The Woman in the Window - A. J. Finn

Watching is like nature photography: You don't interfere with the wildlife.

The Woman in the Window is the debut novel of A. J. Finn, published in 2018. It's a suspense/psychological thriller book about Anna Fox, a woman who saw her neighbor getting stabbed in their house. Things get complicated when later on the supposedly dead neighbor was found alive and well, but not the same person Anna thought she was.

The book was told from the perspective of the main character, Anna, who recently had an agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder which basically makes her unable to go outside her home. The main aspect of  the story is how Anna was forced to question her own minds. What's real and what's just an effect of her unhealthy daily dose of wine consumption.

The story of the book was cleverly written. The writer put every little bit of clue along the way very subtly, so that it could be paid off later on. While the basic story of unreliable-protagonist-who-became-a-witness-of-a-crime is quite popular these days (e.g., In a Dark Dark Wood), I think this book is distinguished by its strong display of its theme. The theme being psychology. About how Anna is a child psychiatrist and the irony of how she couldn't even figure out her own mind and what's happening in her life. And also how the important plots and conflicts are driven by the characters' psychology.

Overall, I love this book. Despite its thick size, the book is fast-paced and the plot keeps me intrigued until the final page. Although there are some confusing plot-lines, the unexpected final plot twist really made up for that. Glad I picked up this book.

Title
The Woman in the Window
Author
A. J. Finn
ISBN
9786023853281
First Published
2018
Language
Indonesian
Pages
584
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