I have to admit, initially I really struggled with this book, took me about five attempts to get into it as I found the beginning really slow and nothing was catching my attention. Then something happened, one line caught my interest and then the rest of the book was read in one sitting (so moral of the story, stick with it). The plot is quite intricate and, in some places, glaringly obvious BUT there is enough suspense to draw you further and further into the story. I felt the ending was a bit rushed and conveniently all tied up, not sure what I would have done differently though to be honest.

What a gem of a first book. Deserves to do very well in my opinion. Unusual storyline and narration and very intriguing considering the whole book centres around what occurs in a single street. I've no experience of agoraphobia but really felt for Anna and her predicament. I didn't see any of the twists coming which really kept me on edge for the next twist the whole way through. Utterly compelling reading and highly recommended by me. Looking forward to A.J. Finn's second book.

Ohhh well this was a real thriller, a roller-coaster full of twists and turns right through to the very end.

Anna Fox lives alone, she is an agrophobic meaning that she cannot leave her house. So to spend her time she watches the comings and goings of the houses and surrounding area while also consuming large amounts of alcohol.

When new neighbours move into the house across the park from her she thinks there is more to them than meets the eye. Convinced that there are unsavoury goings on in the Russell household she becomes obsessed with them and involves the police on several occasions. However due to her ever increasing erratic behavior and drinking problems she is cast as a trouble maker and is not believed that something sinister has happened.

As A.J Finn takes you on a journey through this story you cannot get a sense of what is real and what is imagined by Anna. The ending had me on tenterhooks and my heart rate was ten to the dozen such was the anticipation of the danger Anna was in.

A great book for anyone that loves a thriller where you are still guessing right till the end who is the guilty party.

Hailed as “The biggest thriller of 2018” and “The next Girl on the Train” I feel a bit late to the party with this book which was published way back in January, so I’m only 6 months late!! I managed to stay away from reading any reviews so I didn’t see any spoilers and with the statements made about the book from authors such as Stephen King, Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware plus the proclamation of being the biggest thriller this year, that is a serious amount to live up to for anyone, Especially a debut novel!

So even though it has taken me six months to get around to reading it (even though I purchased it on release day!) I was really looking forward to reading it and now in hindsight I think maybe I had too higher hopes and expectations for this book and that is why it fell slightly flat for me 😦

I almost gave up on it more than once, I found the beginning very slow and it just didn’t managed to grab and keep my attention so it took me a few days to reach the half way mark. I really don’t like giving up on a book so I’m glad my stubbornness kept me going as the second half of the book is so much better and it ends much better than it starts!

The ‘massive twist’ is pretty obvious from early on which was a big disappointment, but there is a good ‘twist’ at the end that made the book for me. Obviously I can’t say much else on that without spoilers and I wouldn’t want to do that to anyone and spoil the surprise!

So all in all, was it as good as the hype? Sadly No. Was it worth a read? Definitely Yes. Would I recommend this book to others? Hell Yeah! It might not be “THE” biggest thriller of the year but it will be 1 of the higher rankings come the end of the year. I am glad I read it and I look forward to watching the film adaptation when it is out. And I have a feeling that in this instance the film may well end up being better than the book! But make sure you read this book BEFORE watching the film!!!

Interesting story that has many twists and turns... well worth a read.
I will look forward to reading more from A.J.Finn

If you’re a fan of domestic noir, I can't recommend this book enough. It’s a taut, twisty, nightmarish tale which zips along and which has some refreshing differences. I loved the old film references. Even though I saw some of the twists coming I had to keep reading. Highly addictive.

The Woman in the Window is a very slow starter.it does lay some groundwork for the character. It did not hold my attention as I expected it to.

The Woman in the Window was a good book, just not great. I figured out the twist(s) pretty early on. The book seemed to plod along. It was a slow read for sure.

This was a very enjoyable read. Anna is stuck in her house as she has agoraphobia and her world is her neighbours' windows across the way. She sees something untoward, but everyone thinks it's all in her mind as she's mixing wine with her medications.
As I was reading this, my views on Anna went both ways - was this real or in her head?

This intriguing psychological thriller left the reader guessing, right until the end, as to whether the lead character had lost her mind or not. Recommended.

Anna Fox lives a lonely life, only able to watch from her window as life passes her by. Until recently she was a successful child psychologist but now crippling agoraphobia forces her to live her life away from the rest of the world. She passes life spying on her neighbours and drinking vast quantities of Merlot on top of her medication. When a new family, the Russells, move into her neighbourhood they seem the perfect family. But one evening Anna sees something shocking. But no one believes a reclusive drunk, and slowly she becomes less sure herself until she is questioning her own sanity...

