The Woman in the Window

I just finished reading this psychological thriller by debut author A.J. Finn and I thought it was great.

Have you ever seen the oldie-goldie movie Rear Window? Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it stars Jimmy Stewart (I lurrrrvvv Jimmy Stewart) as a wheelchair bound fella who has nothing to do but look out his, you guessed it, rear window, and spy on his neighbors.  One night he sees what he believes to be a murder and the story begins.

The Woman in the Window has similar elements.  In this case, the main character is a woman who is emotionally handicapped by severe, trauma-induced agoraphobia.  Anna Fox spends her days inside her house, swilling red wine and over-medicating herself.  She is, or was, a psychiatrist.  Now her main contact with the outside world is through the online therapy she offers to a group of fellow agoraphobia sufferers.  When she’s not interacting with them, she is using her camera to spy on her neighbors.

Now, I would normally think someone who spies on their neighbors all the time is a bit creepy.  But, we have to be sympathetic to someone who is stuck inside all the time, amiright?

Anna forms an unexpected friendship with a boy named Ethan who just moved in across the way.  Very soon afterwards, Anna is looking out her window when she sees a woman, presumably Ethan’s mother, in the dining room window with what looks like a knife jammed into her chest!  Owwie!  Anna watches in horror as the woman sinks to the floor out of sight, smearing blood on the window as she goes. Of course, Anna calls the police. But, they take one gander at Anna and all her empty wine and pill bottles, and give her about a D- in the reliable witness category.  Especially the female investigator who is just a real bwitch!  I did not like her at all.  Anyway, they find nothing amiss at Ethan’s house.

I can’t tell you any more than this without ruining it for ya, which would be mean.  It is very suspenseful and, in some respects, heartbreaking.   There are many takeaways from this book, not the least of which is a reminder that we shouldn’t judge anyone until we’ve walked a mile in their Jimmy Choos.  Or something like that.

The Woman in the Window is being made into a movie starring Amy Adams, due out October 4th.  Cool, huh?  But everyone knows the book is always better than the movie.  So read it as soon as you can!