The Girl on the Train: Book Review

By Wendy Robards

I can't do this, I can't just be a wife. I don't understand how anyone does it -- there is literally nothing to do but wait. Wait for a man to come home and love you. Either that or look around for something to distract you. -from The Girl on the Train-

Rachel has turned into a drunk, lost, lonely and obsessive ... and completely unreliable since she and Tom split. Tom has found Anna, and they've started a family ... something Rachel has always wanted. So on her daily train commute to and from her job in London, Rachel allows herself to fantasize about a couple who live near the train tracks, in the same neighborhood where she and Tom once shared a home (and which he now shares with Anna). Rachel nicknames the couple Jess and Jason, and in her mind they are perfect and completely in love.

But are they?

Jess is really Megan, and Jason is really Scott ... and their real life is not at all like the life Rachel has imagined for them. When Megan goes missing, Rachel inserts herself into their story and the "facts" become even more in question.

Swirling with secrets, innuendos, partial truths, and unreliable narrators, The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller in the style of Gone Girl. Paula Hawkins is adept at developing her characters and keeping the reader guessing as to what is truth and what is not. Hawkins omits key details which slip by unnoticed by the reader until the end -- which is sure to surprise most readers.

I loved this book for its careful pacing and suspense. The confusing pieces of the plot are woven together to create a mystery which gradually is solved, revealing the real truth beneath the misconceptions.

Readers who enjoy a good psychological thriller will find much to enjoy in Hawkin's compelling novel.

Highly Recommended.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rating System

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ = Excellent
★ ★ ★ ★ = Good/Very Good
★ ★ ★ = Okay read
★ ★ = Not recommended
★ = Ugh! Don't waste your time.

Catch all of Wendy Robard's reviews and her quilting finesse in her fabulous blog, "Caribousmom".