Category: Kate’s Reviews

Book: “The Woman in the Window” by A.J. Finn

Publishing Info: William Morrow, January 2018

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

Book Description: Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

Review: We have another runaway hit that I’m tackling this time around. Remember my apprehension about “The Wife Between Us”? I felt the same apprehension about “The Woman in the Window”. It’s not that I don’t trust the general public to know a good book when they see it, it’s that I’ve  been burned far too many times to think that my tastes line up with theirs in all things. So going into it I hoped that I would have a similar experience to “The Wife Between Us” and would enjoy myself as much as the hype implied I would. And plus, it’s basically an homage to “Rear Window”, one of my very favorite Alfred Hitchcock movies, so my hopes were raised all the higher by that. Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelley, and Raymond Burr were big shoes to fill to be certain.

Lord knows others have tried to update the classic voyeur thriller before, but I think that “The Woman in the Window” did it in a way that made it feel fresh and unique. For one, Anna is a far more complex and damaged character than Jimmy Stewart’s Jeffries was (though that’s kind of a prerequisite for this kind of book). Her agoraphobia and alcoholism, combined with her severe depression and loneliness make her quite a bit more sympathetic as she lives vicariously through those who she sees across the way from her building. You don’t know why she is this way, but as she talks to her ex husband and daughter who no longer live with her bits and pieces to that puzzle are slowly given to you. You also don’t know why they no longer live there with her, but that too slowly comes to light as Anna starts paying a bit more attention to her new neighbors, the Russells. They practically mirror what Anna would consider a happy family, something that she has lost, so her fixation is understandable, if not a bit creepy. These small insights to her life came at a parsed out pace, and I had a good time trying to figure out just what was going on with her. There was a strange quasi-romantic subplot with her and a tenant she has rented a space out to in the large empty home, and it felt a little bit unnecessary and kind of yucky given how unstable that she is in her emotional state and personal life.

The mysteries within the book, the biggee being as to whether or not Anna witnessed Mrs. Russell being murdered, were more of a mixed bag. There were a couple of twists that I did see coming, even if I didn’t seem their complete relevance, while there were others that caught be totally by surprise. One of those surprises worked VERY well, so much so that I actually said ‘wait WHAT?’ and had to page back to confirm that it had, in fact, been set up pretty much perfectly (and looking back I’m kind of ashamed that I didn’t see it sooner, but Finn was GREAT at misdirection, I guess, because I fell for it). The other one, however, did kind of fall into that familiar pitfall of being too much of a twist a bit too late into the game. It’s not as bad as some of the other ones in terms of placement, but when it was finally revealed I just kind of snorted and grinned and bore it through until the end. I think that ultimately the biggest strength of this book is Anna and trying to understand her as a person, which does tie into the overall mystery. After all, with all of the problems that Anna has, the reader doesn’t really know what to believe as fact and fiction/fabrication.

The other aspect I really enjoyed about this book was the number of thriller movies that are mentioned or paid tribute too. It’s not just “Rear Window” that we see bits of, but “Vertigo”, “Double Indemnity”, and others that I have enjoyed since I was a kid. And knowing a few of the plot points to those movies helped me figure out some of the plot twists, so if you too are a junkie of black and white thrillers and mysteries, that may help you out when reading this book if you like to solve as you go.

So while the mystery had some problems, I did really enjoy “The Woman in the Window” and think that the popularity it has garnered is well deserved. I pretty much devoured it in one day and didn’t want to put it down for anything, and honestly, that’s what I am really looking for in a thriller. It you want to be snapped up by a novel, this could be a pretty good bet.

Rating 7: A thriller that kept me on my toes and kept me wondering, “The Woman in the Window” was a fun read. While one twist shocked me, another was a bit meh, but the story overall really sucked me in.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Woman in the Window” is included on the Goodreads lists “Chilling New York Novels”, and “2018: Let The Reading Begin!”.

Find “The Woman in the Window” at your library using WorldCat!

Book: “Emma in the Night” by Wendy Walker

Publishing Info: St. Martin’s Press, August 2017

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

Book Description: From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back…

One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.

