Wow - I really loved this book. I've read a lot of psychological thrillers and thought I had got this story line sussed from early on in the book, but I was wrong. It was a truly gripping read and I really enjoyed the ending which did come as a surprise. Highly recommended.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 Stars

This book had some real promise but was let down by -

- Too few characters so made it easy to guess the bad guy/gal
- Overly descriptive of the oldie films, her pills and wine drinking
- Took too long to get going and felt like a long book
- Lack of likeable characters made it hard to engage / care about what happened

An average book.

Thus was a slow burner for me, enjoyed the story though but was at times creepy to say the least. I hope there is more writing to come from this author.

I'm thrilled to have started the new year with such a tense and twisty gem of a book. Nothing will put you in the mood for classic film noir like The Woman in the Window! Agoraphobia sufferer Anna (Dr. Fox) loves her flicks from the golden age of Hollywood and should have recognized the similarities between her life and that of 'Jeff', Jimmy Stewart's character in Rear Window.

Locked away in her home and afraid to leave it, Anna witnesses a murder, whilst neighbor watching, but comes to doubt what she saw given the prescription medication she takes recklessly and the vast quantity of wine she consumes daily. Could it have really happened or was it a hallucination side effect from her pills? The Woman in the Window reveals its many mysteries in a carefully controlled, thoughtful way, much like a well scripted black and white thriller. There are a fair few gotchas to keep the reader tightly focused plus some great film recommendations too.

Anna is such a likeable and sympathetic character. I felt for her and the sad quality of life she endures. With only a handful of people in her small world (and a cat!), this novel cleverly crafted a larger scope that, in a strange way, gets Anna out into the world though that's the last thing she wants.

I much prefer thrillers that keep me guessing and shock me with the big whodunit reveal. Not so here. I did crack it but was left in suspense regarding the motivation. Thankfully, there are multiple mysteries to solve and I couldn't figure them all out... though I had a handful of (wrong) theories as information was disclosed. Regardless, this was a tense and gripping novel that kept me involved and fixated from page one. I anxiously await the next offering from A.J. Finn!

A tense and gripping read with surprising plot twists which keep you intrigued - it's definitely a page turner, a very fast read.

4 Stars.

I absolutely loved this book, it was so well written, just like an old film noir.
Gripping and claustrophobic at times, you have to feel for agoraphobic Anna, who was a strong and yet pitiful character.
There were so many twists and unexpected turns that I truly didn't know if Anna had gone insane or if she really witnessed what she said she did.
The language was easy to read and the story flowed along at a fast pace, I liked the characters and how the writer portrayed them, especially Anna, who needed to seem weak and yet strong at the same time (and a bit brave/stupid considering all the alcohol she drank with those meds).
I honestly couldn't put this book down and will definitely read more by this author.

What a refreshingly original read! It’s not a book that can easily be categorised because there are so many elements but that said it was suspenseful enough to have me holding my breath at times. Shocks galore and how did I manage to love and sympathise with Anna in one paragraph and feel such annoyance and frustration with her in the next?
I never give the plot of a book away in my reviews as the element of surprise is the best part and this book has that in bucketfuls …read it it’s great!

As i suffer with severe agoraphobia i am always hesitant about reading books on that subjects as i feel not many capture the problem correctly but this book was spot on. Anna's experiences throughout the book felt so real and authentic it was unsettling at times. As if the author was writing from my own memories. The story was engaging and i raced through this as i needed to see what happened. I love the twists and was stunned by the final one. Amazing book.

I am astounded to know that this is A J Finn's first novel. It is atmospheric, evocative, scary in places, thrilling in others and a psychological chiller.
Voracious reader that I am I will admit to having worked out some of the major points but knowing what did not answer when, why or how?
The final chapters ran at such a pace that it was impossible to put my kindle down.
Thanks to netgalley for providing this pre publication ecopy in return for my honest review.

Former child psychologist, Dr. Anna Fox, has become a recluse - shut away in her own home - a victim of agoraphobia. Too afraid to step outdoors, she watches the world pass by from the windows of her upmarket New York home. Separated from husband Ed and daughter Olivia, she fills her days with booze, pills, online chess and a chat forum for agoraphobics.