Listen, here's the thing. If you want realism then move along - this is not the novel you are looking for. If you're looking for an entertaining thriller with some reasonably surprising twists jump on in - you're in the right place. There are some leaps of logic ion this novel, which if you're a stickler for realism will grate. For instance would a doctor who is looking closely after a patient prescribe medication to a closet drinker that can cause hallucinations when mixed with alcohol - you'd hope not but it happens here. Also, would police detectives be so openly dismissive and condescending to someone with mental health issues - again you'd hope not! But these are just plot devices to move the story along, and if you can get past those this is an enjoyable read.

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, counselling 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 Window sounds 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.

A great psychological thriller that I enjoyed. I struggled to get into it at first, felt it was a bit slow, but thought I’d try to persevere and boy am I glad I did.
Loved the twists and turns.

This is probably the book I've heard about the most this year. The author is an industry insider and so everyone seems to want to add their tuppence about whether they adore or hate (hate hate) it. In every book group I'm in there's threads saying not to bother and others gushing about it. I'm going to go to gushers cavern and rejoice that there is an atmospheric book out there that transported me to another time, and could have belonged to a different era.

So, we have Anna, a great character that leapt off the screen (I know, screen doesn't have the same ring, does it?) for me. Anna's issues were brilliantly done, she cannot step outside the safety of her own home, and page after page passed as I thought about how paralysing conditions such as this are. Anna's escape is in old movies and this is where Mr Finn's writing truly blew me away, I could see the screen, hear the classy, drama laden voices and they all added to a stunning build up.

People describe this as too much of a slow burner, but I thought it did an excellent job in making you edgy and unnerved, as you wonder what was in store for Anna, and whether you believe her. This build continued to an mesmerizing ending that featured atmospherics that both weather wise and literacy wise blew me away! As an aside I was disappointed with the ending in terms of it's explanation, the 'whodunnit', but most people who loved the book gushed about it so it's probably just me. Definitely recommended (obviously unless you love everything to happen all guns a blazing!)! Thanks so much to Harpercollins and Netgalley for this book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't groundbreaking or anything but I loved the page turning mystery and was eager to find out what it was all about.

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
Claustrophobic, and with a great twist, this is a brilliant psychological thriller. I really enjoyed the film references and liked the quality of the writing. To tell any of the story would spoil the book, but it concerns a woman with Agoraphobia, and what she sees from her window. I read it over two nights, as it was really gripping and I couldn’t wait to find out what happens. Most ernjoyable.

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 neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, 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.
The first 75% of this book was quite slow and although it held my attention, I wasn't really involved in it. But I'm really glad I didn't give up on it because the last 25% was explosive. Completely not what I expected, and I became really invested in the outcome! 4*

An easy to read thriller that has stayed with me after reading. I did guess some elements particularly concerning the husband and daughter but this didn't spoil my enjoyment. Fairly slow paced compared to other recent thrillers I have read but didn't drag too much.
The writing about agoraphobia was compelling and well done. Scarily realistic to consider that this could end up happening so easily.

I saw a lot of posts on social media about The Woman in the Window so I just had to read it for myself and, although I didn't love it as much as I thought I would, I really enjoyed it and I'm pleased that I have read it. It's quite a quick read with short chapters and an intriguing storyline so it's one of those books that you find yourself racing through.

Dr Anna Fox is a child psychologist suffering from agoraphobia. Trapped in her house, she observes her neighbours' lives and binge-watches old black and white movies. Anna gets her zoom lens ready for a real life episode of Neighbours when a new family move into the street. The mother, Jane Russell, introduces herself to Anna but a few days later Anna hears Jane scream...frantically focussing the zoom lens, has Anna just witnessed a murder?

Anna is on medication and drinks a lot of alcohol so her reliability as a witness is called into question by the police and by the reader. I wasn't even sure if Jane Russell was real with Anna's penchant for watching old movies and Jane Russell being the name of a 1950's film star. I love books that make you think like this, as your brain tries to see behind the smoke and mirrors.

Full of suspense with deceptions at every turn, you can't help but raise an eyebrow or drop your jaw at some point in the book. Although very well written, I felt more intrigued than gripped and I do like my heart to race at some point in a book. I think this would be a great book to pack in your suitcase for a holiday read and I can imagine The Woman in the Window being seen a lot on the beach this summer.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

A Rear Window for the 21st century. All the suspense of the Hitchcock classic... with added sex, wine and internet.