Reviews with content warning for Death - The Woman in the Window

I cheered for Anna, I doubted Anna, and I was surprised by Anna. Overall, I enjoyed The Woman in the Window and connected with the characters just enough.

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smixter88's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Oh my gosh. I loved this book from the second I opened it to the very last page. I keep typing stuff and deleting it, because it will probably spoil the book. There is just so much I can say about this book. I was in such a huge reading slump, but this brought me out of it. I went in completely blind, as I do most of the time. I highly suggest doing that. As always, if you have triggers, you should check them before going in blind. This was just a great thriller. I found myself trying to solve a mystery. I felt compassion when necessary. The writing is 🤌🏻. You feel what you're supposed to feel. You gasp at all the right places. Maybe even hold a breath you didn't realize you were holding. 😂 What more can I say? Read it.

⭐️ wasted my time
⭐️⭐️ not terrible but not great
⭐️⭐️⭐️ good, but wouldn't read again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really liked it and recommend it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ absolutely loved it! Move it up on your TBR

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literatureleaf's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Age: 16+

Reading time: 4 days

Difficulty level: 2/5

Rating: 6.5/10

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn follows Anna Fox, a no-longer practicing child psychologist who finds herself suffering from agoraphobia after tragedy strikes her household. While battling her own mind, Anna passes the time by watching her neighbors. Most of the time she sees nothing but the mundanity of rich, suburban lifestyles, but one fateful day a new family, the Russell’s, move into the neighborhood, and everything changes.

After observing the new neighbors through her windows, and getting to know Jane Russell, the woman of the house, and Ethan Russell, her teenage son, Anna begins to suspect that everything is not quite as it should be within the household, and the root of the domestic strife lies with Alistair, Jane’s husband and Ethan’s father. One night the situation reaches a boiling point, and Anna witnesses something that no one was meant to see, sending her spiraling into a web of deception and mystery where she quickly finds that she can trust no one, not even herself.

Finn pens a gripping portrait of a psyche ravaged by loneliness, substance abuse, and mental illness. Anna is a flawlessly executed unreliable narrator, and an air of tormented despair permeates throughout the book, creating a continuous feeling of dread and uncertainty. At times the narration can become a bit longwinded, and Anna tends to ramble, but for the most part, within the context of her fragile mental state, this works with the story rather than against it.

At the heart, The Woman in the Window is a thriller, and Finn is certainly a master of the genre. The book centers around one large mystery, with several other, smaller, interconnected mysteries at play that intertwine seamlessly into one main plotline. Each element is given just the right amount of attention, and the different subplots serve to flesh out the main story, rather than overshadow it. The suspense scenes are not only plentiful, but executed to near perfection, igniting a feeling akin to holding a live wire. Holding your breath is nearly a guarantee!

Despite the expertly crafted suspense elements, the book struggles with the mysteries themselves. The twists were, for the most part, largely unoriginal, and despite the riveting leadups, the reveals themselves were underwhelming, leading to a feeling much like eating a delicious dinner, then following it up with a prepackaged Hostess cake from the local gas station for dessert. When considering the high caliber of the rest of Finn’s writing, the twists can’t help but feel phoned in.

Unfortunately, the mysteries aren’t the only aspect of the novel that leaves something to be desired. At times, it feels like the book is taking on more than it can handle. Without giving too much away, in addition to being a simple thriller, The Woman in the Window attempts to delve into mental health, family, resiliency, domestic abuse, grief, and drug addiction. While some of these are explored in detail and very well done, others fall by the wayside and are not given the respect and attention that such heavy topics deserve. However, when so much is crammed into one book, it is almost inevitable that certain themes will take precedence over others.

At its core, The Woman in the Window is a fun and suspenseful read that excels at keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Anna is an outstanding main character, and Finn makes it startlingly easy to empathize with her, even when revelations are made that don’t cast her in the best light. The plot is solid and entertaining throughout, and, despite the predictable twists and less-than-stellar exploration of some of the heavier themes, Finn is undeniably great at writing a novel that’s no less than a great time.

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elkiebear's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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moraina's review

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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

4.25

Unreliable narrator being gaslit for a large portion of the book. Several twists - I thought I had it figured out but things kept changing, it really picked up in pace for the last 100 pages or so. Things wrapped up nicely at the end. I don’t know that I would ever reread this, so I am not giving it five stars, but it was quite entertaining.

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