А Финн: The Woman in the Window

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The Woman in the Window: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

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Dedication

I have a feeling that inside you somewhere,

there’s something nobody knows about.

—Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Contents

Sunday, October 24

Monday, October 25

Tuesday, October 26

Wednesday, October 27

Thursday, October 28

Friday, October 29

Saturday, October 30

Sunday, October 31

Monday, November 1

Tuesday, November 2

Wednesday, November 3

Thursday, November 4

Friday, November 5

Saturday, November 6

Sunday, November 7

Monday, November 8

Tuesday, November 9

Wednesday, November 10

Thursday, November 11

Friday, November 12

Saturday, November 13

Sunday, November 14

Monday, November 15

Six Weeks Later

About the Author

About the Publisher

Sunday, October 24

Her husband’s almost home. He’ll catch her this time.

There isn’t a scrap of curtain, not a blade of blind, in number 212—the rust-red townhome that once housed the newlywed Motts, until recently, until they un-wed. I never met either Mott, but occasionally I check in online: his LinkedIn profile, her Facebook page. Their wedding registry lives on at Macy’s. I could still buy them flatware.

As I was saying: not even a window dressing. So number 212 gazes blankly across the street, ruddy and raw, and I gaze right back, watching the mistress of the manor lead her contractor into the guest bedroom. What is it about that house? It’s where love goes to die.

She’s lovely, a genuine redhead, with grass-green eyes and an archipelago of tiny moles trailing across her back. Much prettier than her husband, a Dr. John Miller, psychotherapist—yes, he offers couples counseling—and one of 436,000 John Millers online. This particular specimen works near Gramercy Park and does not accept insurance. According to the deed of sale, he paid $3.6 million for his house. Business must be good.

I know both more and less about the wife. Not much of a homemaker, clearly; the Millers moved in eight weeks ago, yet still those windows are bare, tsk-tsk. She practices yoga three times a week, tripping down the steps with her magic-carpet mat rolled beneath one arm, legs shrink-wrapped in Lululemon. And she must volunteer someplace—she leaves the house a little past eleven on Mondays and Fridays, around the time I get up, and returns between five and five thirty, just as I’m settling in for my nightly film. (This evening’s selection: The Man Who Knew Too Much, for the umpteenth time. I am the woman who viewed too much.)

I’ve noticed she likes a drink in the afternoon, as do I. Does she also like a drink in the morning? As do I?

But her age is a mystery, although she’s certainly younger than Dr. Miller, and younger than me (nimbler, too); her name I can only guess at. I think of her as Rita, because she looks like Hayworth in Gilda. “I’m not in the least interested”—love that line.

I myself am very much interested. Not in her body—the pale ridge of her spine, her shoulder blades like stunted wings, the baby-blue bra clasping her breasts: whenever these loom within my lens, any of them, I look away—but in the life she leads. The lives. Two more than I’ve got.

Her husband rounded the corner a moment ago, just past noon, not long after his wife pressed the front door shut, contractor in tow. This is an aberration: On Sundays, Dr. Miller returns to the house at quarter past three, without fail.

Yet now the good doctor strides down the sidewalk, breath chugging from his mouth, briefcase swinging from one hand, wedding band winking. I zoom in on his feet: oxblood oxfords, slick with polish, collecting the autumn sunlight, kicking it off with each step.

I lift the camera to his head. My Nikon D5500 doesn’t miss much, not with that Opteka lens: unruly marled hair, glasses spindly and cheap, islets of stubble in the shallow ponds of his cheeks. He takes better care of his shoes than his face.

Back to number 212, where Rita and the contractor are speedily disrobing. I could dial directory assistance, call the house, warn her. I won’t. Watching is like nature photography: You don’t interfere with the wildlife.

Dr. Miller is maybe half a minute away from the front door. His wife’s mouth glosses the contractor’s neck. Off with her blouse.

Four more steps. Five, six, seven. Twenty seconds now, at most.

