The woman in the window by A.J. Finn, just started

*Starred Review* "Funeral March of a Marionette" is heard somewhere off in the distance as the shadow of Alfred Hitchcock, for whose TV program that 1872 Gounod piece served as the theme,moves across each page of this neo-noir masterpiece. Grab a bottle of Merlot, and settle in to accompany Anna Fox on her nightmare journey, a journey confined, almost in its entirety, within the walls of her New York City home. Anna suffers from agoraphobia and has carefully arranged her housebound existence around her many medications, including bottles of wine and classic thriller films, as she keeps in contact with her husband and daughter, nurtures fellow agoraphobes in an online support group, plays virtual chess, Skypes French lessons, and maintains close surveillance of her neighbors. Safe from the world outside. Then her cocoon begins to unravel when she witnesses a murder in the house across the way. Sound familiar? However, author Finn has carefully paced Anna's internal narrative and intricately woven interactions (real or imagined?) and added a diabolical dimension that makes this story even more intense than Hitchcock's Rear Window. And when the catalyst for Anna's condition is ultimately revealed, it is far more traumatic than a broken leg. An astounding debut from a truly talented writer, perfect for fans in search of more like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Scheduled for publication in 35 languages and with a film already in development at Fox 2000 with Scott Rudin producing, this could be the first novel that climbs highest on this year's bestseller lists. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews. A much-bruited Frankfort title, buzzing even before BookExpo opened, sold to 35 countries, and in development as a Fox film, Finn's white-knuckler defines the term hot debut. Its heroine, the reclusive Anna Fox, hides away in her New York apartment tippling wine, watching old movies, and looking out the window, most recently at the husband, wife, and teenage son who just moved in across the way. Then she seesâ€"or thinks she seesâ€"something shocking, and what follows has wracked nerves enough to merit Gone Girl/Girl on the Train comparisons. With a 200,000-copy first printing.