I’m not surprised that this book is being talked about so much. It is a masterpiece. I loved the way the story unfolded, like an onion with many layers. The characters were brilliantly drawn and the sense of menace was heart thumping. A well deserved 5 stars

I thought this was going to be predictable but there were some great twists to keep you guessing right through to the end! Thoroughly good read!

This review is written with thanks to Harper Collins UK and Netgalley for my copy of The Woman In The Window.
Anna Fox is agoraphobic: the last time she left her house was ten months ago. Although she cannot leave her house, she keeps an eye on the goings on on her street through her bedroom window, and she is fascinated by the newest family to move in, the Russells. But one day, she witnesses a crime in the Russells' house. When she tries to get help, no-one believes her. What really happened that night?
It is clear from the beginning that Anna's physical world is very limited, and Finn portrays this really well, making me feel claustrophobic as I read. This makes The Woman In The Window utterly compelling and I had to keep reading to find out what happened. However, I did not find Anna to be a very likeable character. She is an alcoholic, she's very unreliable, and at times, I found it difficult to believe that someone in Anna's position would act in the way she did, and this prevented me from fully immersing myself in the novel.
Although Finn has created a dark and atmospheric novel in The Woman In The Window, I felt that the lengthy descriptions were included at the expense of the development of the plot. It takes some time for the major plot points to come to light. When they do, it's fast paced, tense and incredibly gripping, but unfortunately, this didn't happen until about three quarters of the way through.
I love a twist, and The Woman In The Window has plenty of them, which kept me reading until the end. However, as I was able to predict most of the twists in advance, they did not have the impact I was expecting.

“It isn’t paranoia if it’s really happening…”

If you are looking for a gripping book that will capture your attention and keep you turning pages late into the night, The Woman in the Window is for you….

Have you ever read a book before that was so good that after finishing it you just sit back and you wish you had written it yourself? It was almost as if the author had went into my mind, taken all the things I am interested in, and put it together so beautifully that even Patricia Highsmith and Alfred Hitchcock would be jealous. Film rights for The Woman in the Window have already been snapped up and I can envisage the story transferring well to the big screen.

Agoraphobic Dr. Anna Fox has spent the past 10 months inside her New York home. Her home is her safe place and she is too afraid to venture outside her door. Separated from her husband and daughter she is not coping well, drinking too much and not keeping tabs on what medication she has taken that day. Her physiotherapist and psychiatrist come to see her at home and she can longer go out to work as a child psychiatrist. Anna is lonely and spends her days drinking wine and watching her neighbours (when she isn’t watching classic film-noir). One night Anna thinks she hears and sees something terrifying happen across the road at her neighbours, the Russells house, as the lines between real life and keen interest in film become increasingly blurred. However, no-one believes her, including the police, and the Russells deny the allegations. Was it real, or as others suggested, just something she imagined?

This contemporary and Hitchcockian suspense thriller has all the moxie of old black and white film noir while still retaining the modern world of social media and technology, and Finn does a superb job of shaping the language, tone, and rhythm as if it were an old classic. Woven through the story are bits from the old films that serve as threads to thought, action, and atmosphere. Like any good film noir, the setting is confined to the one space – Anna’s lush New York apartment. This only heightened the suffocating feelings of claustrophobia I felt whilst reading, as I continually found myself holding my breath.

Anna is the classic unreliable narrator, mixing her booze and countless pills all whilst trying to recover from a traumatic event that has left her physically and emotionally broken. Anna’s life subtly mirrors many of the “Femme Fatales” from the films she is oh so fond of watching. I connected with Anna straight away, I got into her head and she got into mine till I couldn’t tell where Anna ended and I began. I felt her every fear, her every anxiety and imagined her every thought.

The plot is carefully thought out to the last detail and well crafted with a few shocking twists and turns – some I guessed, some I didn’t. The pace begins slow burning, picking up slightly about halfway through, then only when we get to the last quarter of the book it really cranks up a gear and begins to speed like a steam train. Even the pace draws parallels with classic film. The prose is written in such a flawless, suspenseful way, I could not help but have a tight feeling of unease creep over me, feeling myself jumping at every little noise in the house. If you are feeling slightly nervous do not read this in the house alone. There is a black, menacing undercurrent flows throughout most of the book, becoming stronger until it reaches a terrifying crescendo.

