The Woman in the Window
By A.J. Finn
Anna Fox is a shut-in. She has crippling agoraphobia. So what does she do all day? She drinks a bunch of merlot, watches old movies, and spies on her neighbors. And when she starts to get too attached with the family across the street she begins to learn too much. Then she sees something she shouldn’t have. Or did she? Her doctor says she is in a manic state with the amount of alcohol mixed with her prescription meds. But Anna is a children’s psychologist, and knows that she’s not crazy. As her world begins to spiral in her head the quiet New York neighborhood outside her home becomes all too real. Soon to be a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox starring Amy Adams as Anna this story will ask you what is real, and whose reality you should believe.
“My head was once a filing cabinet. Now it’s a flurry of papers, floating on a draft.”
Thoughts
A suspenseful thriller in a modern setting that jumps off the page and speeds around your head like the protagonist’s flurry of internal conversation. Akin to psychological thrillers like Shutter Island, this book really hooks you in with its immediate acknowledgement that what you are reading may not be the truth. And to make this even more thought provoking it forces you to not trust the narrator, Anna, even though you want to so badly. There were multiple points in this story, like when the cops get involved, that you sincerely just feel bad for Anna’s condition. But A.J. FInn does a marvelous job and blending true reality with the false one built by Anna, and as you learn built by almost every character she lets into her home. The pace of this story hits a nice sweet spot and the moments of intense panic felt by Anna come through so richly it feels like you are actually going mad too. This is a great book that was nominated in my book club, and I’m glad it was. Pick it up if you like psychological thrillers, are looking for a fast paced mystery, or just want to read it before it hits the screens.
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