Published by: William Morrow
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime
Rating: 
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?
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?
Whenever I read a thriller or a whodunnit, I always like to picture the most unlikely scenario in my head, the most impossible thing that might happen. For one thing, I have watched waaaaay to many TV shows of the same or similar genre, so my mind immediately goes to the most absurd. Second, I am one of those jackasses that always loves to say "Ha! I knew it!". So, if the book does something way beyond my most out there imaginings and it explains it well and is not completely silly, then I consider it a success.
Unfortunately, this book did not. *sad trumpet*
But! That doesn't take anything away from it because to Finn's defense, he thought the most impossible thing I could think, so kudos for that. If only he surpassed it, it would have been one hell of a book.
I loved the setting: dark, old four level brownstone in New York gave it a proper manor mystery vibe.
I also really liked Anna. She is the perfect unreliable narrator, being almost always drunk and heavily medicated. I guess all books of the genre need one of those, but since the trope has been done to death, I dismissed the theory of Anna actually having anything to do with the murder straight away, it would have been too easy for Finn to resort to that and it would have made for a cheap book.
The ending was fine I guess, a bit more disturbing than I anticipated. I thought it was a bit rushed, but I guess that's how it always is with these books: once the murderer has been revealed, what is the point?
I would say however that The Woman in The Window is more about Anna and her trauma (extreme agoraphobia sounds horrifying) than anything else, really. And that sets it apart from the other books of its genre. It could easily stand by itself, but the mystery and the black&white horror film references give it that extra zhuzh.
Unfortunately, this book did not. *sad trumpet*
But! That doesn't take anything away from it because to Finn's defense, he thought the most impossible thing I could think, so kudos for that. If only he surpassed it, it would have been one hell of a book.
I loved the setting: dark, old four level brownstone in New York gave it a proper manor mystery vibe.
I also really liked Anna. She is the perfect unreliable narrator, being almost always drunk and heavily medicated. I guess all books of the genre need one of those, but since the trope has been done to death, I dismissed the theory of Anna actually having anything to do with the murder straight away, it would have been too easy for Finn to resort to that and it would have made for a cheap book.
The ending was fine I guess, a bit more disturbing than I anticipated. I thought it was a bit rushed, but I guess that's how it always is with these books: once the murderer has been revealed, what is the point?
I would say however that The Woman in The Window is more about Anna and her trauma (extreme agoraphobia sounds horrifying) than anything else, really. And that sets it apart from the other books of its genre. It could easily stand by itself, but the mystery and the black&white horror film references give it that extra zhuzh.
