Photo of the book The Woman in the Window by A J Finn standing up right on a table next to a window.

In Review: The Woman in the Window

I’m sure you have heard of The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn. This book took 2018 by storm. Everywhere I looked, there it was staring at me, judging me for not buying it. You should have seen it. The cold glares, the look of despite, it knew I wanted to read it, but I was denying myself that pleasure. Then one day, I opened the first page.

Author: A. J. Finn Pages: 429 Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense Publication: 2018

Synopsis:

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 neighbours.

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? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

My Review:

I knew I was going to enjoy The Woman in the Window even before reading a single page. Psychological thrillers are a sweet spot for me. I never know who to trust, how real and truthful the information is, and how terrifying humans can be. Psychological thrillers are always exciting and some of the hardest books to review. The less you know, the better.

I thought this story was like The Girl on the Train at least sends those vibes. I never read that book, only saw the movie, and I didn’t like it. So I was apprehensive The Woman in the Window would go down the same way. But the ending… Oh man… that ending… *chef’s kiss*

For any old film enthusiast out there, Anna is your new best friend. There are so many references and descriptions to old movies that any cinephile would love. Personally, I would prefer the story wouldn’t lose time with them. I never heard of any of the films mentioned, and I don’t have any interest in watching them, so it turns those paragraphs a bit boring for me. Although for someone that knows the references, I think they will appreciate them a lot.

The short chapters helped a lot to fly through the book. The story develops very slowly and heavily focus on the characters, making it a dense narrative. It took about 100 pages for something to happen. At some point, I even doubted this was a thriller. The story is broken countless times by references to the films, descriptions of psychological states, and mundane activities. That only makes the story slow down even more, and I’m not one to enjoy slow burns. Although the chapters helped a lot to break the slow pace. And the unravelling of the mysteries was always very entertaining.

Book The Woman in the Window closed showing the Portuguese cover edition on top of a table.

Despite the pace, the way the story is told completely involves the reader. In the beginning, I was trying to find clues, to solve the mystery before the main character, but then I reached a point when I was just living the moment. I was focusing on what was happening at the moment, not what was yet to come. That way, I could be surprised with every little revelation and made the ending much more spectacular.

If you are thinking about reading this book, I recommend using the ebook or the audiobook version. I love reading physical books. Although while reading The Woman in the Window, I found a disadvantage: you can see how many pages are left. At some point, I was questioning everything I knew, and I didn’t embrace that sentiment long enough because I knew there was still a big part of the story left. In a digital version of the book, you can choose to hide how much is left, leaving you in a state of uncertainty for long.

The Woman in the Window was most of all a surprise. It might not have been the best reading experience ever. There was a lot of small details that don’t match my reading preferences. Although I still had a great time and the ending was the cherry on top of the cake, crafted in a way I didn’t see coming at all.

The Woman in the Window has CONTENT WARNINGS for alcoholism, mental illness, panic attacks, death, child death, infidelity, and violence. For a more complete list of all the warnings go to The Storygraph.