Review: As you all know, I’m a huge sucker for missing person stories, fiction and non fiction alike. As someone who lurks on the Unresolved Mysteries subreddit, I am fully taken in by disappearances that remain unsolved, but will gladly admit that it’s a bit safer and less exploitative when it’s within fiction. So when I heard about “Emma in the Night”, the story of two sisters who go missing and one of them being found, I knew that I would need to read it ASAP. But little did I know that another unsettling reality/thriller trope managed to rear it’s head into this book as well: the narcissistic parent. As someone who also lurks on the subreddit that tells survival tales of escaping narcissistic family members, this was just an added bit of icing onto an already tantalizing cake. But Wendy Walker presented something far more complex and attention grabbing than I thought it was going to be, and does a good job of giving victims and survivors a voice instead of objectifying them for the sake of a good story.

The two different narratives are both steeped in unreliable perspectives. The first is that of Cass, the daughter who came back who clearly has a separate agenda from what she’s presenting to those around her. Through her we start to see that perhaps there are other villains in this world outside of the strangers that lurk behind every turn, and see that she has a deep vendetta against her mother Judy. Judy is a classic narcissistic personality, with a golden child (Emma) and a scapegoat (Cass), and the hatred that Cass feels towards her in palpable. I will admit that as I was going into this I was trying to find all the clues and hints towards what the end game was, but Walker hid them in such a way that I pretty much didn’t find them. Like, at all. I don’t know if my game was off, but the reading experience for me was disorienting in a good way because I KNEW that there was more to the story, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I liked how much I questioned Cass as well, as while I pretty much believed her and her revulsion for her mother, I still wondered if she too didn’t have problems and ulterior motives because she was raised by a narcissist, and was therefore messed up herself because of it.

Abby, too, was an interesting character, with complexities and flaws that made her unreliable, but also completely sympathetic. She was also raised by a narcissistic mother, and therefore goes into this case with experience and the ability to recognize behaviors when it comes to Judy, Cass, and the missing Emma. She was used in a way for Walker to really put narcissism out there and to really dive into it, as Abby has her own past experiences with it because of her mother. I think that a lot of the time we see narcissistic parents in over the top ways (“Mother, Mother” by Koren Zailckas comes to mind) where they are scary monsters with deliberately violent or abusive tendencies. But in “Emma in the Night” we see a lot more of the less definable traits, like Judy manipulating her children into warfare against each other, or turning on a facade that wins her custody when she is actually a terrible parent. But then, there is the fact that Abby is completely biased, so we end up questioning her too. Because of these various red herrings and inconsistencies between the characters and their motivations, Walker’s sleight of hand distracted me enough throughout the narration that I didn’t see the ultimate prestige coming. Which I greatly appreciated by the time I finished out the book.

I will say that there were a couple of things that I did find a bit too convenient to be really believable. I don’t really want to spoil anything for anyone who might be interested in reading this, because I do think that it’s ultimately worth the read and a solid thriller, but just know that a couple of things within the ultimate solution to the whole thing just kind of felt too coincidental for me to take it terribly seriously. Yes, life is random, and yes, technically anything is possible, but when it comes to probability that’s where certain plot points in this book start to get a little iffy. It’s not enough to put me off, just know that it knocked a couple of points off if we’re keeping score. I think that sometimes authors can get carried away with the red herrings, but Walker actually got carried away with trying to eliminate as many red herrings as possible and to make unreliability more reliable.

Overall I think that “Emma in the Night” did a good job of keeping this reader on her toes. I am definitely going to look into whatever Walker comes out with next (I would actually love to see more of Abby Winter as well), and definitely think that thriller fans ought to give her a go.

Rating 7: An engrossing and twisty thriller, “Emma in the Night” not only kept me guessing, it brings a unique take to the thriller genre by bringing in narcissism to add more questions to the plot.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Emma in the Night” is included on the Goodreads lists “Sister Mysteries”, and “There’s Something Dangerous About The Boredom of Teenage Girls”.

Find “Emma in the Night” at your library using WorldCat!

Book: “Behind Her Eyes” by Sarah Pinborough

Publishing Info: Flatiron Books, January 2017

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

Book Description: Why is everyone talking about the ending of Sarah Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes?

Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone.

When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.

And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend, but she also just happens to be married to David. David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife, but then why is David so controlling, and why is Adele so scared of him?

As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong, but Louise can’t guess how wrong―and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.

Review: 

I know Serena has used that gif before, but this is the only way that I can describe my reading experience of “Behind Her Eyes” by Sarah Pinborough. Let me tell you, I slogged, SLOGGED through this book because it was promised to be one of the great thrillers of 2017. I have friends whom I greatly love and respect who really liked this book (and my disdain in this review is only a reflection of my own tastes, guys, not yours), so I kept going even though it took me almost a WEEK just to get through the damn thing. A WEEK, YOU GUYS. I can usually put away a book in two, three days, four tops. I went on because I was promised a twist, a game changing twist. I went on because I liked “13 Minutes,” the YA book that Pinborough did that I picked up on a whim. I WENT ON. AND WHAT DID I GET?

Okay, let me be constructive now, I just needed to rant.

“Behind Her Eyes” does have the goods to back up the fact that it’s not like other psychological female driven thrillers that we’ve seen as of late. I will one hundred percent give it that, no problem. Pinborough tells the story through a few different perspectives: the chapters from Louise’s point of view, the chapters from Adele’s point of view, and the ‘Then’ chapters about Adele and her rehab friend Rob. The story is pieced together bit by bit through all of their unreliable and partially constructed POVs. For whatever reason, I had a really hard time caring about any of it. Adele is emotionally unstable and deeply vicious in her plotting, Louise is simpering and so easily manipulated that she just pissed me off, and the Rob and Adele chapters were (seemingly) random and superfluous. They would jump and flip between narratives and none of it was enough to really keep me interested. You throw David, Adele’s husband and Louise’s love interest, into this mess through their conflicting POVs and you get a guy who is possibly a violent manipulator, and is assuredly a lying drunk. So what does anyone see in him? Why is Louise still interacting with him when 1) he’s married, 2) he’s her BOSS, and 3) he’s potentially an abusive spouse? I usually like to be able to find someone to connect with in these books when there are so many toxic players, but in this one there were none to be had.

But my biggest problem? That lays in the twist. And I am just going to throw it out there. So those of you who still want to give it a go, and by all means DO still give it a go if you want to, this is where you may wish to stop or to jump past the last paragraph this review. Here is your hearty

So Adele and Rob, whilst they were in rehab together when Adele was younger, experimented in lucid dreaming. When Adele and Louise become ‘friends’, Adele gets Louise into lucid dreaming. So what is lucid dreaming, you ask? It’s when the dreamer knows that she/he is dreaming, and because of it may be able to control what is going on inside of the dream. But what is it in this book? It’s FULL ON ASTRAL PROJECTING. In fact, it’s astral projecting that can therein turn into possession. Because what is the big twist folks???? Adele is NOT Adele! Rob, becoming obsessed with David back in the day, taught Adele how to astral project, and then killed her, and timed it JUST right that he could SLIP HIS CONSCIOUSNESS into her body!! So ‘Adele’ is actually ‘Rob’ the WHOLE TIME. And not only that, at the VERY end Rob manipulates Louise to astral project into Adele’s body, and then kills her too and astral projects into Louise’s body, so he can be with David once more!! That’s the end, folks!! I know that twists are kind of well expected in these kinds of thrillers these days, and that the less guessable the twist, the better. But when you have a book that is seemingly based in a real world situation without any basis or foundation for magical systems, I feel like you can’t just be like ‘AND THEN MAGIC!’ and try to pass it off as an actual phenomenon to craft a twist that no one saw coming. That feels like cheating! I actively rolled my eyes and tossed this book to the foot of the bed when I was done with it. Because WHAT THE HELL? Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated? Because that’s how I felt.

“Behind Her Eyes” just frustrated me more than anything else. I am going to do my usual disclaimer, because as a librarian I know that just because this book isn’t for me, it doesn’t mean it’s not for anyone else. So therefore:

I didn’t enjoy “Behind Her Eyes”. Perhaps you will. But know that it gets weird, and not in a way that I found enjoyable.

Rating 2: A plot that didn’t suck me in, unlikable characters, and a ridiculous twist that completely threw all credibility out the window really turned me off this book.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Behind Her Eyes” is included on the Goodreads lists “Emotion Overload”, and “Female Psychological Thrillers/Suspense Written by Women”.

Find “Behind Her Eyes” at your library using WorldCat!