The Woman in the Window

I like a book that keeps me guessing. This one ticked that box. Highly enjoyable.

It was all a little (lot) too predictable and verbose for me. Two stars might be too many. So much time was spent building up to supposed “reveals” and “twists” that had been painfully obvious for the longest time. I wanted to be surprised by something. It could also just be that I don't like thrillers? Or maybe I'm not reading the right thrillers.

Anna Fox mengidap agorofobia. Dia sering berdiri di depan jendela. Dia hafal kegiatan para tetangganya. Dia menyaksikan perselingkuhan, namun, tidak pernah sebuah pembunuhan.
Hari itu, pemandangannya berbeda. Pisau di dada Jane—tetangga barunya, darah di kaca, jemari yang menggapai meminta pertolongan. Anna bergegas ke luar rumah untuk menyelamatkan wanita itu. Namun, agorafobia parah yang diidapnya membuatnya pingsan saat melangkah ke tempat terbuka. Saat sadar, ada Jane Russel lain di hadapannya, seorang wanita yang tidak dia kenal, Jane Russel sesungguhnya. Tidak ada yang mati, dia mungkin berhalusinasi.
Anna pun mencurigai ingatannya sendiri. Terlalu banyak minum, mereka bilang. Mungkin dia hanya berusaha mencari perhatian karena kesepian.
Kuakui plot twist mengenai siapa sebenarnya wanita yg dilihat Anna ditusuk pisau dari jendela rumahnya cukup di luar dugaan. Walau aku sdh bisa menebak sedikit2 apa yang sebenarnya terjadi. Cukup menghibur sebenarnya, walau gk istimewa sampai dapat 5 bintang.

Because this book has received so much publicity and attention these last few months, I was very skeptical going into it. However it turned out to be the promised page turner it purported to be. I'm satisfied.

Mehhhh. Mehhhh and 3 stars, you ask? Well, it's really more of a 2.6 stars book. And, as a good little accountant, round up I must.

“A Woman in the Window” is totally fine as far as popcorn mystery/thriller goes. Sure, this is the umpteenth girl/woman/drunken-pill-popping-agoraphobic-friendless-unreliable-narrator-rear-window-based hot-fiction book in the last few years. Sure, some of the plot points and the ultimate reveal are kinda ham-fisted and/or totally silly.

BUT. I read this book in a few hours and barely put it down because the pacing is extremely well-done. The book wasn't so silly that I threw it across the room (and never would with a library book!!). The writing style was totally fine for popcorn mystery/thriller. It's also great after reading 3 Cormac McCarthy novels in a row. In case that should happen to you and you're in need of a follow-up.

3.5 stars The ending really redeemed the whole book for me. The beginning was pretty boring and slow. If you've read ‘The Girl on the Train' or any of the hyped psychological thrillers that came out in the last couple of years you'll probably be able to piece everything together. I'll admit I didn't really see the last twist coming, and that was refreshing.

started off strong, but then there was just way too much going on for me. found it hard to follow

I've never read a book about someone having agoraphobia so I went into very much intrigued about how this would be portrayed and how it would be woven into the story.

Anna hasn't left her home in 10 months, she drinks too much, she self medicates and she watches her neighbours across the street. One day a new family moves in and Anna sees something she shouldn't.

This was such a fast and enthralling read for me! I loved reading from Anna's point of view and seeing her internal musings, especially the references to the old black & white thrillers she loves to watch. Some parts of this story really had the same feel as those old movies and I really liked that touch!

The characters were well drawn and intriguing, and I enjoyed reading about all of them, even the unlikable ones! I liked the character of Detective Little, he was just so warm and kind.

I do feel that the pacing slowed a little towards the end, so it did take me a little longer to finish this than expected however it was enjoyable throughout. And I did see some of the smaller reveals coming, however I didn't actually see the twist at the end which is a bonus!

Although the agoraphobia does play a large part in the story, it is really a tale of grief and some parts of this were quite touching. I really would recommend this to those who enjoy a good mystery - it's not an action packed thriller, it's more of a building, dramatic, layered mystery which I just love.

Tätä “epäluotettava naiskertoja mysteerin keskellä”-genreähän tämä, mutta onpahan poikkeuksellisen vahva tapaus. Päähenkilö on agorafobiasta kärsivä psykologi Anna Fox, joka elää yksin asunnossaan New Yorkissa. Mies ja tytär asuvat muualla, joten Anna on jokseenkin yksin, alakerran vuokralaista lukuunottamatta.

Aikansa kuluksi Anna muun muassa vakoilee naapuruston menoa ikkunoistaan, ja kuinkas ollakaan, murhahan sieltä ikkunasta näkyy – ainakin siltä vaikuttaisi. Mikä osuus asiassa on sitten alkoholilla ja psyykenlääkkeillä, on hyvä kysymys.

