Be careful when you look out! Book review: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

An engaging, riveting, unnerving, almost creepy page-turner that will have you rooting for the protagonist by the end! You don’t want to miss this one :)

Anna Fox. A lone woman who lives in a four-storey house. She hasn’t left home in over a year. She watches her neighbours through her windows. Their lives, their routines, her pills, her booze; and her classic noir thrillers keep her days filled; while her sleeping pills take care of her nights.

There was once a family. A husband. A daughter. But they are now separated. Or so she says.

There was once a job too. Helping children. As a clinical psychologist.

But that is all in the past. Now, there is the loneliness, and her hobbies – spying on her neighbours, playing online chess, and offering online advice to strangers who are in a similar situation as hers – that keep her occupied. And of course, the new neighbours who have just moved in, in the house across the park. A family. A father, a mother. A teenage son – with a ‘good boy aura’ around him.

And then there is a murder.

Anna sees it through her window. A woman is killed. A woman who Anna has met just recently.

But who is the killer? And why is everyone keen on keeping this woman's identity, a secret? Why are they making it out as if she never existed?

The police don’t believe Anna. And the new neighbours are keen to keep it that way.

But Anna knows what she saw! Or does she?

In Anna, we find a protagonist who is as real and relatable as any. And as we get to know her story, in her own words, a picture begins to emerge. Full of intrigue and luster. Full of half-truths, and deceit; and then the heart wrenching truth hits us with all its might!

Depression is hard enough to live with. Even more so for the person who is suffering from it. Add to it, a harrowing mix of guilt, denial and strong medication (which should not, but is, mixed with alcohol); and you have a disaster waiting to happen. And when this volatile mixture is confronted with manipulative, twisted psychopathy, you have a thriller that refuses to let you go!

Having cut my teeth on Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, and devoured a large part of the Agatha Christie collection in my teens, I knew I would grow up to be a mystery junkie. By now, having downed copious amounts of mysteries, I find that I have gotten very good at predicting a few things. The red herrings don’t get me all that much anymore. And as thrilling and satisfying it is to see my predictions come true; I always keep looking for more and more challenging stories.

Recently, I have begun seeking out psychological thrillers. A genre that is as engaging as it is thrilling; as I have always been interested in psychology. They are a great exercise for the mind as well as the brain. The Woman in the Window is no exception. Intense drama, engaging psychological thrill, an (un)reliable narrator; and a strong story; are the highlights of this fascinating psychological thriller-murder mystery.    

A must read if you love to exercise your mental faculties, or just simple plain enjoy a good whodunit!

!!*Spoiler Alert Warning*!!

If you haven’t read the book yet, you should stop reading now.

For those who have read it, and would like to discuss, read on –

!!*Spoiler Alert Warning*!!

And now for the people who have read the book; I have a few points to share:

1)      I would love to know if anyone guessed at the Ed and Livvy situation, midway, before the actual reveal. Much to my satisfaction, I did. And yet, I still shed a tear or two when the truth was revealed anyway.  

2)      I also figured out who it must have been, who spent the night with David. Hence explaining the earring.

3)      And yet, I came away impressed with the red herrings strewn across the story. I especially enjoyed David. Alistair, I must say, was a good one too.

4)      And finally, for the life of me, I never saw the actual end coming. Even when Ethan went away ostensibly to ‘talk to his parents about going to the police.’ I still kept thinking that Alistair would do something to change his mind… Well, glad that I couldn’t figure everything out, eventually :)