So, I picked up this one right after I’d finished The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. And boy, what a sense of déjà vu I’d been having. It was so strong, I almost checked the book cover twice to make sure it wasn’t Ware’s!
Basically, these two books are the same: a drunken female protagonist who witnesses a murder that nobody believes it happened because the victim is unknown or doesn’t exist. And all that happens in a confined setting, a cruise ship, or a house. God! Finn! You could’ve done better than relying on a [thriller_generator.exe]. Not saying that The Woman in Cabin 10 was any better.
But I don’t blame the authors. It’s the short-sighted, play-it-safe publishers’ fault. They’re too comfortable regurgitating the same thriller formula over and over again, readers can predict the plot while they’re still in the first half of the book. Then again, I don’t blame the industry. I do blame the readers in the first place for encouraging such trends. I admit… I’m one of those readers. But no more! No more going to bookstores and buying mainstream stuff. From now on, I will be too eclectic in choosing the kinds of books that deserve to have a seat in my library.
With that being said, I feel I should point out that The Woman in the Window isn't all that bad. It fulfills—though not quite satisfactorily—its purpose which is to entertain. It's all about expectations and my desire to love the time reading it. But there are issues that stood in my way of having fun, such as the chosen diction, the repetition of certain phrases, the plethora of references, the relentless butting-in thoughts of the protagonist, etc. The cardinal sin it committed, however, was the agonizingly snail-pacing build-up which took about 70% of the book, and the other last 30% wasn't good enough to redeem the work.
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Summary: Don't even bother buying it. The title is generic. The plot is generic. The characters aren't any different; they're sooo flat, I'm a fully-fledged Flat-Earther.
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