THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn

Who is the woman in the window? Is it Dr Anna Fox, child psychologist, house bound, pill popping, bottle swigging, movie watching tragic figure? Or is it one of her many neighbours she 'observes' (if one is being kind), or 'spies on' (if one is not being kind)? Between viewings, she binge watches old movies, most notably Hitchcock, Stewart, Bogart, Bacall and Bergman, Rear Window being the one most closely linked to Anna and her story.

One evening she has her own Rear Window/Girl on the Train moment, watching the neighbours, seeing something bad that really she shouldn't have seen. Well, she thinks she sees something bad happen, but has enormous trouble convincing the police and the few people she lets into her world that a catastrophic event has occurred.

As readers, I don't think we are ever really in doubt that Anna is 100% sane, not delusional or hysterical. Yes, she has some major mental health problems due to I guess what we would label as a post traumatic stress disorder. But she is so level headed and rational in her daily life within the small physical boundaries she operates/lives in, that we really do know that what she saw is true. We are constantly rooting for her - Go Anna, Go. You can do this. The real world however, is not so rational or so kind, neat and tidy. Anna has a very complicated challenge on her hands, not only in finding the truth, but also fighting her own huge demons so as to convince everyone else that truth and that she is not completely nuts.

Not only is the plot amazing, with so many twists, deviations, and the possibly unreliable narrator presence, but the writing, the creation of the tension, the slow but steady build up of the tension,  as well as the psychology of what is going on in Anna's brain, is outstanding. I knew this was a good read from reviews and sales, but am only now appreciating what a great thriller this is.