
Member Reviews

Housebound through agoraphobic Anna has only a few people that she shares face to face contact with and a few online services for company. She extends her social group a little by playing voyeur to the comings and goings on the street that she live is through the zoom lens of her camera. It is through this that she sees a neighbour murdered. Or did she?
The book seemed to begin rather slowly but persevere through the introductory chapters and you see this slow start serves a purpose, showing the mundane slow passage of time that precedes the extraordinary sequence of events to follow. The story certainly speeds up as after several suggested conclusions are shattered it reaches it unexpected climax.
The sub story about how Anna became agoraphobic keeps teasing the reader throughout and is a bombshell in itself. Pay close attention to the story since every time you think you have worked out what is real and what is suspect, a new twist dashes your theories.,
Very reminiscent of Hitchcock and Rear Window in particular. If you like a psychological thriller, you will lap up this story.

An intriguing tale of a woman who suffers from agoraphobia, spending her life hermetically sealed in her dark apartment, with a life largely composed of seeing what her neighbours are up to. One day she witnesses what she imagines is a murder of the occupant across the street. Her experience following that grim sight causes ripples in her life which are hard to imagine despite there being many clues along the way. It’s a mystery best looked back on, if as a reader (like me) you missed the opportunity to prematurely unravel the story by spotting the clues.
It was a blessing the book was divided in to daily chapters, otherwise it would have been a bit of a slog. I must confess to being disillusioned early on by the woman upon hearing a scream, being able to pinpoint its direction through closed windows and doors. The story redeems itself later with an injection of pace, culminating in a big finish.

This book is so suspenseful that it's almost stressful to read. A seriously good read that will leave you with a book hangover.

There has been a lot of hype about this book and I was keen to see for myself if it lived up to expectations!
Well once I started reading it I was immediately hooked and didn’t want to put the book down as it was that compelling!
Told in the first person it is the story of Dr Anna Fox, an agoraphobic psychologist who lives in a large house in a New York suburb. She spends her time spying on her neighbours through her window and watching old black and white movies on her tv. She also takes part in an online chat room with others who are fearful of leaving their homes and is happy to give advice using her expert knowledge.
Separated from her husband and young daughter Anna is frightened to leave the house, speaking to her family on the phone and receiving home visits from her therapist and physiotherapist.
Obsessed with old films, Anna particularly likes the Hitchcock thrillers like Rear Window and when one day she witnesses what she thinks is a murder when looking across the park to her neighbour’s house she reports it to the police.
However, Anna drinks a lot, she takes numerous pills and can barely function in her depressed state. No one believes that she has seen a murder and in fact some of the time she is not sure if she believes it herself. No body is found and her neighbours deny all knowledge.
This is a great read and I raced through it barely coming up for breath! There are several major plot twists one of which I did guess really early on but this did not detract from the story.
As well as being a great noir thriller this is also an examination of family relationships and the debilitating effect guilt can have on a person’s life.
The descriptions of Anna’s spiralling depression and agoraphobia are excellent and I really felt I was able to get inside her head.
This is perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn- Gone Girl and Paula Hawkin’s The Girl On The Train.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

The opening of The Woman in the Window has a pleasing dissonance. The narrator is watching her neighbours through a camera lens, describing them in a cool ironic voice. The set-up is reminiscent of a classic movie but you gradually realise the references are sharply contemporary.
Anna is an agoraphobic, living alone in her affluent New York home. When she isn’t observing her neighbours or engaging in various online forums she is watching her favourite black-and-white films.
She becomes particularly fixated on the neighbours who move in across the road. On first impression they seem a happy family. Then she believes she witnesses a crime in their home. Her condition, her medication, the alcohol she is not supposed to drink, all mean that no one, including Anna herself, is sure that her account can be believed.
This is very stylish, clever and intriguing book. What I liked about it most was that distinctive narrative voice. There are a number of satisfying twists. Some of them I saw coming (that’s not necessarily a bad thing as it allows me to feel smug) but others were genuinely shocking.
I was fascinated by Anna and by her story and although I’m not a big movie fan I did pick up many of the cinematic references. (Some of them are spelt out in the narration – I think devotees of the genre might feel cheated of their opportunity to feel smug.)
My only reservation is that it is a very long book. Those Hollywood classics are very spare and fast-paced, and I think the book should have mirrored that structure. If it were a hundred pages shorter I would have loved it even more.

