Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Pushkin Press, and author Antoine Laurain for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Originally published in France in 2023, French Windows was translated into an English version and published in 2025. Author Antoine Laurain pays homage to the Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window with a decidedly French flair.

Parisian photographer Nathalia Guitry has been unable to do her job for more than a year. She seeks out renowned Psychiatrist Dr. Faber. The last photographs she took were of a murder, and she’s been unable to photograph anything since then. Their sessions are going nowhere when he suggests an exercise to her to create stories about the people she sees when she looks out of the window of her apartment. Nathalia submits a story before their next session that is incredibly detailed. Dr. Faber wonders how she knows so much, especially after he manages to verify some of the details.

He finds himself looking forward to her stories as she moves up the floors of the building opposite her window. The stories are rich and detailed. He’s continually perplexed as to how she knows so much about these people’s lives. What he doesn’t know for quite some time is that his wife, a newspaper editor, has also been reading the stories that have come in an unsealed envelope. Why is this important? You’ll have to read the story to find out!

At just a little over 200 pages, French Windows is more novella than novel. The format is five different stories within the main story. Each time I found myself immersed in the life of a seemingly ordinary Parisian. These were fascinating vignettes that I enjoyed very much. It gives a nice overview of Parisian life. At the same time, there’s a mystery. I knew Nathalia had to eventually discuss the murder she had photographed, yet she held back opening up to the therapist she sought out. It’s a psychological thriller as the tables are turned somewhat on the psychiatrist.

I read this quickly, not only due to the length but also because the story grabbed me and drew me in. This is one of three Antoine Laurain books I received as advanced reader copies, and I am finding that the next one is generating a similar feeling of wanting to see how things turn out. Laurain is good at creating a sense of suspense. It’s almost like I knew what was coming, while at the same time I didn’t.

The translation is good. There were a couple of spots where the syntax didn’t feel quite right, but overall, the book is completely readable in English. I would say the translators did a great job of conveying the story as well as capturing the rhythm of the suspense.

If you’re looking for a quick read that will intrigue you, I would say to check out French Windows. The story is familiar and at the same time not quite the same. The mystery as to what is going on is very intriguing. I think I’ve found a new author I love!