If you ever take public transport, people watching can be an interesting past time. Watching life go by on your ride into the city can often lead to some deep thinking about your fellow commuters. Where are these people going now? What kind of life do they live? What will they be getting up to this weekend? Are they just returning home to an empty house, a few dead plants and a hungry cat?
That’s exactly what Rachel did, as she took her daily train ride into London, until she found herself entangled in a wicked web of extramarital affairs, murder and violence.
The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller, written in 2015 by British journalist turned author, Paula Hawkins. The book is a first person narrative told from the viewpoints of three women: Rachel, Anna and Megan. Each woman lives a very different life from the others, but they are all connected, sometimes indirectly.
The Girl on the Train takes quite a while to really get going, but Paula builds up the suspense in a captivating manner. In other words, you will not be bored. The first person perspective through three different women allows character depth. The reader becomes engrossed in their different lives and is able to judge all three women based on their personalities which shine through each point of view.
After spending three quarters of the book trying to figure out what happened to X (sorry, I’m not going to spoil it for you) the surprise twist at the end was just that, completely unexpected. Did someone say ‘PLOT TWIST’?
The Girl on the Train won the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award in the Mystery and Thriller category and for good reason. A well written book, captivating and every bit a thriller. MJ would be proud.
Rating: 3/5 worms
Image from Penny Dreadful Books