The Woman in the Window is a deliciously dark and creepy thriller that I devoured in one day. I CANNOT wait to see what will be next from A.J. Finn. I received a free review copy from publisher. Thanks to A.J. Finn and Harper Collins UK.

I had heard a lot about this book from various people on social media so I was quite keen to see if all the fuss was justified.

The story follows Dr Anna Fox who for the last year has been unable to leave the house due to her agrophobia, and she now spends most of her time watching her neighbours and drinking. When she witnesses an incident at her neighbours house one night, she struggles to convince the police it happened and eventually she begins to doubt it herself. What caused this successful child psychiatrist to become a recluse and a heavy drinker and does it have anything to do with her separation from her husband Ed and their daughter Olivia?

I actually guessed quite early on what had happened with her family, but this didn't detract from the rest of the story as there was so much more going on to keep me interested and I was eager to find out what would happen next.

I really enjoyed this book, it didn't blow me away as it did others, but it was certainly an intriguing read. Thank you to HarperCollins for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon on publication day.

This is a stunning book, I found it compelling reading and had to limit myself so as not to read it too quickly! A.J Finn has this way of drawing you in and leaving you wanting to know more.
The Woman in the Window is a suspensful story with dark and chilling moments, and it will have you gripped to the pages. I can't praise this book enough, I'm sure it will be a bestseller and should definitely be made into a film.

Thank you!

I was really excited to be approved to read this book as it was hyped about a lot but it just didn’t do it for me.
First of all it took a while to get into it and I wasn’t connecting with the characters, probably because they wasn’t introduced in enough detail so I didn’t feel I knew enough about them.
Secondly because in my opinion there is a lot of character and especially if there is two families it should say who is speaking. I didn’t like the writing at all, it was actually excruciating to read and there was a lot of ‘he said and I said’ so it was very easy to get confused and didn’t know who was saying what and it got that bad I was skipping parts because it was that boring and felt a bit like change the record as all you seemed to see was drinking drinking drinking & pill popping!
Definitely needs to work on writing style do people don’t become confused as you go into a chapter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for sending me an Arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book has a refreshingly different writing style which sets it apart from other books I have read in a similar vein. I did struggle to get into this book at first, as I couldn't make out what was happening. I found all the references to old films a bit tiresome, although this was quite possibly because I'm not a film buff. I did skim over a few of these references, and also a few of the internet conversations. At times the story seemed very slow, and I was willing things to unfold at a faster pace. From about three quarters of the way through it did turn into a "can't put down" read, and consequently I stayed up until the early hours reading to the end. The story developed with some stirring and chilling twists and the reader is left with some thought provoking material. Having finished the book, I felt too uneasy to sleep - but that's what makes a good psychological thriller!!

Another book that needs to made into a full feature film! When I first read this book I thought it was another version of Gone Girl or Girl on a Train but it was different in it's own unique way and I loved that! I mainly read YA books but this thriller is definitely one that would convert me! A huge read for 2018.

It's been ten months since Anna Fox last left her home. She has haunted the homes of her New York house like a ghost, lost in memories, too terrified to step outside. Her lifeline to the real world is her window, where she sits every day, watching her neighbours. When the Russell's move in, Anna is instantly drawn to them. A picture perfect family of three. One evening, a frenzied scream breaks the silence, and Anna witnesses something no one was supposed to see.

This is a really good debut novel. Dr. Anna Fox, a phychologist who suffers from agoraphobia. She spends her days popping pills, drinking wine and watching her neighbours. She knows all their names, their daily routines, but when a new family moves in across the street, Anna becomes fixated on them. Then one night, she witnesses a crime being committed, but no one believes her. This book is full of twists and it's very addictive. A fabulous page turner.

