The Woman in the Window: A Suspense Novel

 “Watching is like nature photography: You don’t interfere with the wildlife.”

Author: A.J. Finn

Title: The Woman in the Window

Genre: Suspense

Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Number of Pages: 448

Geographical Setting: New York City, NY

Time Period: Present Day

Plot Summary: 

Anna Fox is a former psychiatrist suffering from agoraphobia after a terrifying and tragic car accident and is struggling through a separation from her husband and eight year old daughter. Her case is so intense, she cannot step outside of her New York City even for the simplest tasks. As a result, she relies on the experiences of her neighbors, carefully observed through the windows of her home. From the comfort of her own home, she drinks her days away, watches old movies, and watches her neighbors comings and goings. She sees everything from the day-to-day occurrences of her neighbors to illicit affairs. 

The only interactions she gets with the outside world are through her online therapy sessions, her downstairs tenant, and the new neighbors who moved in across the way - a husband, wife, and their fifteen year old son. Anna soon develops a rather close relationship with the wife (Jane) until one day, Anna witnesses Jane’s murder. After calling the police to report the murder of her friend, Anna quickly spirals as her world tumbles in around her. The police don’t believe her story as another woman claiming to be Jane appears and the family across the street denies anything ever happened. 

But Anna won’t let it go. She becomes more and more determined to figure out what exactly is going on with the Russels and what happened to her friend. However, after she is sent an anonymous email with a photo of her sleeping in her home, Anna realizes the killer is closer than she thinks. She calls the police who call into question her reliability as a witness for herself or anyone else. Her memory becomes foggier and foggier until she can no longer discern what is fact and what is fiction. As the killer gets closer and closer, breathing down her neck, breaking into her home to scare her, until she comes face to face with the unspeakable truth. 

This book is perfect for fans of Hitchock films and slow-burn suspense. 

Subject Headings: 

• Recluses 

• Fiction - thrillers - psychological

• Fiction - thrillers - suspense

Suspense Appeals:

• Tone: A large part of this book centers around the main character, Anna Fox, and her narration. Because she does not leave her house, we as readers rely largely on her narration and what little interactions she has with her neighbors and her family. As a result, the reader is, in a sense, held hostage to Anna’s fears and needs. The reader sees, feels, and hears only what Anna sees, feels, and hears, which lends to the suspense aspect of the story. 

• Story Line: Since the reader is so heavily dependent on Anna’s narration as someone who does not leave her house, we rely heavily on her ability to paint a picture as if we are seeing it through her eyes. So every time she describes a neighbor going about their daily business, or refers to the clients she used to help, we receive all of these details that Anna believes might be pertinent to solving the murder that took place, and so we trust her because we have no other option. Relying solely on one narrator and her internal dialogue adds to the suspense, because readers are actively listening to her thoughts and suspicions spiral and no one knows which might be correct because we have limited access to information that might help solve the case. 

 

• Characterization: Anna Fox takes up the majority of the reader's attention, as we are bound to her thoughts, actions, and observations. She observes for the reader, allowing them the experience without the danger. It’s much like Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock’s Rear Window. We are watching him watch his neighbors, trying to figure out what really happened one night. However, the story wouldn’t go anywhere without interesting neighbors to look in on. Like the woman across the way having an affair with her contractor while her husband is at work; or the new neighbors that moved in directly across the street that appear to be the ideal family, but little does anyone know the secrets lurking in their home; or Anna’s tenant who hides a dark past. 

• Language/Style: Much of the dialogue is internalized. Anna Fox spends so much of her time alone and barely interacting with anyone that she has conversations with herself and makes observations about everything around her. 

• Frame/Setting: A. J. Finn does a beautiful job of worldbuilding in this novel. So much of this story is so dependent on Anna Fox’s ability to remember details about her neighbors and everything going on around her. Fox is able to tell the reader exactly what is going on and who each of her neighbors are in explicit, but pertinent detail. 

Three Terms that Best Describe this Book: Slow-burn, psychological, domestic noir

Fiction Read-Alikes: 

The Wife Upstairs by Paula Hawkins

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

You by Caroline Kepnes

Non-Fiction Read-Alikes

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule