The Woman in the Window, a psychological thriller published in 2018, is the debut novel of A. J. Finn.note
The story is told through the eyes of Anna Fox, child psychologist, who has been confined to her house for ten months by a severe case of agoraphobia after a traumatic incident. Separated from her husband and daughter, she lives alone in Harlem, New York City and spends her days drinking, counseling other agoraphobes online, watching old films... and spying on her neighbors.Things take a turn when a new family—the Russells—moves in across the park from Anna, and while watching their house one night, she ends up bearing witness to something she shouldn't have. The more the nightmare unravels, the more Anna finds herself forced out of what has come to be her comfort zone as she struggles to discern what's real and what isn't.
Though this novel was well-received upon release, topping the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers list
for two weeks, it has also attracted accusations of borrowing heavily from the movie Copycat and novel Saving April by Sarah A. Denzil: two preceding psychological thrillers with agoraphobic protagonists and very similar premises.
A film adaptation of the same name, directed by Joe Wright and starring Amy Adams as Anna, was released on Netflix on May 14, 2021. Not to be confused with the 1944 film directed by Fritz Lang.
This novel provides examples of:
- The Alcoholic: Anna has a drinking problem despite the warnings of her psychiatrist about mixing alcohol with her medications. Her frequently being drunk and improperly medicated works against her in more ways than one—namely by discrediting her reports to the police about what she saw at the Russell house, as well as drawing a blurry line between reality and her imagination.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Nice boy Ethan, who Anna is convinced is a sweet-natured teen living in an abusive home, turns out to be anything but.
- Chekhov's Gun: The photograph of the sunset that Anna takes at Jane's insistence. It just so happens to have captured "Jane's" reflection in the glass, proving her existence where every other piece of hard evidence failed.
- Dead All Along: Ed and Olivia died prior to the events of the book, in the same accident that triggered Anna's agoraphobia. All of her "conversations" with them from then on are figments of her imagination, but Anna spends much of the book in denial about their death until it's bluntly spelled out for her that they are gone. It isn't until she accepts this that she finally begins the process of healing.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: Throughout the majority of the book, Anna is led to believe that Alistair Russell stabbed his wife Jane to death and then denied any wrongdoing when questioned in front of the police. As it turns out, the one who killed "Jane Russell" all along was Ethan, who also confesses to lurking in Anna's house at night and gaslighting her into believing that she had hallucinated the entire chain events related to the murder. Just for fun.
- Exact Words: Used to heartbreaking effect in regards to Anna's marital status. She explains to others that she and her husband are separated, and their daughter is with him. Separated by death, as Ed and Olivia had both passed away some time ago.
- Nosy Neighbor: Ever since she became afraid of leaving her house, Anna's other hobby besides playing chess and counseling others online is spying on her neighbors through her window. The book opens with her photographing an affair between her neighbor's wife and their contractor and noting the daily routines and habits of everybody who lives around her.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Ethan explains during his Motive Rant that figuring out the passcode to Anna's phone ("0214", her daughter's birthday) was rather easy.
- Plot-Inciting Infidelity: The catalyst of the book's events is Anna's husband discovering that she had been cheating on him with her co-worker, Dr. Brill. The tension of their impending divorce ruins their Christmas vacation with their daughter, but while they're driving home in the middle of a snowstorm, their car goes careening over a cliff. Only Anna survives, and this accident is what triggers her agoraphobia.
- Police Are Useless: Of a sort. Anna attempts to get the police involved in her investigation of the Russell household, but apart from offering their resources for her mental health struggles, they dismiss all of her claims about Jane Russell as medication-induced hallucinations that Anna's had from drinking too much and watching too many movies.
- Sex Starts, Story Stops: A very sudden sexual encounter unfolds between a drunken Anna and David when the latter comes to apologize for having gotten angry with her beforehand. Nothing else comes out of it.
- The Shut-In: Anna. She is unable to so much as open a window, stroll across her garden or retrieve items from her front step without having a panic attack.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The epilogue leaves out whether or not Anna's cat, Punch, is properly seen to about his mysterious leg injury. He is last seen sleeping on her bed while she's fighting for her life against Ethan.
- We also never find out learn what becomes of Jane Russell, the real one, after her son dies and Alistair is arrested. Anna only knows that their house is vacated after the fact.
- Anna never finds out what happens to David after he moves out of her house. She tries to call him several times, but he never answers.