When the Russells move into an empty house opposite, Anna's interest is piqued. She secretly watches through the zoom lens of her camera. One evening a frantic scream shatters the silence and Anna sees something she wasn't meant to see in the Russell's house... something terrifying, something she's helpless to prevent.

Oh my, I really enjoyed this debut psychological thriller from A. J. Finn. It was brimming with suspense and intensity. I didn't know what was real and what was imagined. More importantly, it kept me guessing right until the end. It was one of those books you have to keep reading until you know how it finishes. It was addictive and completely absorbing.

Anna's dysfunctional lifestyle was excellently portrayed and although the book had only a handful of characters, each was developed to just the right degree with no unnecessary 'padding'. An abundance of fantastic twists and turns kept me on my toes; ok, so some the reader will figure out but others are cleverly concealed. And that ending, WOW!

Anyone reading this book will naturally associate it with Hitchcock's classic 1950's movie Rear Window. James Stewart, recovering from a broken leg, spies on a neighbour through his apartment window and suspects him of murdering his wife. But there the comparison ends. Read it and discover for yourself. Or wait until the movie - yes, apparently there's a movie currently in production. Me? I'm just pleased I had the opportunity to read such a fantastic novel.

Okay, I thought, “Here we go again- another book they are calling the biggest thriller of 2018”. Well, still my sceptic heart. It was FABULOUS!! This is a taut, compelling thriller which brought every emotion to the fore. I can’t rave about this enough. Truly remarkable. Read it. Now.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story is of a lady housebound because of agrophobia. There are many twists and turns that kept me hooked many of them I did not see coming... I loved that. It is written from the perspective of a person who battles with alcohol and prescription drugs, and as such at times the story is a bit disjointed. I found the middle few chapters a bit slow, however the rest of the book is brilliant, unusual and thoroughly gripping.

Debut psychological thriller from AJ Finn, who has been gaining rave reviews from some big name authors.

The story focuses on child psychologist Anna Fox who has not left her home in over ten months due to a life changing event, that is slowly revealed through the course of the book. She spends her days online, in particular a forum for fellow agoraphobics, and watching her neighbours, especially when a new family the Russells move in. The book really gathers pace once Anna hears a scream from the Russells’ house and then all manner of events are set in motion. You’ll have to read the book as no spoilers here, save to say the ending will catch many surprise.

It is a classic page turner, I wanted to keep reading a few pages more just to see what happens – a sign of a good psychological thriller. Downside is that a couple of twists you can guess, however it is a highly readable debut and looking forward to the second novel from this author.

A fantastic book. that you just want to keep reading to find out what happened. I loved the way in which the book was written and how from the offset you are curious as to why Anna Fox is the way she is and what has she really seen from the window.

A definite recommendation for a cleverly written suspense/thriller especially for a debut novel and I look forward to hearing about its success in 2018.

If you are a person that needs to like a protagonist to enjoy a book, this might not be for you, because Anna is a woman on a path to self destruction. Estranged from her family and suffering from acute agoraphobia, that we assume has been triggered by an unknown (to us) trauma, she is surviving on a diet of wine and prescription drugs and seems to be steadily spiralling out of control. She clearly doesn’t like herself very much and from her “ivory tower” where she watches the comings and goings of her neighbors, it’s clear she holds everyone else much with the same disdain. Put it this way, she wouldn’t be much fun at a party. And the author really wants you to know how s*** life is for Anna, as the first quarter of the book takes it's time setting the scene for her pathetic existence, to the point where I was starting to find it a bit tedious. However, devoting this length of time in the book to detailing how Anna fills her time on her own as a prisoner in her own home, does help to highlight to us how alone and vulnerable she is and you do find yourself pitying her.

And then the thing happens. The horrific event that she witnesses from her window that sets her off on another path and mercifully the story speeds up from here. The 'event' is very spooky and shocking, especially as seen through Anna's eyes.

