I am enjoying some light reading over the summer months, so just posting some brief thoughts on the two books I have read recently.

The first was The Woman in The Window by A.J. Finn.

This is a psychological thriller in the style of ‘The Girl on the Train.’

Dr Anna Fox is a child psychologist who has developed severe agoraphobia due to a traumatic event and cannot leave the house.  She lives alone in an upmarket neighbourhood of New York.  She drinks copious amounts of Merlot, chats to people online and spies on her neighbours with a long lens camera.

The novel is about what happens when she hears a blood curdling scream coming from across the road at her neighbour’s house, ‘The Russells.’

I found this a thoroughly enjoyable read, if complete nonsense at times.  If you can suspend your disbelief about certain events, then you are in for an enjoyable time.  If you are stickler for realism, this may not be for you!

It moves along at a ferocious pace, so boredom was never a problem for me.  I found the main character likeable and believable for the most part.  I did suspect something about the person who turns out to be the murderer, but I was never 100% sure. Another plot twist I guessed immediately, but there was one I didn’t get.   So pretty good if you like your thrillers to keep you guessing!

What I didn’t like (very similar to The Girl on the Train) was how together, competent and razor sharp the main character could be, having just downed the guts of two bottles of wine.  This really bugs me about these types of thrillers.  OK, so maybe I have a low tolerance to alcohol, and the character has built up a huge tolerance, but what she is able to achieve whilst supposedly ‘drunk,’ really stretches the limits of plausibility in anyone’s language!

However, if you are looking for an entertaining beach read, look no further!

Now, important question.  Is anyone watching ‘Tales of the City,’ on Netflix?

It popped up on my recommended list and I had heard about the books by Armistead Maupin, so off I went in search of more info.  It turns out there are many books in the series – 9 to be exact, but I ventured forth nonetheless and read the first one.

Set in the 1970s in San Francisco, it’s about Mary Anne Singleton who arrives in the city, and rents a place at 28 Barbary Lane. The book follows an endearing cast of eccentric characters who either live in Barbary Lane or know someone who does.  The writing is witty, the characters superbly drawn.  My only gripe – and it’s a small one – was that I didn’t get several of the cultural references.  I am now interested to check out the original T.V. series which is online at channel4.com.

I think I’ll see what the original T.V series is all about. I would love it if you could let me know if you are watching it on Netflix.  Apparently, it’s a continuation of the story, but me being me, I need to know what I may have missed!

I haven’t decided yet if I’ll read any more of the Armistead Maupin series. I would be happy to, but there are too many other books I want to read first.

Next book on the reading list – He said/She said by Erin Kelly.