Member Reviews
The Girl in the Window is the first book I’ve read by this author, publishing on 13th December. Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy.
I thought the cover was a bit naff and similar to a lot of other books in the genre.
Initially, I was intrigued by the story. Izzy works as an agony aunt for a magazine and goes to the same coffee shop at the same time every morning, making sure she gets her usual seat with a view out of the window. She’s obsessed with watching a man go to visit a woman, and it transpires this is her husband. Izzy suspects he’s having an affair, and uses her agony aunt letters to get advice.
This is an easy read, but a lot of it is quite slow going, despite the short chapters. I found the way Izzy went about things a bit strange. This could be partly explained by her traumatic upbringing, but I didn’t think this really fitted into the story, it felt shoehorned in. ‘Jed of old’ is repeated a lot and I found it grated. Other things in the plot seem to happen randomly and it didn’t really ring true for me.
None of the characters are very likeable and a lot of the plot is predictable and a bit silly. Nonetheless, the story was alright and I did want to find out what happened at the end.
2.5 stars rounded to 2.
The story initially sucked me in and I was enjoying it. At some point it seemed to start to drag on, felt a tad repetitive and definitely could have been several chaoters shorter. Therr were holes in the story and things just happened out of the blue. So odd. I managed to make my way through it but it was not my favorite.
The Girl in the Window:
Shocking psychological suspense full of dishonesty, deception and mysteries!! I really enjoyed the plot and was shocked at twists!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy.
The Girl in the Window by Diana Wilkinson is a tense and fascinating family drama thriller, brimming with undercurrents of distrust, hurtful pasts, lies and uncertainty.
Izzy likes nothing more than hanging out at her local café, contemplating her responses as Agony Aunt. Her shyness and introversion hide her pain within. Her home life as a child was a brutal one so when she met Jed and married him, she was over the moon. But the threads which secured their marriage begin to unravel. Izzy sees Jed differently after witnessing hints of infidelity and her indecisiveness doesn't improve matters. Her mother-in-law is unwell. Life grinds along. Until it stops.
Though parts are predictable, I like the twisty turns which come from all sides. I appreciate that the novel isn't gritty or graphic. The relationships are somewhat odd but that makes things interesting. The Agony Aunt take adds another dimension. And, of course, there's the author's gorgeous writing style.
My sincere thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this captivating novel.
The Girl In The Window is a fabulous read! From the first page I was hooked. It is very well written and so engaging. I can’t even say how intricately woven this story is.
When you think you know what’s going on, there is more info to second guess yourself right until the very end.
I loved this book and will highly recommend it.
Jaw on floor!! I ate this book up. It was so good, so well paced and really nice short chapters. The story is about a girl who writes a column where she answers people's questions. She often does her work at a cafe, where she likes to sit in the window and watch the world.. or her husband.. go by. The story unravels more and more and it left me guessing the entire time!! This was definitely one of those just one more chapter kind of books.
Thank you netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review
I found this book a little bit slow through out the book. It was an enjoyable ready. I liked the plot and the twists at the end.
Found this book very strange and stuff to finish it. Characters were very strange and not very endearing.
The story’s protagonist Izzy works for a magazine writing an agony aunt column. Every morning Izzy sits in the window of a local café, drinking a coffee and contemplating her next column whilst watching her husband Jed conduct a relationship with another woman.
Izzy had a troubled childhood at the hands of her abusive father, also witnessing his physical abuse of her mother. Having shared the burden of her childhood with Jed, Izzy thought she had found her sole-mate and had a positive future awaiting her. From there on, the safe life Izzy once thought possible starts to evade her. After a series of events, the revelations start to mount up, changing her life forever.
I found myself championing and liking the main character immensely. However, I found that the story was somewhat lacking, it dragged on a little and I was disappointed there wasn’t more of a gripping plot. I prefer a little more grit to a story which this sadly didn’t have.
This book pulled me right in from the beginning. It is definitely a psychological thriller. there were times that i really wondered how unbalanced the main character really was and if anything was actually true that she experienced. It was also extremely difficult to grasp her husband's devotion, and I couldn't figure out their relationship either. Their communication skills with each other were strange to say the least. All that amounted to a lot of questions about what was really going on that kept me hooked.