Much like “Girl on the train” our protagonist is an unreliable witness. Knowing as we do, that she spends much of her time drunk or drugged up to the eyeballs, we find ourselves questioning her reliability and how much of what she things has happened has actually happened. That’s quite clever as you’re never sure if the events that Anna recalls are actually true.

There were a few things that stopped this being a stellar thriller for me. It was a slightly cliched whodunnit - I predicted both of the twists before they happened, although that could be because I read a lot in this genre, so there aren’t a lot of twists I haven’t encountered.

There’s a bizarre sexual encounter in the book, that added absolutely nothing to the plot or the development of the characters, that did leave you thinking, “what was the point of that??” I could have done without that.

Theres a huge amount of references to old black and white movies - Anna spends much of her drunken time in her house watching movies, and sometimes you can’t tell the movie quotes from the narration. (And most of the quotes went way over me had I’m afraid) Although that does demonstrate her confused state quite accurately.

And the the thing that annoys me the most - that moment at the end of the book when we find out “who dunnit” and that character revels in describing (before they attempt to finish their victim) why and how they’ve done everything. I understand from a narrative point of view that you need to find a way to explain to the audience what has been going on, but it just seems unlikely that any mastermind criminal would just willingly explain everything - think the end of every episode of “Columbo”!

All in all this was actually quite a solid and fast paced (once it really got going about a quarter of the way in) thriller. However I think it’s undoing is the amount of the hype surrounding it. The applauding quote on the front of the cover is from Gillian Flynn and it has plaudits from Stephen King amongst many authors. And it’s also had what I now think of as the kiss of death for any book: “it’s the next ‘Girl on the train’”. I swear if I read that comparison one more time.....! It’s not... but it’s still good in its own way.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Woman in the Window is published on 25th January by HarperCollins.

Anna Fox is a prisoner in her own home. Suffering with severe agoraphobia, she hasn’t left the Harlem brownstone for the best part of a year, and instead passes her days self-medicating on a diet of merlot and pills. Unable to exist in the real world outside, her only access to reality is the through the window that separates her from the streets below.

“Many of us – the most severely afflicted, the ones grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder – are housebound, hidden away from the messy, messy world outside. Some dread the heaving crowds; others, the storm of traffic. For me, it’s the vast skies, the endless horizon, the sheer exposure, the crushing pressure of the outdoors.”

Taking photographs of her neighbours about their daily business, it’s easy enough to dismiss her as a fraught, disturbed woman who is so dosed up on a toxic cocktail that we can’t take a word she says seriously. But prior to her self-enforced imprisonment, Anna was a child psychologist – and a good one. If there’s anyone who knows about the workings of the mind, it should be her.

When the Russells move into the street, her delicate equilibrium – occasional visits from her psychiatrist, phone calls with her estranged partner and daughter and online games of chess – is disrupted. Convinced she has heard a piercing scream and seen a violent attack, Anna sets about trying to disentangle the truth from what is uncertain. Trapped indoors, the silence punctuated by film noir, it becomes difficult to ascertain what is real and what is happening within the confines of her mind…

It’s important to note that this book came with huge hype – glowing accolades from everyone from Stephen King to Gillian Flynn. Expectations were high, and whilst it kept my interest, it didn’t have me on the edge of my seat. I think I’ve just had one-too-many an unreliable narrator of late, and it’s wearing thin. The pace could have done with being ramped up a few notches, and there were some plot points that left me scratching my head in confusion.

That said, the strength of this psychological thriller was the exposition – our protagonist suffering from a debilitating condition, the claustrophobic confines, stale air and dim light of her five-storey home, sinister film noir playing perpetually in the background. Finn crafts all the essential components of any decent thriller, and writes well with punchy, rhythmic prose. For a debut, it’s a good effort.

