#1 New York Times Bestseller – Soon to be a Major Motion Picture starring Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman – Available on Netflix on May 14, 2021
“Astounding. Thrilling. Amazing.” —Gillian Flynn
“Unputdownable.” —Stephen King
“A dark, twisty confection.” —Ruth Ware
“Absolutely gripping.” —Louise Penny
For readers of Gillian Flynn and Tana French comes one of the decade’s most … Ware
“Absolutely gripping.” —Louise Penny
For readers of Gillian Flynn and Tana French comes one of the decade’s most anticipated debuts, to be published in thirty-six languages around the world and already in development as a major film from Fox: a twisty, powerful Hitchcockian thriller about an agoraphobic woman who believes she witnessed a crime in a neighboring house.
It isn’t paranoia if it’s really happening . . .
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.
Twisty and powerful, ingenious and moving, The Woman in the Window is a smart, sophisticated novel of psychological suspense that recalls the best of Hitchcock.
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The Woman in the Window is one of those rare books that really is unputdownable. The writing is smooth and often remarkable. The way Finn plays off this totally original story against a background of film noir is both delightful and chilling.
Astounding. Thrilling. Lovely and amazing….Finn has created a noir for the new millennium, packed with mesmerizing characters, stunning twists, beautiful writing and a narrator with whom I’d love to split a bottle of pinot. Maybe two bottles—I’ve got a lot of questions for her.
The Woman in the Window is a tour de force. A twisting, twisted odyssey inside one woman’s mind, her illusions, delusions, reality. It left my own mind reeling and my heart pounding. An absolutely gripping thriller.
A dark, twisty confection with an irresistible film noir premise. Hitchcock would have snapped up the rights in a heartbeat.
Compelling, wrenching, and gasp-for-breath exciting ― I was blown away.
This book has had a lot of buzz and it’s understandable. Fast-paced and twisty, fans of Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW and of domestic suspense will race through this as I did.
Terrific beginning and end, slow and draggy throughout the long middle. Very literate language (often too flowery, smarter-than-you prose), but not an original story – it’s Rear Window. Recommended if you have patience for a loooong, slow build.
Loved this fun-to-read and suspenseful psychological thriller! Can’t wait to read more from AJ Finn!
Highly recommend!
An excellent debut novel that I read in two days! Just couldn’t put it down. Loved this novel and it reminded me a lot of Hitchcock’s, Rear Window, which I also loved. I loved how the author had the reader even doubting herself as to what was real and what wasn’t. Superb plot with a satisfying ending. And apparently, it’s being turned into a motion picture.
There were a few smaller reveals in this story that I saw coming, but the main one ended up being both surprising and satisfying! The Woman in the Window was definitely a page-turner with a refreshingly original plot for this genre. Would recommend to anyone who likes a good psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator and plenty of twists.
This book totally engrossed me! I really liked how fast-paced it was, and I thought the writing was a step above (not something I usually notice or look for in a plot-centric thriller). I can’t say I was entirely satisfied by the twists, though that may be more a product of my extremely high expectations for this book.
A solid, fast-paced read for fans of psychological thrillers. I love an unreliable narrator, and Anna is as unreliable as they come. She’s constantly drinking and popping pills, and even though you feel sorry for her, you don’t know if you can trust her account of what’s happening. In fact, she doesn’t even know if she can trust herself. The suspense was taut through the big reveal and kept me flipping pages, although I was a little bit disappointed at what it actually was.
I totally believed in the main character–until it became apparent she didn’t even know what she saw. If you love classic movies, you’ll appreciate this modern take on Rear Window. I wish there were more books like this.
Mr. Finn’s novel caught my attention from the moment I started reading. At first, you believe you’re reading about a snoop spying through her window at neighbors. But it’s oh so much more sinister and heartrending as we learn about agoraphobic Dr. Anna Fox. Shut inside for months, her only forms of entertainment are old black and white movies and her new neighbors. Anna believes she’s seen something gruesome through her window. She swears her neighbor was murdered, but no one believes her. Mr. Finn leaves the reader doubting Anna, wondering if all the medication and drinking has warped her sense of reality. Did she really see a murder? No one believes her, not even the police or her doctor. You will find yourself analyzing Anna, wondering about suspicious characters entering her world. But most of all, you won’t be able to put this book down, trying to figure out whether the perceived murder was real or a figment of Anna’s imagination. The ending will either shock or confirm what you’ve suspected all along. Good read!
This book lives up to the hype. A fun page-turner with a lot of great twists. Perfect summer read.
Wow, this story is filled with amazing twists and turns that you won’t see coming. Fast-paced page turner. It’s a reimagining of Rear Window for the modern age. Finn keeps you guessing until the very end. The heroine is an unreliable narrator which ups the suspense. The prose sings. Clear, crisp, infinitely readable. Loved this book.
Six stars! The storytelling, plotting and writing of The Woman in the Window are absolutely masterful.
Following a horrific accident that leaves her physically and emotionally traumatized, child psychologist Anna Fox becomes agoraphobic. Terrified of leaving her house, she spends her days playing online chess, hanging out in chat rooms counseling other agoraphobics (do as I say, not as I do), and spying on her neighbors from her window. Then one day she witnesses a murder in the house across the street. Since Anna is on strong psychotropic drugs and further self-medicates with multiple bottles of merlot, her account is disbelieved.
In fact, the reader even wonders, did a murder occur? Who actually was the victim? Who was the perpetrator?
Unreliable-narrator-witnesses-a-murder is not a new concept but the execution of The Woman in the Window is flawless and keeps the reader guessing from the beginning until the surprise ending.
I couldn’t sleep until I finished this book, and then I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about it. There were no superfluous details in this story. Every single detail means something and connects to the climax.
As an author, I confess that when I read another writer’s book, I think one of two things: “I can do that” or “Damn, I wish I could do that.”
The Woman in the Window is a “Damn, I wish I could do that.” Bravo!
Twisted to the power of max. Hitchcockian suspense with a 21st century twist.
“Watching is like nature photography: You don’t interfere with the wildlife.”
Wow! A.J. Finn took a retelling of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window and added his own twists and turns until it became his very own. I have to admit, I’m losing patience with the plethora of psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators, but I really was taken for surprise when the ending revealed the truth about what was going on. Well-done on an engaging and surprising debut! A film adaptation is already in process and with Amy Adams starring, it’s going to be a wild ride.
A well written study of a desperate life, teetering between a world she devised and the real one. But wait, the real one isn’t real, either. A haunting look as a damaged person tries to just get through the day.