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The Woman in the Window: A Novel
The Woman in the Window: A Novel
The Woman in the Window: A Novel
Audiobook13 hours

The Woman in the Window: A Novel

Written by A. J. Finn

Narrated by Ann Marie Lee

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Don’t miss AJ Finn’s eagerly anticipated new thriller, END OF STORY!

“As the plot seizes us, the prose caresses us. . . [Finn] has not only captured, sympathetically, the interior life of a depressed person, but also written a riveting thriller that will keep you guessing to the very last sentence.” — Washington Post

The #1 bestseller that gripped the world, selling millions of copies around the globe – a tour-de-force 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, mother, their teenaged 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.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateJan 2, 2018
ISBN9780062678430
The Woman in the Window: A Novel
Author

A. J. Finn

A. J. Finn is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the global phenomenon The Woman in the Window, which was published in more than forty languages and is the basis for the hit film starring Amy Adams. 

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Reviews for The Woman in the Window

Rating: 3.8289412604235293 out of 5 stars
4/5

2,125 ratings190 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The central character of A. J. Finn's novel, "The Woman in the Window," is thirty-eight year old Anna Fox, who narrates her story in a series of brief chapters. Fox is a former child psychologist who, after a traumatic event left her emotionally crippled, became agoraphobic. Her once attractive skin is now a mass of "dimples, stipples, stubble, and wrinkles." She pays a psychiatrist, Dr. Fielding, and a physical therapist, Bina, to tend to her at home, but even with their assistance, Anna has made limited progress. Dr. Fielding has convinced her to take a few steps into her rear garden, but when panic ensues, as it always does, she retreats to the safety of her four walls. She drinks wine to excess, takes pills prescribed by Fielding that are delivered to her door, has a tenuous grasp on reality, and regularly scrutinizes her neighbors with a Nikon camera that has a powerful lens. She admits, "My mind is a swamp, deep and brackish, the true and the false mixing and mingling." In addition, she uses the Internet to glean more information about the men and women whose privacy she invades.

    Anna is no saint, but she is smart, funny, and when sober, remarkably self-aware. She plays online chess skillfully, studies French with her tutor via Skype, and counsels fellow agoraphobics who log onto an Internet discussion board. What she needs, but does not yet have, is the courage to face down her powerful demons. One day, while keeping an eye on her neighbors through her closed window ("Here I am, utterly, literally locked in—doors locked, windows shut, while I shy and shrink from the light"), Anna is shocked to witness a murder (shades of Jimmy Stewart). She dutifully reports the crime, but no one believes her. In fact, the local detective, Conrad Little, believes that she is an unstable attention-seeker. The murder, if it did occur, took place in the home of Anna's new neighbors, Alistair Russell, his wife Jane, and their sixteen-year-old son, Ethan. .

    Finn's prose is bitingly satirical, colorful, and frequently hilarious. Anna is obsessive movie-watcher (she loves old black and white films), and selects the DVD "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (Jimmy Stewart again) to enjoy one night. She subsequently puns at her own expense: "I am the woman who viewed too much." The plot thickens when she strikes up a friendship with the aforementioned Ethan, who hints that he is afraid of his father. "The Woman in the Window" moves along briskly, but falters when Finn throws in an over-the-top and wildly melodramatic conclusion. Belatedly, Anna realizes that she may pay a high price for her flawed judgment and unwarranted assumptions. This homage to Hitchcock's "Rear Window" may not be perfect, but Finn's suspenseful, entertaining, and compelling page-turner is destined to become a big bestseller.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was addicted and would rather finish listening to the book rather than sleep. It was an “I have to know what happens” books. I enjoyed it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A.J. Finn kept his readers on edge, from suspense belief to disbelief didn't know what to believe or who did what the characters played their roles everyone was a star, this was engaging and worth every sleeplessss moment Bravo!!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A little slow moving at the beginning, and the plot twists near the end were relatively easy to predict. Still a decent read, though.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    One of the driest books I read in a long time but it has a decent ending.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It was hard to keep going at times, but I’m glad I finished. I would say it has 3 plot twists, not 2, I didn’t expect any of them. I even started hating Ana. Good book!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    great book, lots of twists! great for Hitchcock fans :)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Little confusing. You have to pay attention but good book
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn is a psychological thriller which did not fail to satisfy. An author has to be really good for the storyline to be unpredictable to me; and this author nailed it. This is the story of Ana, (Dr. Fox) an agoraphobic (amongst other things) who lives in New York (Harlem) in her apartment that she never leaves without excruciating pain. Ana spies on her neighbors with her camera lens. She thinks she has found the "perfect" family. And then.......what is real? What is imagined? Who is the "bad" guy? Great read! 427 pages
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    4.5 stars. I very early on guessed a big "plot twist" and guessed the really big ones closer to the reveal, but nonetheless, I enjoyed this and devoured the entire thing throughout the course of one day.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed the few twist it had, but over all it was pretty slow & dragged on a little. In my opinion
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So many surprises. Every time you thought you had it figured out, another twist. Ending was a total surprise.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Narration is excellent, good twists that are surprising but in the end you can retrace your steps for lots of “ah-ha!” moments. Very satisfying.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Anna Fox is an Agoraphobic. She can't leave the house but watches and photographs the people in the street. Anna sees something, a woman getting hurt, but had she seen what she thinks. Anna can't be sure as she drinks a lot and mixes it with a lot of medication.I have really enjoyed this book and being part of Anna's housebound world. The story does remind me of the Hitchcock film Rear Window, Anna watches and Anna sees. There is also a lot of mentions to Hitchcock films during the story as Anna likes the old black and white movies including Hitchcock. I did feel that with the subject matter and how the story pans out it would make a great Hitchcock type film.I was drawn in instantly to the story and wanted to see what was going to happen. Anna is the unreliable narrator and because she drinks heavily did she really see what she claims. Well all is revealed, and I didn't guess so it made the truth a surprise. What I did guess quite easily was why Anna became housebound. All is made clear but that part I did guess really early on in the book.This story has the claustrophobic feel about it with most of the story taking place in Anna's house, and with the unreliable narrative the story is a very tense thriller with a few twist and turns.Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    ***Audio Book Review***

    Details details details, this book is all about the details, big and small.