Wow I have to say this story had more twists than a helter skelter. At times I felt as if I was in one of Anna's much loved old films. Anna is a child psychologist and is married to Ed with a young daughter Olivia. Some thing happened in the past to make Ed and Olivia leave, but what? Since that day Anna became agrophobic, she spent her days inside, drinking, popping pills while watching old black and white films. Her daily intereractions with her husband and daughter, her own psychologist and physio are often one sided. No one seems to be able to shake Anna from rut she is in. After spending months watching the world go by her window she starts to notice things happening with a new family who have moved in over the road. Anna sees things that others don't, things that aren't right. After she contacts the police about a crime she has witnessed things start to go wrong. Everyone believes Anna is a messed up drunk who halluconates due to the medication she is on. Even Anna now starts to believe this.

Every now and then a book comes along that you just want to read and read, and read again because you are sitting there wondering what on earth just happened. The Woman in the Window is one of those. Tipped to be one of the biggest thrillers of 2018, for that reason alone, you know it's going to be a novel that divides opinion, but I absolutely loved it.

Anna Fox hasn't left her home for ten months. She is suffering from agoraphobia, post traumatic stress and anxiety. Her husband and daughter have gone, she has only her tenant David, her online forums, old movies and the street for company.

Yes, I did say street...

Anna likes to watch her neighbours through her window. She has a clear vantage point of the whole street, where she can see literally everything. The Russell's across the road, have just moved in and are a welcome distraction for Anna.

The Woman in the Window is a twisty, complex thriller and just as you think you have it sussed, something else is thrown into the mix. I was kept guessing literally the whole way through and couldn't have it enjoyed it any more.

This is a difficult book to review without giving too much away, so I'll just say this - I read a lot of this genre and didn't see the ending coming, and if I was still dishing out star ratings, this one would be getting a bit fat five from me.

‘The Woman in the Window’ is one of the best thrillers I’ve read recently and likely to be a big hit in 2018. At the beginning of the story we could be forgiven for thinking that we’re privy to the creepy habits of a committed voyeur but the truth is far stranger and far more haunting. Anna, a child psychologist, suffers from agoraphobia and lives apart from her husband, Ed, and young daughter, Olivia. She is also an alcoholic. Over the course of several days she becomes increasingly convinced that Jane, her neighbour opposite, is being abused by her husband and that their teenage son Ethan is also caught up in the suffering. All of her suspicions come to a head when she sees Jane fatally injured during one of her regular studies of the Russell family’s goings-on. But the police do not believe her and the rest of the novel focuses on why not and what Anna has to do to uncover the truth.
This is, of course, a ‘whodunnit’ – if anyone has! However, it is also a sensitive study of loss, grief, isolation and loneliness and, not least, parent-child relationships and these are the elements that stay with the reader long after the last page has been read. This is a beautifully written novel. A J Finn creates credible characters, as varied as the hard-boiled woman police officer, the vulnerable teenager and the enigmatic lodger without resorting to stereotype. He also conjures up the grubby interior of Anna’s house, the dust motes, the empty wine bottles, the sticky surfaces, all more and more depressing as the days pass whilst, in the background, classic black and white DVDs are Anna’s celluloid companions, reminding us of stories which have influenced the writing of this novel. Nevertheless, this is not a pastiche of Hitchcock et al. A J Finn has created a first-rate thriller in his own right.

I haven’t seen a 2018 release talked about more than The Woman in the Window! The early reviews have been mainly positive with most people raving about its intriguing plotline and cleverly created characters with most reviewers agreeing that it’s going to be a huge bestseller! Apparently it’s also going to be a film so if you’re someone who always prefers the book to the film, make sure you read this first! It’s a bit of an atmospheric, visual fest so I can see why someone thought it would transfer well to the big screen. The claustrophobic setting managed to balance Anna’s agoraphobia making me feel boxed in and struggling to breath myself at times! It read like a film noir so I wasn’t surprised to see so many references to old black and white movies in there as it brought those darkly disturbing and sinister plot threads together. If you’re a fan of Hitchcock or of Peter Swanson then I guarantee this book will grab you and refuse to let you go until that final shocking denouement. There were enough gasp out loud moments along the way to make this one of the most talked about books of 2018! It’s clever construction, along with it’s distinctive style of nostalgia wrapped up in a slow burning narrative, will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing to attention throughout. Highly recommended by me!