I was caught up in this thriller right from the beginning. We learn that Dr Anna Fox hasn't been outside for 10 months. We see her current life of observing her neighbours through a camera lens from her window. We see a woman who drinks merlot all day long. We know her husband and daughter are not living with her but speak to her most days. And then we meet the mysterious Jane Russell who has moved into the street with her husband and teenage son, Ethan. Anna befriends the son, who visits her regularly. Anna is also pleased when Ethan's mother Jane comes to visit and is very friendly with her. But what is going on in the Russell house across the street? Anna witnesses a crime, but nobody believes her. Strange things are happening in Anna's house. And still nobody believes her. Is her mysterious lodger behind any of this? I don't want to give any of the outcomes away. Although I could see some of what was happening I truly did not anticipate the ending. All I can say is WOW! This really was a psychological thriller of the first degree.

A book that’s had big hype I was so forward to reading this .. and whilst it kept my interest ,unfortunately for me, it didn’t live up to its hype ,A great storyline of a woman suffering from agoraphobia alone in her world who witnesses a crime this could have been a better read than it was . A little too drawn out and repetitive for me . However all in all a decent read and I can see it making a good movie which I will want to see . My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.

This blew me away. If you’re a film noir/Hitchcock fan, just read this. I promise you won’t be disappointed. At first I was a little unsure about the first person prose and I found it hard to get into but once the story got going it was amazing.

The atmosphere in this book is spot on. Claustrophobic, dark and with a backdrop of black and white Hitchcock films, it doesn't get much better than this.
Anna is fantastic as the central character. Her loosening grip on reality, her alcoholism and laissez-faire attitude to her prescriptions, her solitude and her agoraphobia made her the perfect unreliable narrator. Did she really see a crime being committed or did she imagine what she claims she saw?
Throw in a slightly creepy lodger, absent husband and daughter and Anna's habit of spying on her neighbours and this is a recipe for a most delicious thriller.
Thanks go to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I was pretty sure from the blurb that I would enjoy this book. What I wasn't so sure about was if the book would stand out from the rest as the market is fairly saturated with psychological thrillers with a twist. I found the main character quite intriguing although for some reason I had pictured her as older than her late thirties. I found myself being sucked into her life, limited as it was by agoraphobia. I was very pleased with myself when about half way through I spotted the twist. I wasn't so self-congratulatory by the end as the twist was turned on its head and I was proved wrong. This just goes to show that there is still room for well written thrillers and I love being proved wrong. This book will have you guessing and just when you've worked it out, it will throw in another twist. Very enjoyable and cleverly done.

Not read any other works by this author. This was definitely a gripping read with good, descriptive prose, a decent enough plot, and interesting insights into the human psyche.
I liked the many references to old classic black and white movies, of which I am also a fan.
I did guess some of the plot - but not the very final twist, so that's a bonus (I hate it when I've guessed the whole thing!).
All in all a good, entertaining read in the noir category.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in return for my honest review.

This was a pleasure to read. Gripping and pacey and easily digestible, I devoured it quickly despite it's length. The agoraphobia was a great touch, and the protagonist is wonderful.

There are a lot of psychological thrillers around at the moment and as I began to read this one I did wonder what was going to be different - would I just work out what had happened.
I gave myself a pat on the back as I thought I had this book all sewn up - I had guessed the big reveal. Except that there were then more reveals, and more and I began to not know whether to believe what I was reading or not.
As a first book I think this is just a genius plot. Anna plays old movies on a loop and at times the dialogue from those movies becomes intermixed with real life - or does it? Anna doesn't leave the house and the depth of writing about Anna's agoraphobic condition was outstanding and thought provoking. There were twists and turns which left me reeling as I had to re evaluate continually towards the end of the book what was happening.
I would love to say more - but it would really give the game away. So I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book to review.