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and the author A. J. Finn for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dr Anna Fox had a very successful practice as a psychotherapist working with children, that is until she developed agoraphobia. She has been suffering from it for over a year and her contact with the outside world, or really her neighbours, is by watching them, through her windows, as they go about their daily business.

Her only physical contact with others is Dr Fielding, a psychiatrist, visiting her once a week to talk and check on her medications, her physical therapist, Bina, and her tenant, David. Her main companion, besides her cat Punch, is Merlot as she starts with the first bottle on waking from her (medicated) drugged sleep and a bottle and glass accompany her as embarks on the day. The day might see her studying French lessons online or online chess and there is also the group of agoraphobes called Agora. Her sign-in name is; the doctors in. This way, she feels that she is still using her skills as a psychotherapist to help others suffering from this debilitating condition.

New people move into house 207. After doing a google search, she finds out that they are Alistair and Jane Russell and they have a teenage son Ethan. Anna becomes obsessed with them. She sits in the window armed with her Nikon’s zoom lens to watch the family’s interactions.

Things start to unravel after vandals throw eggs at Anna’s front door, hoping to get her to come out of the house. She sees them run off and shortly afterwards, there is a knock on the front door; it is Jane Russell, who had chased off the vandals. Anna welcomes her in and the two spend the next few hours consuming many bottles of Merlot. It is not long after Jane has left, that Anna, again with her camera, watching her house, seeing Jane being stabbed. It shocks her enough to leave her house to alert the police but, her claim is met with a denial by Jane and Alistair. Could one of the drugs she’s taking, with the known side effects when combined with alcohol, cause hallucinations, really have made her see something that didn’t actually happen?

And…… will we ever discover why her daughter Olivia and husband Ed have moved out?

This is a very complex, thought-provoking storyline. The twists and turns are seriously mindboggling. A J Finn has used Anna’s alcoholic-soaked voice to tell us the story and as much as I loathed her, I knew I could not walk away from this pathetic drunk until I reached the final page.

I can completely understand why Oprah Winfrey is calling it “the book you have to read in 2018.”

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Wow. Loved it. Could not put it down. I instantly fell in love with Anna. Yes I could work out the next twist for most of the story but did not see the ending at all. This book is well written with shorter chapters which is what keeps the pages turning for me. Would like to read a follow up to see how Dr Anna overcomes her agoraphobia and engages again in society.

I loved this book. Dr. Anna Fox, a child psychologist has not left her house for the past 10 months. She is separated from her husband and daughter and her only real contact is with her psychiatrist and physiotherapist.

She spends her day drinking wine to wash down her medication and photographing her neighbours. She also plays online chess, loves black and white movies and gives advice online to other agrophobics.

One day whilst watching her neighbours she sees something she shouldn’t…

Really well written, and a great page turner – I was hooked from start to finish

Goodness what a rollercoaster of a ride. I did find so many parts to be slow going especially at the beginning but once it started it zoomed into being and I didn’t guess the ending.

Hitchcockian thriller, some good suspense and claustrophobic scenes

Sometimes 3 stars, sometimes 4.

Like James Stewart in Rear Window (regularly referenced), Dr Anna Fox is confined to her house and windows, looking out at her neighbours for some way of connecting with the outside world. We know though that her confident she is self-imposed, ten months after a family separation, leaving her a long way from her husband and daughter. She cannot force herself to leave her home.

A psychiatrist herself, who works with patients similar to herself online, she is aware of her own circumstances but cannot (or will not) do anything about them.

With a downstairs lodger and a cat her only semi-regular contact, Anna is relieved when a new family moves in across the road, with a teenage son an parents, and she meets the mother of the family, Jane, and makes a connection. Yet soon after this, using her camera to watch their goings-on, she is horrified to watch what appears to be a murder in their house. But everybody denies that Jane ever existed.

Is she hallucinating on her strong medication? Are they lying? Was Jane real or an illusion? Is Anna living next door to a murderer?

Yes, it’s a tense prospect, you want to solve the mystery and find out if it’s all in Anna’s mind or not. There is also the clear indication that Anna may not be a reliable narrator.

