Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

71 reviews

gloriazthompson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Death, Child death, Violence, Car accident, Addiction, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

jackobotts's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

andreia's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

meh. i guess i might recommend this to someone who hasn't read many thrillers/mysteries before and is easily surprised. otherwise, this is so unnecessarily long that you can pretty much predict every plot twist because you have more than enough time to pick up and reflect on all the not-so-subtle clues. i didn't exactly see that very last plot twist coming but it felt like such a cliche cop out that it just made me roll my eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

queenfury's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This was a mess of a book for me, full of cliches, predictable "twists," and unlikable characters.

The writing was not very good, either. The similes were numerous, awkward, and unnecessary, and I knew immediately that the author was a man (every woman the narrator sees had her breasts mentioned at least once). The editor(s) needed to go through the manuscript a few more times, as I found quite a lot of the prose added nothing to neither the story nor Anna's character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Stalking, Grief, Ableism, and Addiction

Moderate: Death, Child death, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Sexual violence, and Confinement

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Violence

Extreme gaslighting of main character by everyone around her.

mermaidslace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love the twists here and would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Car accident, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcoholism

Minor: Child abuse

fionac326's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity and Child death

dont_stop_meow's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

ldandridge's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Good building of suspense; there were parts of the plot that seemed like they were supposed to be kinda twisty but felt really predictable/obvious, but other parts that kept me guessing. The whole book takes place over a span of two weeks, which I liked about it. I added a handful of content warnings - I think that all of these topics were handled well by the author, but for those who are sensitive to these topics, the warnings are there nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity and Drug abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

leahrosereads's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This one started off slow, fair warning.  It took around 120 pages to get interesting, and honestly, that's just too many pages to build a character for me.  After that though, this book really took off.  Unfortunately, I didn't like most aspects of it.  While I'm not an avid reader of the thriller/mystery genres, I was able to guess most every twist, without trying, and that always really bums me out.  I prefer to be shocked, and I just wasn't here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief

Minor: Body shaming and Animal cruelty

cleverhans's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Violence, and Stalking

One day, I'll find a thriller with an agoraphobic main character written with skill and empathy. This was not that thriller. AJ Finn seems to feel contempt for most of his characters, which really isn't my favorite vibe. The writing was fine, the plot was average, and I experienced about equal measures of frustration and suspense. It's a decent book to get you through a flight or train ride, but I don't think this is an author I'll be returning to any time soon.