    The Bad:
    I have to say that given all the hype surrounding this book I was a little underwhelmed. It takes a while for the story to get on its feet, the author spends quite a bit of time establishing the Anna character and her world which is understandable given that 80% of the book is her alone in her home. When the main plot is underway it is very entertaining and holds that for quite a while but unfortunately, by the time I got to the last quarter of the book the two major plot points/twists were very predictable to me, making the book a letdown.

    The Good:
    The writing, I'm not a great writer as you can tell from reading this review but this book is BEAUTIFULLY written. This book is full of dramatic statements and descriptions of the simplest things that most of us do every day. Every sentence is grand yet it never seems to be unneeded or over the top, in fact, it only lends to spotlighting Anna's character and way of thinking. This book is basically about a woman who never (or very seldomly) leaves the house but I was never bored listening to describe her day to day indoors. Anna is the best and worst thing about this book (aside from being a bit predictable) she's so dramatic it's entertaining but also annoying due to her constant bad decision making.

    Overall this author should be proud of his work especially for his first novel, it seems to be enjoying a decent amount of success, maybe a movie adaptation in the near future but the author has said he is already working on his second novel so I'll be looking forward to what he produces next.

    Ann Marie Lee narrated the Audiobook and she was excellent, 5/5 rating
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn is a psychological thriller which did not fail to satisfy. An author has to be really good for the storyline to be unpredictable to me; and this author nailed it. This is the story of Ana, (Dr. Fox) an agoraphobic (amongst other things) who lives in New York (Harlem) in her apartment that she never leaves without excruciating pain. Ana spies on her neighbors with her camera lens. She thinks she has found the "perfect" family. And then.......what is real? What is imagined? Who is the "bad" guy? Great read! 427 pages
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow! A must read thriller for fans of that genre. Really can't compare it to another book. I read this over 400-page book in a day-and-a-half. For most of the book I found the main character, Anna Fox, unsettling to me as she lived each day in an alcohol and drug laced stupor. But at some point I began rooting for her sanity and well-being as the story unfolded. The conclusion is superb. Loved it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed the suspense and was sucked in the entire time, thinking one thing but another being revealed. The story drew me in and I rooted for Dr. Fox the entire read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Loved it! It definitely started off a little slow for me in the beginning but so glad I continued reading. Worth waiting for all the twists and turns! Just when I thought I had it figured out and that’s where the suspense ended, more just kept coming. Recommend 100%
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Wow this is amazing cant wait to read more of it
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Good story. I certainly didn't expect the ending to be like it was.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Some fast facts about The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn:- The book has been sold in 38 territories around the world- It's being adapted into a movie by Fox 2000 StudiosIn this psychological thriller the main character is Anna Fox, child psychologist now agoraphobe who hasn't left her New York townhouse in almost a year. She's an alcoholic who stalks her neighbours online and spies on them through her windows until she sees something shocking.I notice this is being compared to The Girl on a Train, but I only agree with that so far as the main character has a drinking problem, sees something and can be unreliable but that's as far as it goes. I like Anna and was cheering her on whereas Rachel made me groan out loud in frustration.I seem to enjoy agoraphobic characters and it was no different here. It was fascinating to see how Anna struggled with her condition and what she does to fill in her time while still trying to remain useful to society.There were a few twists and turns at the end that had me speeding through the pages and all in all this was an exciting and unpredictable read. Fans of old black and white films will love the cinema references and parallels between this novel and Alfred Hitchcock?s film Rear Window.I enjoyed this more than The Girl on a Train and think it's going to be a fantastic thriller movie when it hits the big screen.* Copy courtesy of Harper Collins *
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This audiobook had me at the edge of my seat. It started slow but , oh my god! It was so good that I could not stop listening.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Slow in the beginning but leaves you biting your fingernails towards the end!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Awesome book! Just when you thought you knew what’s going on of course something else is thrown into the mix! Thanks for the great ride!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was too predictable for me and the one twist I didn’t see coming wasn’t very exciting. That being said, I did enjoy the book anyway for the first three-quarters of it, curious how it would play out. The final scenes were unimaginative and I couldn’t force myself to finish the last couple of chapters. Disappointing.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    It was very well written but the story dragged on for way to long, in my opinion. I don’t think it was worth all the time I put into it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed the book, it was gripping and engaging. The only issue I had was with the author's long winded style of writing - even the smallest of things had the most exhausting descriptions! But I did enjoy the final plot twist at the end, totally didn't see that coming!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Come along for a ride, once the story gets rolling you are on a roller coaster. You can hear the crackle of tension in the air. Truly a spell binding, riveting, breath-taking book. Come along for the ride........what are you waiting for, perhaps you are scared ummmmm.........
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book had a slow start and it was not until midway that it finally picked up but it really went gangbusters after that. It is a quick read because of the writing style. Most of the book is written like a screen play dialogue. The main character is unlikeable and flawed. At times you get frustrated with her and at other times you feel sorry for her when nobody believes her story. The plot was very interesting and kept the pages turning. The twists towards the end were great and I was very much surprised a the ending. I liked the all the old-time noir crime thrillers that were mentioned throughout as the main character was also a movie buff. I would highly recommend this book to those who like psychological thrillers.