The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Any new psychological thriller that comes out nowadays always seems to get labelled 'the next The Girl on the Train'. Now I haven't read that book, nor seen the film, so luckily I can't make such sweeping comments. Surely an author wants to be plauded for their work for the right reasons, not to comment on whether they live up to a different author's bestseller?

Anyway, that aside, The Woman in the Window is brilliant. I read it in a day and a half - the usual case of 'I couldn't put it down'. The plot twists and turns, there are surprises around every corner, it's dark, and to churn out another overused phrase, it kept me on the edge of my seat. Anna is a child psychologist. She lives alone in a large house, apart from a tenant who rents out her basement. She has a husband, Ed, and an 8 year-old daughter Olivia, but they live away from her, although she speaks to them everyday. Anna is suffering from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) which has led to acute agoraphobia. She has not left her house for ten months. To pass the time indoors she keeps herself busy: she plays online chess; is taking an online French course; she gives out advice on an online site she has set up for other sufferers of agoraphobia; she watches many film noir and Hitchock thrillers; and she drinks many bottles of red wine, often until she is in a stupor. She also likes to people watch from her windows, especially her new neighbours across the road - the Russels. But one day she witnesses a terrible act that will change her life forever.

The best psychological thriller I have read in some time.

The Rain by Virginia Bergin

The Rain
by Virginia Bergin

Ruby is at a friend's house having a party and getting along rather nicely with Caspar in their hot tub outside. Her friend's parents suddenly call them inside sounding very panicky and worried. They've been hearing warnings on the radio of something terrible in the rain - and there are stormclouds up above. Sure enough, the rain comes hammering down, and it's only then that Caspar realises he's left something outside. He makes a quick dash for it and then races back in. Within seconds he is clawing at his face and body and there is blood everywhere. The mother decides to drive him to the hospital - the car has been safely parked under cover. Ruby goes with them only to find the roads jam packed with other afflicted people in cars either trying to escape or going to the hospital. Ruby is taken back to her house where she is quarantined by her mother and her stepdad, Simon. They don't want any harm to come to Ruby's baby brother, Henry. Over the next couple of days, the worst things imaginable happen to Ruby and she decides to somehow get to London to find her real dad - if he is still alive. On her journey, Ruby has to grow up fast, prove herself brave and determined, but above all, she has to survive.

I really loved this book. Once the action starts - which it does very quickly - it is very hard to put down. The panic and thoughts and feelings of Ruby seem very realistic. I liked all the characters, especially the geeky Darius Spratt, and the connection between the two at the pool and one of the camps was quite moving. Usually, when I've finished a book, it's a case of 'That was good - next!' but with this one, well let's just say, it stays with you.

Her by Harriet Lane

Her
by Harriet Lane

I think it's just coincidence that I chose to read two very sinister books one after the other. First there was The Night Guest, and now this, 'Her'. Harriet Lane's first novel, 'Alys, Always' was given very good reviews. I haven't read it, but with review words such as "thriller", "chilling", "surprises", "dramatic", "Ruth Rendell", "tragedy", "mysterious", "suspense", and "psychodrama", I can imagine that it is in the same vein as this, her second novel. I could use all the same nouns and adjectives to describe the story. Think "Single White Female" crossed with "Fatal Attraction" and even though the premise is different, the feelings you get while reading the book aren't.

The one thing about the book which annoyed me, was that you were told a scene from the viewpoint of the one main character, Nina, and then told the same scene from the viewpoint of the other, Emma. So I found myself skimming through a few paragraphs to reach unknown territory. Other than that, if you like to be made feel uncomfortable and on edge at the end of a reading session, then this is for you. Watch out who you let into your life.

The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

The Night Guest
by Fiona McFarlane

Ruth is in her 80s and lives alone in a house by the sea in Australia. She is a widower and her two sons, Jeff and Phil, live away. The only thing she has for comfort and companionship are her two cats and her memories. She is happy and she gets by. The only thing she is slightly troubled by is the feeling that some nights she has a visitor - a tiger. She thinks she can hear it in her living room, slinking around. She telephones Jeff, her nearest son, in the middle of the night to tell him about her fears, but she can tell he is slightly irritated by the interruption of sleep, and especially with a farcical, fantastical tale of a tiger in the house.

The next day, she gets another visitor, this time in human form. She is Frida and she says she's been sent by the government as home help for a few hours every morning. Ruth lets her in without many questions and even Jeff, on being telephoned and informed of this, does not seem to be surprised or anxious about this sudden arrival of a very larger-than-life character. Frida fusses, cleans, cooks, posts mail, takes calls, shops, looks after bills, and eventually, but quietly, moves in.

If this already hasn't started to sound unsettling and unnerving, then the rest of the book definitely will. Poor Ruth seems totally incapable of halting Frida's intrusiveness. You feel so sorry for her helplessness, and angry with her sons for not hearing any alarm bells ringing with the whole situation. The author does a very good job of drawing you deeper into the suspense and the horror of a poor defenceless old lady up against a big, bustling, matronly, bullying, dark character of a lady that is Frida. It cannot end well.

The tiger continues to make appearances throughout the book, and you start to wonder who or what this animal actually is or stands for. Is it out to harm or protect. Ruth does not always seem to fear the animal's visits, in fact she seems to enjoy to seek out evidence of its existence in her home.

This is the author's first novel, and if you love mystery and psychological suspense and the workings of the mind, then this is for you.