Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

8 reviews

rsagarin's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Ableism, Car accident, and Child death

Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Misogyny, Violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

shaleen64's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book is really well paced, the short chapters keep you engaged and the writing style is easy to follow. Whilst I would argue one of the main twists was fairly easy to guess (if you read thrillers regularly) I did not see the ending coming and for that reason did not feel disappointed. It’s a thriller worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Murder, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Medical trauma

Minor: Infertility and Stalking

frozenheartv's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 4.5 stars 
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 

🧠 My thoughts 

What a ride! I rarely see a crime, mystery, or psychological thriller this well-written. Everything was fleshed out in detail. It was captivating, intriguing, and gripping. The story kept me guessing until the end. To be honest, it was not super hard for me to guess what was going on but it wasn’t super sure during the reading because of the author’s splendid writing skill. I’m eager to check his other book! 

However, this might be my first time reading a book with an unreliable protagonist and everything was too chaotic for me sometimes to follow. The story kept jumping back and forth without any warning. I thought that if I were reading it would be easier than listening to the audiobook. The book was also pretty long, I felt that some details could be more concise. 

👍 What I like 

• Captivating and intriguing storyline
• It feels like every detail was planned carefully
• Excellent writing skill

👎 What I don't like

• Too chaotic sometimes. The story kept jumping back and forth without any warning
• The story sometimes felt a bit lengthy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

nattyjanereads's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, and Death

Minor: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

starsnstitchin's review

did not like the pedophilia and violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Violence

slowen719's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Pretty engaging thriller. However, very trope-y for me (alcoholic woman who can't deal).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Suicide

thatsssorachael's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The first 100 pages weren't working for me. I found them really choppy, and I don't like feeling confused while reading. But it did get better, and by about 3/4 way through I was totally, completely hooked. 

But then I guessed the twist. I had hoped it couldn't possibly be what I thought, but it was. So I don't spoil it, that's all I'll say. 

If you're new to thrillers, you will probably really enjoy this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal cruelty

cleverhans's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Violence, and Stalking

One day, I'll find a thriller with an agoraphobic main character written with skill and empathy. This was not that thriller. AJ Finn seems to feel contempt for most of his characters, which really isn't my favorite vibe. The writing was fine, the plot was average, and I experienced about equal measures of frustration and suspense. It's a decent book to get you through a flight or train ride, but I don't think this is an author I'll be returning to any time soon.