She seizes his tie between her teeth, grins at him. Her hands fumble with his shirt. He grazes on her ear.

Her husband hops over a buckled slab of sidewalk. Fifteen seconds.

I can almost hear the tie slithering out of his collar. She whips it across the room.

Ten seconds. I zoom in again, the snout of the camera practically twitching. His hand dives into his pocket, surfaces with a haul of keys. Seven seconds.

She unlooses her ponytail, hair swinging onto her shoulders.

Three seconds. He mounts the steps.

She folds her arms around his back, kisses him deep.

He stabs the key into the lock. Twists.

I zoom in on her face, the eyes sprung wide. She’s heard.

And then his briefcase flops open.

A flock of papers bursts from it, scatters in the wind. I jolt the camera back to Dr. Miller, to the crisp “Shoot” his mouth shapes; he sets the briefcase on the stoop, stamps a few sheets beneath those glinting shoes, scoops others into his arms. One tearaway scrap has snagged in the fingers of a tree. He doesn’t notice.

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The Woman in the Window

By A.J. Finn

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, A serviceable thriller and homage to Hitchcock’s Rear Window.

Synopsis

The Woman in the Window is about Anna Fox, a former child psychologist, who is agoraphobic as result of post-traumatic stress disorder. When the novel opens, it’s been around a year since she’s left her house, though her husband and daughter are no longer living there.

She’s depressed and drinks heavily and is on a medley of prescription drugs. Like The Girl on the Train and Hitchcock’s Rear Window, she believes she witnesses a crime, which serves as the central mystery of the novel. Anna is a lover of old movies — the classic black and white ones are the best, she tells us — and the many references to Rear Window indicate the homage is clearly intentional.

Detailed Plot Summary

Anna Fox is agoraphobic, meaning she gets severe anxiety if she leaves the house. She is also depressed, has a drinking problem and stopped working ten months ago. Her daughter, Olivia, lives with her husband, Ed (they’re separated). A new set of neighbors, Alistair and Jane Russell, have moved in with their son, Ethan. Ethan is a troubled teenager, but he’s nice and Anna gets to know Ethan and Jane. However, Alistair seems controlling and suspicious of Anna spending time with his family.

Anna hears screams from the Russells house. She calls, but Ethan says it’s okay and his dad just lost his temper. However, later, Anna sees that Jane has been stabbed, and Anna calls the police. Anna tries to leave the house to help, but faints. When she awakes, Anna explains to the police what happened and that it was Alistair, but they say that Jane is fine and bring Jane over. But this Jane is a woman Anna has never seen before.

Anna starts making more efforts to leave the house in order to investigate impostor Jane. (Anna’s agoraphobia arose from a car accident that left their whole family stranded and injured during a snowstorm. Anna feels guilty because they had been on vacation when Ed found out Anna had had an affair. They left early because of the discovery, which resulted in them getting caught in the storm.)

Anna knows she saw Jane get killed, but the police think she imagined it due to some combination of drinking and pills. The police say that they’ve talked to Anna’s doctor. They know that Anna is delusional because Ed and Olivia are both dead (they died in that accident). Anna knows it on some level, but is in denial.

Anna shows Ethan a photograph, proof that Jane #1 existed. Ethan finally admits that it’s his biological mother, Katie. That night, Ethan shows up to try to kill Anna (to keep her quiet). It’s revealed that Katie is a former drug addict who came back to reconnect with Ethan, but he stabbed her. Ethan has always been a problem child with personality disorders due to his upbringing. Alistair had been trying control him, and lied to cover for him. In the end, Ethan dies in the scuffle. Alistair is arrested for the coverup. And a friend helps Anna take a few steps into the light.

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Book Review

This book has been popping up everywhere, like everywhere, and I love a good mystery. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn is a psychological thriller that has been compared to books such as The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl. It jumped to #1 on the bestseller lists upon release, fueled by a bidding war for the book (and accompanying film rights). Sounds promising, no?