Just started this book and now I can’t put it down and have lost about 12 hours sleep!! It is amazing debut novel.. if only I could write this would be the kind of book I would be writing, the theme, the writing, the characters are amazing please everyone check this out and waste sleep like me cause it really is worth it.

I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of twists in the plot and a slow build up of suspense. The ending is brilliant. I did not see it coming. I was totally blindsided by it. I think that Anna's fear of going outside and the way she feels has been captured perfectly. Anna's love of black and white films and her choice of film all tie in with the plot. This story has been well thought out and well put together. I would definitely recommend this book and I will be looking out for more books by this author.

The book starts slowly but the tension builds and the foibles of Anna, the main character are gradually revealed. Lots of film references might be confusing to some but I enjoyed them and then in the second half the book takes of and there is a totally unexpected twist.
Maybe a bit formulaic but what really counts is whether you are engrossed by a book - and I certainly was.

I was aware of a buzz around this book, I'd seen some of my favourite authors tweet about it etc. I can understand that now I've finished. It's a cracking thriller which revolves around a really interesting, extremely flawed main character. Thankfully I managed to keep faith with the narrator and as the plot develops her motivation / lack thereof becomes more clear. You begin to understand why she won't leave her house / can't seem to break out of her situation.

So this is the book that everyone is allegedly talking about! I really enjoyed it. It is very reminiscent of Paula Hawkins' Girl on a Train. Anna is suffering from agoraphobia after a traumatic incident. She drinks heavily, and self medicated with a variety of prescription drugs. She spends much of her time watching the comings and goings of her neighbours. One night she sees a stabbing take place in the house of a family who have recently moved in, but when she reports it, no one believes her. After all, she was probably hallucinating. This is a very pacy story with lots of twists. I can see that it will make a very good film. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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Okay but this book was FANTASTIC. I sped through it faster than I actually thought I would and for a thriller, this really did impress me. For a novel blurbed by Gillian Flynn, I had high hopes and they were so well met. This cinematic, fast-paced thriller is perfect for early winter reading.
This novel follows Anna, an agoraphobic child psychiatrist who has been holed up in her home for over a year, watching over the other neighbours on a street in Harlem, New York. One day, however, Anna believes she witnesses the murder of a woman in the house opposite, and she spends her time struggling with how to make everyone believe that the murder was real.
Right from the very beginning, you see the obvious Hitchcock-ian influence on this book, particularly 'Rear Window', which this plot is almost entirely lifted from. Yet, it still manages to hold its own and present a chilling, twisting narrative that leaves you questioning whether or not what you're reading is real or not. It's actually ridiculous that I couldn't predict what was happening on the next page and I just completely devoured this book within a number of days.
Even with an incredibly unreliable narrator, you find yourself sympathising with Anna, especially as her back story is unfolded through a series of dreams and flashbacks. Her relationship with alcohol and the huge number of pills she's on to deal with her own mental health issues feel too real at times, particularly for someone who has struggled with it before, it's presented a really interesting character that I connected with.
For a guy writing a female character, I was incredibly impressed by his portrayal of Anna and how she wasn't demeaned to a 'sad, crazy woman'. She was interesting, complex and flawed- the way people should be writing strong, female characters. I hope AJ Finn continues to write such interesting fiction.

I loved this book. What a marvellous story with so many corkscrew twists and turns. There was a feeling of an old black and white Hitchcock movie throughout, the atmosphere was so tense and electric. I don’t want to spoil the plot for anyone, but the action takes place mostly either within the main character’s home or witnessed in the surrounding neighbourhood from her windows. I would recommend anyone who loves a psychological thriller and old-fashioned murder mystery to read it.