood the need for it. I also figured out most of the book early on BUT the ending was something I didn't even consider. Overall, a fun and thrilling read.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ the more I think about this book as opposed to the others I have and enjoyed, this just wasn't my favorite.

Precise rating: 3.5 ⭐

I've read this book in Swedish, which is not my native language, so I can't really say anything about the writing style. But the fact that I've read this book in just a little more than two weeks in a language I'm not even fluid in and enjoyed it massively speaks for itself.

I'm a little bit unsure about the ending, though. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.

Absolutely loved this book from a sci-fi/fantasy fan

As stated, I'm mainly a fantasy/sci fi reader, but absolutely loved this book. It had twists, turns, was fast paced and really made you understand the character.

The story kept throwing curveballs at me and huge twists that I didn't see coming (and I like to think I can see when a twist is coming).

The book is obviously about agoraphobia and it was fascinating the read this and understand the phobia better.
Would highly recommend!

Okay, so I at least got halfway through the book before I guessed the ending. This book has some really frustrating moments that remind me why I hate drinking. I will say that it bothered me more than anything that she didn't care enough about her cat's obviously injured paw. I'm still wondering if she got someone to take the cat to the vet. That being said, I liked this book overall, but I wouldn't put it on a recommendation list.

I almost feel like “abstaining” a star review of this book. So I'll be in the middle.So many books out there today with the recently-made-classic unreliable female narrator (who tends to be alcoholic too, I guess that contributes to the unreliable part). This one is truly better than most though (I'm looking at you [b:The Girl on the Train 22557272 The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574805682l/22557272.SX50.jpg 41107568] or [b:The Woman in Cabin 10 28187230 The Woman in Cabin 10 Ruth Ware https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465878007l/28187230.SY75.jpg 48209164]). Our main character suffers from extreme alcoholism, agoraphobia, and a host of other problems stemming from these (anxiety, hallucinations, depression). The author did a nice job of immersing the reader into Anna Fox's head and all of her mental illnesses.The writer has some promise, but overall the story is lacking. It's rather typical, and pretty easy to guess. I did not “figure it out” before the end, but the path getting there was pretty predictable. And none of the characters except Anna is in any way fleshed out - but I suppose that's to be expected since the narrator herself comes into contact only briefly with just a few people throughout the whole novel.Not great, but not as bad as I expected.

DNF at about 1/3 of the way through. Perhaps the most telling thing is I quit just as we got to the murder scene. If you've been bored for the run of the book, and you're still bored while reading about someone being stabbed, it's time to give up.

Evidently this author is a big fat liar and awful person, but the real reason not to read this is it's desperately tedious, with no one to root for. Not only is the main character stupid and dull, with a main character trait of “drinks enough to kill an elephant” (note: not actually a character trait!), we also get treated to a classic “male author describing female character” passage, plus the “hero” of the story going way out of her way to fat-shame her 8-year-old daughter - what? (Also, it turns out that the daughter is actually DEAD, which takes the obsession with preventing her from being chubby to new levels of psychopathic shallowness - must be this author showing his psychological cards, huh?)

The only good thing about this book is it reminds readers to go watch some Hitchcock films.

I really liked the use of old movies in this one.

4.5!!!!! So good!!! Man the twists in this were so well crafted and the ending was so unexpected - a very, very good thriller!!

dnf @ 63%
I'm sorry but I've literally never been so bored reading a thriller. the drunk/medicated/confused/unreliable main character trope is tired. so much time is spent describing the most boring shit. I don't care about Anna or the traumatic event or ANYTHING. I was pushed to finish this b/c I wanted to see where it would go but I truly just cannot.

There were twists and turns that I didn't see coming. The woman drove me a little nuts at times.

I have very high expectations in this book because a lot of people that I follow on the internet really liked this. I can totally see why its a 4 or a 5 star rating to the other readers but I think its just average. Its just a mix of cliche mystery/thriller/suspense tropes that I think was not executed very well and almost seemed generic. This was good but for sure didn't blow me away.