I found the first big twist obvious from the get-go, but the scenes showing just what Anna has been through were incredibly moving and hard to read. The final conclusion and reveal was a little underwhelming, though I think it would work well on screen, as I think it was probably designed for.

Thrillers aren’t my favourite genre, they get a little ‘samey’ for me, though this caught my attention as I love Hitchcock films and concepts. It’s tense and well built-up, with red herrings and several possible suspects, and is a solid example of the genre, with appreciative nods to the great director’s films (among other classics that Anna watches) included.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy, provided for review purposes.

I was so excited to read this one! As soon as I read the synopsis, I was already hooked, a thriller with an interesting plot-line, an unreliable narrator and a Hitchcockian/Rear-Window vibe.

This story follows Anna, an agoraphobiac (something which adds a strong psychological element to the story for me), who hasn't left her own apartment in ten months, however she lives a life outside of her apartment through observing her neighbours through her apartment window. This leads to Anna witnessing an attack in her new neighbour's apartment, but when she reports what she has witnessed, no one will believe her, not even the police. Anna begins to think her medication could have messed with her head and questions whether she can trust what she saw, or whether there is a reason that others refuse to believe her!

I liked Anna as a character, although the whole, unreliable narrator thing is very overdone in thrillers these days, Finn did this very well, and I enjoyed the confusion over whether we could trust anything that the main character was saying or thinking. I also liked the fact that Anna was a child-psychologist, with a psychological disorder. I thought her character was very interesting, and developed throughout the book.

In terms of the writing, I was pleasantly surprised, the book was well-paced in my opinion, it started out slow and then quickly became a complete page-turner! A.J. Finn also has some talent which makes you question EVERYONE, anyone could be involved, and although some twists were predictable, the final result was one that I was not expecting, at all!

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for both thriller-addicts like me, and also for those looking for their introduction to a decent, gripping thriller. I can't wait to see what you all think, and to read more of A.J. Finn's stuff in the future.

Full Review Here: https://thereadingruby.blogspot.com/2018/01/book-review-woman-in-window-by-aj-finn.html

Thank you Harper Collins for letting me read this. Psychiatrist Anna Fox is battling with agoraphobia, self medicating and drinking far too much. Has she witnessed a murder or has she imagined it. This was a page turner for me from page one and had to stay up into the early hours to finish. A great debut thriller from A J Finn, looking forward to her next. A well worthy five stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly it's theme roughly based on a Hitchcock film. It was written in a similar style, but the storyline was bang up to date, very cleverly thought out and rivetting. As with all similar novels, all is not what it seems. I couldn't put it down. The culprit was a surprise which is always good, I usually work it out myself quite quickly, although I knew pretty much early on the situation with her estranged husband and daughter. I love the inclusion of conversations with her husband. The main character was believable and very interesting, I wish I had got to know her. Excellent novel, I highly recommend it..

The Woman in the Window had me hooked very quickly. The tension starts to build slowly and the main character Dr Fox gets more stressed and confused as the plot unfolds. I liked the many references to old black and white movies and only wished I was familiar enough with them to make links between the storylines.

I’m not surprised that a movie is planned as it reminded me of Girl on a Train. It’s hard to believe is a first novel as it’s so accomplished. I will read more by A. J. Finn.

A woman sees a murder from her window but no one will believe her. Her agoraphobia has lead to her life being lived through old films, websites and spying on neighbours, so perhaps she is confusing fact with fiction?

A good thriller bar two points.

Please can we stop calling books 'The woman......' or 'The girl.......' It has been done, whether said female is on a train, in black, white, tattooed, before, upstairs, in Cabin 10 or even wearing a pearl earring, please just stop.

Secondly, I guessed the plot twist regarding the husband and daughter straight away. I am normally the last person sniff out the clues but this particular technique has been used in 'We need to talk about Kevin' and 'Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine', so even I saw it marching towards me. This is frustrating as it is not the main story, it serves as a side dish of distraction which I was glad to see the back of when the real excitement started.