Summary: An agoraphobic psychologist slowly unravels as she witnesses unusual things from the windows of her home.
Rating & Recommendation: 3.5/5; recommend for fans of Girl on the Train and Hitchcock
Review: The plot here isn't new. In fact, it's so familiar that it's almost tired. In the same vein as Rear Window and Disturbia: i.e. a person confined to his/her home witnesses a crime, and, helpless to stop it, becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth. This is an incredibly modern take, but the same sentiment nevertheless.
"I feel as though I'm falling through my own mind."
Anna is a disturbingly untrustworthy narrator, but what makes her narration special is that she knows it. She's a psychologist, which throws a level of analysis and self-awareness into her reveries, but it all combines to make for a manic and disjointed read. Frankly, it will probably make a much better movie than book, because so much of the of the text is dialogue and descriptions of behavior.
The author paints vivid pictures, which in some respects makes for great writing. In other respects, though, I found it lacking in depth. All you really have is the present image. This isn't a thought-provoking read; it's a thrill-of-the-moment attention grabber.
There's an inherent challenge in becoming a writer of suspense: there's no creepy lighting or ominous soundtrack to guide your audience. A.J. Finn does a satisfactory job, which is to say it's entertaining. He uses the dialogue of classic films as the eerie backdrop to an otherwise idyllic setting. [It definitely made me want to revisit some of my favorite black-and-white classics.]
Lately, though, I've been feeling that a lot of books are being written for the screen, which is disappointing. And [spoiler alert] the twist about Anne's husband and daughter was too reminiscent of the twist in Eleanor Oliphant. It was unexpected while I was reading, and really reinforced how untrustworthy Anne is, but it seemed so familiar after the punch that I didn't find it original at all.
That's really the crux of what I'm saying here: This entire book struck me less as an homage to thrillers and more a hodgepodge of overused tropes.
All of that aside, mental health is a big one here, and it's the one thing that I found well-worded and fully fleshed out. Anne suffers from severe agoraphobia, in addition to depression and panic attacks. Couple that with [spoiler alert] Ethan's psychopathy and you have a big swath of the DSM-5. Finally, the unwillingness of the police to believe Anne's story really speaks to the quickness with which one will try to talk a woman out of what she knows to be true.
This is a good airplane or beach read: nothing more, nothing less.
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