Asetelma on takaikkunamainen, eikä se ole sattumaa, Anna kun harrastaa myös klassikkojännärien katsomista. Kyseessä ei siis ole mistään viehkosta silmänvinkkauksesta klassikoiden suuntaan, vaan ihan suoraa ja voimakasta vaikutteiden ottamistahan tämä. Vaan mikäpä siinä. Toimii!

Yllättyisin, jos tästä ei jossain vaiheessa elokuvaa tehtäisi; uskoisin että tästä tulisi hyvä leffa.

An very well written thriller that keep surprising you all the way

It was well written, fast-paced and entertaining. It wasn't world-breaking or very thought provoking in my opinion. It was a fun thriller, and a fast read but I did find it slow in the beginning. It did take me a while to finish it just because it didn't hold my attention for a long time and it wasn't the first book I would grab when reading something. All in all, I would definitely recommend it as a fun, fast-paced read.

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I highly recommend “The Woman in the Window”, to those out there who like a twisted suspense novel. The main character, Anna Fox, is an agoraphobic who becomes captivated by the lives of her neighbors through watching them out her window. Of course, she sees a murder or does she? We have all experienced that safe place in our lives. In the case of Anna Fox her “safe place” becomes not so safe. I do not want to say much more and ruin the story. I found I had trouble putting the book down, because I wanted to see what would happen next. I am not usually surprised by the endings of a book, but “The Women in the Window” shocked me with the who, what, when of the end. I will read more of A. J. Finn in the future. I will comment that Amazon puts this book with Gone Girl and writers like Tana French who I love don't get me wrong I just want to say what A.J Finn has here stands on it's own very well without the comparison and is uniquely it's own.

Audio Book Review

**APRIL 2018 update:After listening to other books that were much less entertaining and further consideration, I came to the realization of how engaging and well-written this book is so I'm raising my rating from 3 stars to 4. Anna is so fleshed out and well developed she's nearly tangible, I almost miss her. This book is definitely worth reading and I highly recommend the audio book version.**

Details details details, this book is all about the details, big and small.

The Bad:
I have to say that given all the hype surrounding this book I was a little underwhelmed. It takes a while for the story to get on its feet, the author spends quite a bit of time establishing the Anna character and her world which is understandable given that 80% of the book is her alone in her home. When the main plot is underway it is very entertaining and holds that for quite a while but unfortunately, by the time I got to the last quarter of the book the two major plot points/twists were very predictable to me, making the book a letdown.

The Good:
The writing, I'm not a great writer as you can tell from reading this review but this book is BEAUTIFULLY written. This book is full of dramatic statements and descriptions of the simplest things that most of us do every day. Every sentence is grand yet it never seems to be unneeded or over the top, in fact, it only lends to spotlighting Anna's character and way of thinking. This book is basically about a woman who never (or very seldomly) leaves the house but I was never bored listening to describe her day to day indoors. Anna is the best and worst thing about this book (aside from being a bit predictable) she's so dramatic it's entertaining but also annoying due to her constant bad decision making.

Overall this author should be proud of his work especially for his first novel, it seems to be enjoying a decent amount of success, maybe a movie adaptation in the near future but the author has said he is already working on his second novel so I'll be looking forward to what he produces next.

Ann Marie Lee narrated the Audiobook and she was excellent, 5/5 rating

Probably not quite a 5...but I can't go to a 4.5 because it was so much fun. Tense and exciting. An unreliable narrator that is easy to like, even with her flaws. Good classic movie references throughout. Just a very fun thriller in the tradition of Rear Window.

Wow

Quick read with several twists to it. One of the twists I was suspicious of but the second one was tricky. An enjoyable read!

It was everywhere and I just had to request it from the library. Usually there is a long wait for a new book, but, no, it arrived the next day. I couldn't leave it sitting there and risk having to return it before reading it, could I? No, I had to dive in.

And that's what I did, dive in. There is no setting this book aside like I usually do with my books, the typical read-and-read-until-I-get-tired. No, I read and read this book until I fell asleep and then I started it again the next evening.

DON'T READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT A FEW TINY SPOILERS

It's a thriller, but it isn't a horribly violent and profanity and random sex filled thriller. The characterization was particularly good, with real people in the stories, with real problems. One would hope people who are working as therapists might not have quite as many emotional issues as the therapists in this novel, but, hey, therapists are just people, too.

I figured out the ending but that's okay; the revelations came late in the story so I didn't have many pages to go to the end.

It may be the best thriller I've read.

4.5 stars. Excellent! And I am completely in love with Finn's writing style.