Helpful Score: 4
As I began to read The Woman in the Window, the thought ran through my mind that I would drive Anna Fox nuts. You see, I lived next door to a Peeping Tom as I was growing up, so I learned at a very early age to close the curtains once the sun goes down. You want to see something interesting? Move along down the street because you're not going to find it at this house!
As I read a little further, another thought crossed my mind. Why am I reading this book when Anna Fox is the type of character I don't like? I have few hot buttons when it comes to reading, but characters who drink to excess is one of them. Anna literally spends her days swilling wine and gobbling pills-- most of which her doctor has told her expressly not to take with alcohol. But I couldn't stop reading. In fact, I found myself reading faster, and I think I know why.
A.J. Finn made Anna Fox a compelling, sympathetic, "train wreck" of a character. The sort of character that you know something bad is going to happen to, and you just have to keep reading to find out what that bad thing is and if she's going to survive it.
The second thing that had my eyeballs glued to the page was the way the story unfolded. Finn does an absolutely marvelous job of weaving old movies like "Gaslight" and references to such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie into his story. Moreover, he does it in such a way that the end result's not a slavish imitation but something that keeps the gears whirring in your head while you smile, snuggle down deeper into your chair, and keep on reading.
There are two big secrets in The Woman in the Window. How did I do in uncovering them? I figured out one and could kick myself for not deducing the other. If you're in the mood for a story that has more twists and turns than San Francisco's Lombard Street, you really should get your hands on a copy of A.J. Finn's book. It's a good'un.
As I read a little further, another thought crossed my mind. Why am I reading this book when Anna Fox is the type of character I don't like? I have few hot buttons when it comes to reading, but characters who drink to excess is one of them. Anna literally spends her days swilling wine and gobbling pills-- most of which her doctor has told her expressly not to take with alcohol. But I couldn't stop reading. In fact, I found myself reading faster, and I think I know why.
A.J. Finn made Anna Fox a compelling, sympathetic, "train wreck" of a character. The sort of character that you know something bad is going to happen to, and you just have to keep reading to find out what that bad thing is and if she's going to survive it.
The second thing that had my eyeballs glued to the page was the way the story unfolded. Finn does an absolutely marvelous job of weaving old movies like "Gaslight" and references to such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie into his story. Moreover, he does it in such a way that the end result's not a slavish imitation but something that keeps the gears whirring in your head while you smile, snuggle down deeper into your chair, and keep on reading.
There are two big secrets in The Woman in the Window. How did I do in uncovering them? I figured out one and could kick myself for not deducing the other. If you're in the mood for a story that has more twists and turns than San Francisco's Lombard Street, you really should get your hands on a copy of A.J. Finn's book. It's a good'un.
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