best selling author Archives - Tina Hogan Grant

Book Review- The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

I belong to the Frazier Park Branch Library book club. We read one book a month and meet every other Tuesday. We have just finished reading The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn and thought I’d share our review with you.

About the Author

(Copied from the about author page) THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW has been sold in 43 territories around the world and is currently in development as a major film at Fox 2000, starring Amy Adams, directed by Joe Wright, written by Tracy Letts, and produced by Scott Rudin. I really want a cameo in the movie, in case anyone asks.

I spent a decade working in publishing in both New York and London, with a particular emphasis on thrillers and mysteries. Authors I published or helped acquire over the years include Robert Galbraith (aka J. K. Rowling), Agatha Christie, Patricia Cornwell, Carl Hiaasen, Sara Paretsky, and Nelson DeMille.

Now I write full-time, to the relief of my former colleagues. THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW was inspired by a range of experiences: my lifelong love affair with suspense fiction, from the Sherlock Holmes stories I devoured as a kid to the work of Patricia Highsmith, whom I studied at the graduate level at Oxford; my passion for classic cinema, especially the films of Alfred Hitchcock; and my struggles with agoraphobia and depression. The result, I hope, is a psychological thriller in the vein of Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and Kate Atkinson, among others.

Stuff I love; reading; swimming; cooking; dogs; ice cream; travel. (Note that third semicolon. It’s crucial. I do not love cooking dogs.) Given the chance, I’d seriously consider cloning my late yellow Labrador, Tugboat (2001-2012) — one of history’s few truly perfect creations. I collect first-edition books and divide my time between New York and London.

The Synopsis of “The Woman in the Window”

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, a mother, their teenage 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.

My Review

This was a page-turning, nail-biting unable to put down thriller with so many twists and plots that it had me guessing through the entire book.

The main character Dr. Anna Fox, a depressed psychologist with a drinking problem and also suffering from agoraphobia, spends her days looking through her binoculars at her neighbors.

Separated from her husband and daughter, but the reader has no idea why until later in the book, but we know she talks to them often

Because of her illness she is cut off from the outside world, her only connection is what she sees through her binoculars. One day while watching the family across the street she witnesses something terrible happen but Anna has a hard time getting anyone to believe her but she’s determined to get to the bottom of what she saw and prove that she isn’t crazy and just imagined it.

Overall all this was a fantastic read and one that was hard to put down. I highly recommend it.

My Overall Rating

COVER DESIGN – 5 STARS – Great eye-catching colors that grabs the readers attention.

CHARACTERIZATION – 5 STARS – Each character was well developed and had their own distinguished quirks. Anna especially was excellently written. How her illness was portrayed was spot on.

STORY & PLOT 5 STARS – Couldn’t put the book down, The plots and twists had me kept turning the pages and the ending was a huge surprise.

OVERALL RATING – 5 STARS

Questions to ask at Your Bookclub

Do you belong to a Bookclub? Are you planning on or currently reading The Woman in the Window? Below are a set of questions you may find helpful pertaining to the book.

1- What did you think of the main character; Anna Fox? Did you like her, if not, explain why?

2 – At what point were you drawn into the book?

3 – When you find out the truth about Anna’s Family were you shocked?

4 – How do you think the author portrayed the illness agoraphobia? Did you know much about it before you read the book?

5 – Do you think the author purposely dropped red herrings to distract the reader. What do you think about them? Which was the biggest?

6 – The title The Woman in the Window – do you think that refers to Anna or the woman she saw in the window?

7- What was your favorite part of the book?

8 – Did you guess the ending? Was it satisfying?

If you have read this book I would love to hear your thoughts on it.