Sunday, February 23, 2025, 8:04PM |  40°
MENU
Advertisement

'The Woman in the Window': A fun but forgettable female-centered thriller

'The Woman in the Window': A fun but forgettable female-centered thriller

It’s that unenviable time of the year: Christmas is over, and now we face what feels like an interminable wheel of snow, melt and snow again.

This is the perfect time for escapist entertainment — particularly if you’re snowed in and need to know that somewhere, someone is worse off than you. “The Woman in the Window,” a psychological thriller from first-time novelist A.J. Finn, is perfect for exactly that: easy to lose yourself in, quick and fun to read, even if it’s not particularly groundbreaking. (A.J. Finn is the pen name of Daniel Mallory, a former book publishing executive in New York.)

Dr. Anna Fox, formerly a renowned child psychologist, is a shell of her former self. Estranged from her husband and young daughter, Anna has become an agoraphobe who mixes alcohol and prescription medication to numb herself. Isolated from most of the outside world, she spends her time watching old movies, drinking and watching her neighbors through her camera.

Advertisement

When a new family, the Russells, move to Anna’s gentrified Harlem street, she is surprised to find herself befriending them. Because this is a thriller, though, it soon becomes evident that the Russells aren’t quite what they seem, which contributes to Anna’s downward spiral of drinking and hysteria.

Can she trust her own eyes, or has her painful past led her to imagine terrible things?

Fans of Paula Hawkins’ 2015 “The Girl on the Train” and its subsequent movie version will be right at home with “Woman in the Window.” While the genre’s prerequisite twists are different in both, a lot of the beats of the earlier book are echoed in Mr. Finn’s work here: an unreliable, alcoholic narrator; obsession with the “happy” lives of others; skeptical police and abandonment issues.

None of this is new territory, but Mr. Finn’s obvious relish in the twists and turns he creates is refreshing.

Advertisement

There’s also a hefty dose of cinematic influence, and the author makes connections explicit by interspersing the book’s action with lines from movies such as 1944’s “Gaslight” and 1943’s “Shadow of a Doubt” — a decision that feels more and more self-congratulatory as the book progresses.

The continued influence of Alfred Hitchcock over the thriller genre — both cinematically and otherwise — can be taken for granted at this point, so Mr. Finn’s reverence for the filmmaker is a bit wearying.

The success of any mystery, at heart, relies on sympathy for the protagonist and the believability of the reveals in the latter half of the plot. Anna is a broken woman trying to do what she thinks is right, but her cavalier attitude about mixing prescription medications and wine is a bit off-putting.

On the other hand, Mr. Finn has written his book with twists to spare, and while a few may be fairly easy to guess, there are so many that he may catch even the most seasoned thriller fan off-guard. They’re unlikely, of course, but they’re entertaining, and that’s what counts here.

The film rights to “The Woman in the Window” were sold before the book’s release, and it’s obvious why: The plot fits in with the recent trend of female-centered thrillers, and it is very easy to imagine a camera swooping toward a gorgeous home as a distressed Amy Adams stares mournfully out the window.

The world that Mr. Finn builds is rife with vividly drawn setpieces and suspicious side characters, but the self-styled noir occasionally veers from homage to satire.

Is it fun? Absolutely. Will readers still find themselves thinking about Dr. Fox once the book is finished? Probably not; but as long as you bought the book or the movie ticket, for Mr. Finn, it’s a win.

Wendy Wright is a freelance writer and editor living in Pittsburgh.

First Published: February 4, 2018, 5:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
1
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
Pickers at Bonnie Brae Fruit Farms in Huntington Township, Adams County, harvest golden delicious apples on Sept. 10, 2024. President Donald Trump’s administration has frozen funding on several federal programs, including many that are under USDA and help farmers make their facilities more climate-friendly, protect against damage from wildlife, and help them employ more workers.
2
news
Pa. farmers feel funding pinch as federal freezes trigger labor and infrastructure instability
A new report advises retirees in 2025 to aim for just 3.7% when withdrawing from savings -- down from 4%. Over a 30-year retirement, that could mean the difference between financial security or outliving your cash in your 80s or 90s, financial experts say.
3
business
How much can retirees safely withdraw from their nest eggs? Financial experts weigh in.
Prospect Rutger McGroarty is right on track according to Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza.
4
sports
From The Point: When are the kids getting called up? Jason Spezza details the Penguins’ ‘thought-out’ plan
Carole Lee Fritsche Timblin
5
news
Carole Lee Fritsche Timblin, passionate educator and gift shop owner, dies at 89
Advertisement
LATEST ae
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story