Challenge Corner discussion

Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

Chapter 19:

Things are still a little confusing as to right now but it's definitely interesting to follow Annie's mental health battle and her struggle to make human connections while avoiding interactions to a certain degree.
(view spoiler)[I've got a feeling that the crime she witnesses will be happening to her friendly neighbor she spent an evening talking to. Her husband is too suspicious and controlling. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 55:

I adore an unreliable narrator! The uncertainty just makes things so much more interesting. Anna definitely is not reliable and quite hypocritical even.
(view spoiler)[ I wouldn't have expected her to hook up with David, although there were many hints at his attractiveness and her needing to get tensions out of her system.
On another note, i suspect that Ed and she broke up because of her cheating. I also think that the Jane Anna met might have been the mistress, instead of the other way around.
I do think a crime happened but I don't think that it happened the way Anna is imagining it at the moment. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19:

(view spoiler)[This is interesting so far, but I feel like not a lot has happened. I'm almost certain that Anna is imagining talking to her family very day. If her husband wanted to stick up with her illness, he wouldn't have left. The alcoholism is of course a classic for unreliable narrators, so I think it's definitely possible.
I'm also definitely getting some creepy vibes from Mr. Russell. (hide spoiler)]

GridGirl wrote: "Chapter 19:

This is interesting so far, but I feel like not a lot has happened. I'm almost certain that Anna is imagining talking to her family very day. If her husband wanted to stick up with her..."

OH, I hadn't thought about the possibility (view spoiler)[ of her family not being around/real/or even alive... that would be one mayor plot twist though. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 61:

(view spoiler)[ By now, I also think that neither the murder took place, nor her family is alive. Her interaction are a little too surreal for this.
She still is incredibly unreliable but does recognize it herself, at least.
I need to say that it makes me feel icky to know that she observed Ethan, a teenager, in his private space. (hide spoiler)]

Isabel wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "Chapter 19:

"

(view spoiler)[ I got more and more certain that she was imagining things. If you pay attention to the scenes where she is "calling" Ed, you will notice that you never see her dial. She looks at the phone and then suddenly talks to him. I already had a feeling for a while that her family might actually be dead, but I'm now almost certain, because of the accident they obviously had on the way home from their trip and also because in the beginning she mentions to Gracie (from that Forum) that it takes severe trauma to get agoraphobic... (hide spoiler)]

(after having read up to chapter 56)

End of Chapter 55:

(view spoiler)[I actually do believe Anna that something is going on with the Russell family. Everything else... I'm not so sure.... It was highly surprising to me that she had slept with David. Maybe she did imagine that as well? (hide spoiler)]

GridGirl wrote: "Isabel wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "Chapter 19:

"

[spoilers removed]

(after having read up to chapter 56)"

(view spoiler)[ Yes, the scene of the accident was also a major indicator for me... and her still having all of her daughters things around. (hide spoiler)]

Isabel wrote: "Chapter 55:

I adore an unreliable narrator! The uncertainty just makes things so much more interesting. Anna definitely is not reliable and quite hypocritical even.
I wouldn't have expected her..."

(view spoiler)[I agree, I think she cheated on him. It's pretty obvious in the scene in the car where they fight over the phone. I wonder if it's someone we know about... Maybe her partner sh used to have the "therapy office" (sorry, I don't know the proper English word) with? (hide spoiler)]

GridGirl wrote: "Isabel wrote: "Chapter 55:

I adore an unreliable narrator! The uncertainty just makes things so much more interesting. Anna definitely is not reliable and quite hypocritical even.
I wouldn't ha..."

At the time being, Anna is so spontaneous and surprising that i could imagine her having (view spoiler)[hooked up with anyone. (hide spoiler)]

Isabel wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "Isabel wrote: "Chapter 55:

I adore an unreliable narrator! The uncertainty just makes things so much more interesting. Anna definitely is not reliable and quite hypocritical even..."

(view spoiler)[It's true, but I'm not sure if David would have hooked up with her, if you know what I mean? She doesn't really seem like his type.. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ The ending was a little... shitty? i absolutely loved Jane (Katie) having been Ethan's birth mother but i was a little taken aback by Ethan being a serial killer?
it felt like a plot twist, just for the swke of it and didn't really make any sense for me. it didn't like the ending of the novel, which is disappointing since the plot is quite gripping (hide spoiler)]

Oh, you were quick with the last half! I don't think I'll be able to finish it before the end of the month 😅

i'll still comment on your thoughts :p as a heads-up... you were right on some points but the ending completely threw me off! didn't like it at all tbh

End of Chapter 78:

(view spoiler)[I knew she was having an an affair with Wesley! And I was also right that her family died from the accident. I think Anna acted spectacularly stupid after their car crash. She should have tried to get back to the street to get help or somewhere where she would have had a phone connection. Instead she dragged her husband and daughter into a full-blown snow storm and fed them tiny pieces of sandwiches. Doesn't seem like the smartest idea to me and was the most unrealistic part of the story in my opinion. (hide spoiler)]

GridGirl wrote: "End of Chapter 78:

[spoilers removed]"

I understand what you're saying but i also strongly take into account that she must have been under a tremendous shock and probably also in denial in the face of (view spoiler)[her family beeing dead, so she probably was holding on to their 'corpses' as a means of mabe saving them (hide spoiler)]? Idk.

What idd you think of (view spoiler)[Ethan being a serial killer? Hated the ending tbh. (hide spoiler)]

The twist got me. Was totally gob-smacked. This is the book that made me want to write thrillers. Of course the clues were there but the characters were so layered I missed it! Brilliant debut novel. For those who have read, did you watch the movie, too? How do they compare?

Susan wrote: "The twist got me. Was totally gob-smacked. This is the book that made me want to write thrillers. Of course the clues were there but the characters were so layered I missed it! Brilliant debut nove..."

To be honest, I can't really agree on the fact that the clues were there... (view spoiler)[I found Ethan as the killer quite to have come out of nowhere and very unpredictable. I didn't like the, for me, unrealistic ending. (hide spoiler)]

I haven't seen the movie but I would expect it to be as captivating as the novel.

Sorry, I was on vacation and didn't have time to post my final update:

(view spoiler)[I have to say that the book didn't swipe me off my feet completely. It felt very average and I have seen better books with unreliable narrators before. In the end I couldn't care less that Ethan was the killer, I just didn't feel a strong connection to this book overall. (hide spoiler)]

GridGirl wrote: "Sorry, I was on vacation and didn't have time to post my final update:

[spoilers removed]"

I agree, it felt like the ending was lackluster as well, although I quite enjoyed the progression of the plot!