The Woman in the Window by A.J Finn is an “F ride” in an “E ticket” World

In the earliest years of Disney theme parks, ride attraction tickets were designated for “A rides” through “E rides,” with “E rides” the most coveted of all, garnering holders of such tickets passage to Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds, among others. The Woman in the Window pulls out of the gate with a slow, deliberate ascent, carrying the reader forward on a convoluted track of discovery. Chapters 1-18 languish in intriguing detail and character development, building steam slowly, like a roller coaster chugging up hill, until momentum and motion seem suddenly suspended precariously on a tipping point of no return. There is a brief moment on top to catch your breath, the anticipation of an imminent change of direction tantalizes, becoming a grab the rails ride where plot switchbacks madden and mystify, as readers plummet headlong into accelerating action, and almost excruciatingly unbearable twisting and turning tension into the climax scene. It is the literary equivalent of an “F ride” in an “E ticket” world. Make sure to have your ticket ready.