My Thoughts:

What I Loved: I love an unreliable narrator, and that’s what I got with Anna Fox. She drinks all day and all night and chases the alcohol with medication.

How I Felt: I had so many feelings around this book, so I’m trying to describe them without spoiling anything! I felt like this book had so much hype around it. How could I not read it?? I started this book and enjoyed the writing style. There are a lot of very short chapters, and I felt like the book was moving right along. But then, everything seemed to slow down. I got a little less interested with the online chats and the descriptions of old movies and wanted the book to JUST GET ON WITH IT.

I knew I was going to persevere and would not add this to a Did Not Finish pile, but I was tempted. Everyone had raved about this. Then, I started to notice on some book sites that I’m a part of, that so many other people felt it was slow as well. So, I was not alone, and anyway, I trudged on.

Then, I hit chapter 35, and I felt like the book woke up! Stuff started to happen, I was so into it again. From that chapter on, the book was stuffed full of things happening. Some I saw coming, I believe because the author had dropped enough hints to allow me to guess, but others were complete shocks.

So my ADVICE to anyone who has not read it, has added it to their Did Not Finish pile, or is thinking of reading: At least give the book 35 chapters. If you hate it still, then put it down.

Why the 4 stars: I at one point, was ready to give this book 3 stars, I was so unhappy with how slow the beginning was. However, as I have previously mentioned, it really picked up and got me super interested. However, I can’t justify a 5 star rating on a book that I kept thinking I should just stop reading. That’s not a 5 star read. A 5-star book should, in my opinion, grip you from the beginning, and keep you there then entire time. So, as you look through my ratings, 5 star rated books did that for me.

To Read or Not To Read: Thriller / Mystery / Suspense lovers: this really is a book for you! It is full of mystery, there are so many things that you are wondering about and trying to solve. And the best part is, when you think it is solved, well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. There were a few times the book got my heart beating faster in nervous anticipation so there’s definitely a thriller/suspense aspect as well!

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What’s This Book About Anyway?

In a 4 story home on a quiet block, lives Anna Fox. She is an agoraphobic, unable to leave her house. She spends her days (and nights) drinking, watching old black and white movies, playing online chess, and chatting in phobia chat rooms. She also obsessively watches her neighbors. She lives her life inside her house and through the movies and neighbors.

Then, a family moves in across the street, and she spends her days watching them. What are they doing, when are they doing it, etc etc. One night, something happens at the neighbor’s home. Something she knows isn’t right and she must take action. Except no one believes her. How can she prove something happened when she cannot leave the house and cannot clean herself up enough to be taken seriously? This book takes you on a thrill of a ride, feeling the suspense, danger and terror that the characters feel. What will Anna do? What will happen next?

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Footnotes:

#thewomaninthewindow #ajfinn #shejustlovesbooks #suspensebook #thrillerbook #mysterybook #bookreview #bookblog