The Woman in the Window

by A. J. Finn

[pamela]

A.J. Finn's The Woman in the Window was neither groundbreaking, not particularly original, but it was a lot of fun to read. I flew through it over two days, reading well into the early hours just to see what happened next. There was nothing that I couldn't predict, and I must admit that some of the twists did defy logic at times, but nonetheless, it was thrilling, fast-paced and just a lot of fun.

Anna Fox is a child psychologist who suffers from agoraphobia. Housebound, she lives her life watching the comings and goings of her neighbours. She has very few visitors, and occupies her time drinking, watching old thrillers, drinking, counseling other agoraphobics online through a message board, and drinking. When she witnesses something shocking through the window while observing her neighbours one evening, it becomes clear that things may not have unfolded as she believes. With her reports questioned, Anna is forced to confront her own understanding of what she saw.

If you think the plot of The Woman in the Windowsounds remarkably similar to Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window you'd be right. Anna is an alcoholic who watches old thrillers, so both Anna and the reader are forced to question how much her excessive drinking and binge-watching affects the veracity of her claims. Anna is a great character. She's kind, but damaged, and the sense of claustrophobia she feels being trapped in her house is palpable. I didn't particularly like the plot's over-reliance on her alcoholism, as I felt like it was a crutch used to prop her character up sometimes instead of developing her more thoroughly, but despite that, she was well-realised and believable.

The pacing of The Woman in the Window is spot on. It develops at just the right speed to get the reader invested in Anna as a character and trickles new information in at just the right moments to keep the story fresh and exciting. There was action when there needed to be action and enough downtime that reader fatigue never got a chance to set in. I would have liked to see the setting of the story developed a bit more, as I didn't get a real sense of Anna's surroundings. Despite the entire plot taking place in her home, I was never able to visualise it, but this isn't something I noticed until later, and it certainly didn't detract from my reading at the time.

My most significant criticism of The Woman in the Window is that some of the plot points, while dramatic, did defy belief at times. There are certain things that I think Anna's profession would have made it difficult for her to overlook that are essential to the way the plot pans out. There is also no explanation for why exactly Anna is so alone. Agoraphobia affects Anna's ability to go out, but she must have had friends and relatives from before that time who would visit her. She doesn't seem to have any social anxiety, so for me, this needed to explored and explained a bit better.

The Woman in the Window is a fast-paced, popcorn thriller. There is nothing new or original here, but it's well written, and a lot of fun to read. I haven't been this engrossed in a book for a while, so it was great to have something that was just so enjoyable. It made me excited about reading, and ready to dive into the next book.