BOOK 205: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW: A.J. FINN

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 neighbours.

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. (from goodreads.com)

MY VERDICT: I did enjoy this book, it was a quick and easy read that kept you interested all the way through. But it was predictable - if you’ve ever watched a thriller then you could pretty much work out all the twists and turns before the middle of the novel. It didn't take away too much from the enjoyment though. I did find the book to be slightly problematic in the portrayal of Agoraphobia. I am very close to someone with the condition and found the representation to be used as a plot point only and with very little depth or reality to it - the same with the psychology in the book in general. Not once did I believe in the narrators validity as a psychologist - one of the truths the unreliable narrator gives us but not in a way that is grounded in anything that’s believable.

And all the above could also be applied to the film Copycat which is very similar to this story but a very enjoyable film.

I suppose that’s because the writer is not a psychologist but also probably not able to fit in a lot of supplementary information into a tightly written plot. Since reading the book I’ve found from Wikipedia that the novel’s writer, Daniel Mallory, has a history of (to put it nicely) misrepresenting himself - this article (below) does include spoilers to the novel but I highly recommend reading it if you’ve read the book or uninterested in reading it - or just read the start which doesn’t include the spoilers to give you an idea of what Daniel Mallory is all about. Let’s just say he might have used a pseudonym for a reason...

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/11/a-suspense-novelists-trail-of-deceptions