I was late to work this morning because of A.J. Finn. Outside of Goodreads, that sentence would mean something very different. Thankfully, we all know the truth. I stayed up too late reading The Woman in the Window. As a reader, I am new to the psychological (?) thriller genre. This was the perfect introduction. I ate this book up in two sittings. (Technically one was a standing because I was reading the book in the store)

I enjoyed this books plot development and movement. It could be argued that the timeline was slow but I enjoyed the character development and growth of the plot. The twists and turns were captivating. In summary, 10/10. Will be looking for more books in this vein.

Muy interesante al inicio, un poco lento en la mitad, luego recupera el buen ritmo pero remata con un final trillado y sin imaginación. Es una lastima porque prometía bastante.

I enjoyed this book, and it was a quick, suspenseful read. I had heard so many people rave about it, that I think my expectations were a little too high. It was good, I'm glad I read it, and there were lots of twists and turns. It is definitely a book that you can dive into and read quickly. I saw a few of the twists coming, but others shocked me. A great book if you want a mystery and a suspenseful story.

If you are like me, you look at these reviews with one question in mind:

Should I or should I not read this book?

As far as psychological thrillers go, it may not be what you are looking for. It may not be action packed, tricksy, or twisted enough for you. Or if you are a mystery lover like me, the ending may not be shocking at all to you. I definitely guessed it.

But despite all of that, I would still say you should read it. It was a good read, both entertaining and clever, with a well-developed protagonist who I actually liked.

Here are my pros and cons:

PRO- The short chapters. Yes.
PRO- The clever contrast between Anna's thoughts and dialogue.
PRO- The dialogue from suspense films that reminds you just how self-aware this book is.
PRO- It's fast and entertaining.

CON- You feel as trapped in Anna's house as she does.
CON- Anna's self-medicating and drinking gets old.
CON- Anna, partially because of the pills and drinking, is way too oblivious. And the book knows it. Quote (from Anna about one of her movies): “She remains oblivious a bit too long for my liking, frankly.” That was a facepalm.
CON- The book felt pulled from other sources. Like a cross between Rear Window and Next to Normal. Which I like both of, but still. (Also, apparently the film Copycat, which I find too ironic not to mention).

I think I shall stop reading books with “woman” or “girl” in the title with a main character who has mental illness and/or and alcohol/substance abuse problem and are described at any point as “hysterical”.

There was nothing twisty about this plot. There was no suspense. This was just another story about a unreliable woman witnessing a murder and no one believing her, including herself and unhinged characters and irrationally irritated detectives.

I really didn't expect to like this book so much, especially because it's another in a recent parade of books whose main characters I found unlikeable and irritating. 😂I often find stories like this predictable, but this one kept me guessing until the end. \o/

Recensie van audioboek (via Storytel)3 sterretjesNadat ik alle Frieda Klein-boeken van [a:Nicci French 183956 Nicci French https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1409167422p2/183956.jpg], voorgelezen door één en dezelfde voorlezer, heb beluisterd, was de overschakeling naar een nieuwe voorlezer een beetje wennen. In eerste instantie vond ik deze echt niet zo aangenaam, maar na een korte wenperiode, was dit snel vergeten. Ik had vrij snel door hoe het zat met haar gezin, maar de grote twist had ik niet zien aankomen.Het hoofdpersonage in dit boek is niet zo bijster origineel, gezien de laatste jaren veel boeken met onbetrouwbare vertellers zijn uitgebracht. Denk maar aan [b:Het meisje in de trein 25153867 Het meisje in de trein Paula Hawkins https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426512273s/25153867.jpg 41107568].Verwarring door alcohol en pillen is goed overgebracht, alsook het claustrofobische gevoel van binnen te zitten.Al bij al een leuke tussendoor thriller.

I'm really torn between giving this 2 stars or 3. It took so long to start and then when it would seem interesting and pick up a little, it would get right back slow. I just feel like this could've had less chapters and less pages. Also, some of this was a little predictable.