Still From Hitchcock’s 1954 Film Rear Window

This book came out on the heels of another popular thriller, the Girl on the Train. Within the first few pages, it’s abundantly clear why there were so many The Girl on the Train comparisons. The set up seems oddly familiar. It opens with a woman who is voyeuristically looking through a window at other couples and people that she seems to have taken a deep interest in. Meanwhile, the woman herself is an isolated and depressed. She misses her estranged husband and is still in contact with him. Didn’t I just read this book? you can’t help but think.

I read Girl on the Train not too long ago, and the similarities between the two books were distracting for me in the beginning. Being led around by a narrator who was drunk and incapacitated all the time, unable to process what she remembered or thought she saw, was frustrating the first time around; I don’t know that it’s an experience I’d necessarily recommend twice in a row.

Despite my initial misgivings, when the mystery really gets underway, I found myself being drawn in. When the novel’s first real twist happens, I was surprised and pleased. The second half of the book sped by. The Woman in the Window twists and turns throughout the second half; some parts of it are more predictable than others, but even if you aren’t shocked at each turn, it’s a fun ride if you’re someone who enjoys trying to piece together or guess at what’s going to happen next. I figured out a pretty major plot twist fairly early on, but I still enjoyed the ride.

A.J. Finn is a pseudonym for Daniel Mallory, a former book editor for William Morrow, so the writing is predictably solid. In terms of the technical stuff, like pacing, etc. I have no qualms.

Like many thrillers, there’s a contrived quality to the story — plot elements shaped a little unnaturally for the purpose for having the mystery play out in a specific way, as opposed to for believe-ability or whatnot — and there’s still a few things that didn’t entirely make sense to me in the novel. For example, when Anna Fox reports what she saw to the police, for some bizarre reason, before they’ve even asked her about it, they bring in the person she is accusing and then ask her about it with them present? What type of detective operates like that? But I think these complaints are somewhat standard for most thrillers, and I don’t think they detracted from the story.

Read it or Skip it?

All in all, I thought The Woman in the Window was a perfectly serviceable mystery/thriller. I liked it slightly more than the Girl on the Train, but not by a lot. I’d recommend it if you are a fan of the genre (it helps if you have not read the Girl on the Train). Probably won’t end up being your favorite book or anything, but a good pick to scratch that mystery/thriller itch. For everyone else, you might like it, but will probably end up thinking it is a little over-hyped (which it is).

Author Daniel Mallory, pseudonym A.J. Finn

The Woman in the Window Movie Adaptation

The book is getting a movie adaptation starring Amy Adams and Julianne Moore. It was originally slated for a October 4, 2019 release, but test audiences found it confusing, so it has been pushed to 2020, pending reshoots and edits. It has since been acquired by Netflix, so it’s unclear when it’ll be released.

Update 12/19: The trailer is out! See it on Youtube.

Controversy over A.J. Finn / Dan Mallory and Plagiarism

There’s also been a fair amount of controversy regarding A.J. Finn. See the New Yorker article here for all the gory details. Some of the stuff seems fairly benign, but weird like him faking some strange affectation when he talks. Other stuff is significantly worse like lying about having cancer and about his background. Also, Sophie Hannah makes an entertaining appearance in this, if you’re a fan of hers I’d highly recommend checking it out.

Update 8/20: It looks like Dan Mallory’s story about lying to all his co-workers or whatnot is becoming a movie starring Jake Glyllenhaal. That is nuts.

Furthermore, there’s been some discussion (in this New York Times article or read this if you don’t have a NYT subscription) about plagiarism. I haven’t read the other book in question so I don’t feel well-equipped to provide an opinion on that issue, but basically the book Saving April by Sarah A. Denzil seems to have a suspiciously similar plot (including the ending apparently).

(Despite all the drama, it looks like another A.J. Finn novel is still on track.)

Did you read it or are you planning on reading it? What did you think and would you read another book by this author? See The Woman in the Window on Amazon.