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. Honestly, I had so many thoughts about it as I was reading. The main character kind of drove me nuts but… I couldn’t stop reading 😅🫣. It drew me in right away. There were times when the storyline was a little slower but, it quickly picked up pace.
Highly recommend if you’re looking for:
- A thriller
- Lies and deceit
- Twists and turns
- A book that keeps you hooked.
To me, this thriller started of well and as we learn more about our main character Laura watching from her window seat in the cafe, the more twisted up their lives became. I found it all a bit wierd to be honest as the more we get to know Izzy, the more obsessive and unrealistic she got. I can certainly tell the author loves her coffee!
I didn't quite know where the story was going and was surprised at what lengths Izzy went to to investigate her husband's possible affair. It certainly was intriguing despite being so unrealistic.
I found the end did leave a few unanswered questions.
I will give 3 stars for keeping my attention but the behaviour of various characters was just so unnatural, why would someone do/act that way?
Thank you for the advanced copy #NetGalley
Really can't decide if I love or hate this book 🤣
So on that basis I'll go with love - it's the perfect rainy day read, suspend belief a little, grab a big cuppa, a blanket and dive in!
The Girl in the Window is the protagonist in this story and her life is kinda nuts! It goes from the sublime to the ridiculous at times but my advice is to stick with it and just go with the flow.
The author has created a super atmospheric base in the cafe where Izzy sits each day in her seat by the window and watches the world go by. Or so it seems, but actually she is watching the doorway of the house opposite and keeping an eye on the people who visit the attractive young woman who lives there. To start with this seems like idle curiosity but it soon becomes clear that the main visitor is Izzy's husband, who claims to already be at work at the times when she is watching him with this woman.
There are a plethora of characters in the story who aren't so much red herrings as they are cul-de-sacs, but you don't know that at the time and lots of them feel like they will be super integral to the plot making it an intriguing read. For a quick and simplish read it is surprisingly dark in places and overall I loved it.
My thanks to the author, NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC in return for an honest review.
What a book loved from the first page to the last
Will have you turning the pages thinking you know what is happening and then it turns on its head
Great read well written
Can’t wait for her next book
Thanks NetGalley
This is a great concept for a story, our protagonist Izzy writes an agony aunt column and each day sits at a window seat at a local cafe drinking coffee and planning her next issue. Izzy has had a troubled life and after escaping her abusive father, leaving her with some definite trauma she has met and married husband Jed. One of Izzy’s favourite pastimes is people watching from the window seat until one day she sees her husband meeting a woman in the flat across the road.
The premise of this book is simple and believable as most of us love to spend time watching people, but what if that person is your husband? Izzy’s new safe life changes from there and a chain of events leads to more revelations which will change her life completely.
Well written snd some great characters within the book who become involved with Izzy and her story as the plot unfolds. I liked the character of Izzy and found her to be likeable to read about and enjoyed spending time with her while she was narrating her story.
Wow what is not to like about this book . Great characters and an interesting storyline . Just enough tension to keep you hooked too . I really enjoyed this book as I have others from this author . I would definitely recommend this book . 5 stars from me
Ohh wow what a book this was so full of lies and deceit. I loved it. Such a great storyline with such interesting characters. I loved the tension which built up throughout I didn’t know how it was going to end. I really enjoyed the writing style and I loved how the character Izzy was written. I will definitely be recommending this. Overall another fantastic thriller from this author. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this great book.
Izzy writes an agony aunt column and when letters start arriving that seem to mirror her own life, she decides to use her column to find out who is writing the letters. This was an enjoyable read but slow paced, particularly in the first half. There is a lot of sitting around drinking coffee. I enjoyed the subplots regarding the property development as well as the character explorations. It wasn’t a quick read for me, but nevertheless enjoyable. 3.5 stars.
Thank you to Diana Wilkinson, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for my advance copy.
Sadly this didn't live up to expectations. The book dragged, filled with the minutiae of daily life where nothing much happens. I did finish but it was a hard slog
I felt I had no interest in a character with too much time on her hands sitting drinking coffee
Not for me
This thrilling read is everything I needed while convalesing.
Izzy is a good character and after discoving her husband is having an affair she watches.......and waits.
This was a one sit read for me and although these kind of tales are now quite predictable I enjoyed my reading time and this will be a book I talk about and recommend