Book Review: The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins

Doubleday, January 2015

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.  Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

Have you ever looked out of the window of a train at the houses passing by and wondered what sort of people live in them and maybe even created fictional lives for them? Rachel does this everyday as she catches the same commuter train. However, simple curiosity turns into something much more and she must decide just how far she will go to get involved in these people’s lives, of which, in reality she knows very little about.

Rachel, a divorced alcoholic still thinks about her ex-husband who still lives in their old home with his new wife and child. This is probably not helped by the fact she passes the house every day whilst on the train. Her ex husband, Tom also happens to live a few doors down from the couple that she becomes enthralled with and soon starts making up stories about in her head. With plenty of time on her hands whilst commuting back and forth she becomes a bit too emotionally involved in the woman she names Jess. Then when she witnesses something out of the ordinary her curiosity overwhelms her and she forces her way into the couple’s life.

This book has been pegged by a lot of people as the next Gone Girl and after reading it I definitely agree. This is Paula Hawkins’s first thriller and I sincerely hope she writes more of this genre. It is a story that delves into the nature of human curiosity and shows how it can change a person’s life so much. The Girl on the Train delves into the psychological aspect of human nature. It makes you think about how dangerous curiosity can be if taken too far and whether other people’s business should remain exactly that.

The story is full of twists and is brilliant at building suspense. One thing that makes this story even better is its use of multiple narratives as the story is told from the perspective of Rachel, Anna, Rachel’s ex husband’s new wife and Megan or Jess as Rachel has named her from afar.

If you are looking for something to read after Gone Girl or you simply want a book that keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat to the end then this is definitely one to add to your reading list. However, once you start this book you may not want to put it down, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!

by

Liz Hewett

Liz is an avid reader and writer. She’s married to Keith and is currently living in Hampshire with their mischievous but loveable cat, Jeff. When she hasn’t got her head stuck in a book you can find her putting pen to paper and editing her own book that she wrote for Nanowrimo 2014. In fact, she has always loved writing and had her first article published at the age of 8 in a local church magazine.

Liz absolutely loves reading to the extent that she has even made herself a reading area in their small house which is lined with masses of books and book inspired posters. Some of her favourite authors are: Sophie Kinsella, Freya North, Tess Gerritsen and J.D Robb (Nora Robert’s pen name).