I received The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins back in January as a birthday present from my brother. I started reading as soon as I could, but life got in the way and I wasn’t able to fly through it as swiftly as I’d have liked.
The Girl On The Train tell the story of Rachel who gets the same train (no surprises there) to London each day. Most days, the train stops at the signal just across from where she used to live with her ex husband. On the same street are ‘Jess and Jason’, a couple she likes to watch while she waits for the train to start moving again.
Rachel’s life is pretty fucked up. She’s got a fair few issues, including being obsessed with her ex-husband Tom, her drinking problem which causes to ‘lose’ memories and the fact that she still pretends to go work every day despite being fired months ago. But it all gets worse when she witnesses something important while waiting at the signal. ‘Jess’ is kissing a man on the terrace… a man that’s not ‘Jason’. While witnessing infidelity may make you raise an eyebrow, it’s not much of a cause for concern…
Until ‘Jess’ goes missing.
After learning that ‘Jason and Jess’ are really Scott and Megan, Rachel feels compelled to help Scott find her, but could her eagerness to be needed lead her down a dark and dangerous path? Did Scott kill Megan? Who’s the man on the terrace? What happened that night of the disappearance?
Well, you’ll just have to read the book. The novel rotates between being narrated by Rachel, Megan and Anna (Tom’s new wife), which I think is a fabulous way of making you piece together all the clues. When I had time to read, I was fully gripped in the story, frantically trying to piece the puzzle together. I did in the end, and I’m actually kind of disappointed that I did. I guessed everything. Eventually I was just waiting for the characters to confirm it on paper.
Nevertheless it was a fantastic book and I’d thoroughly recommend it.
Have you read this book? If not, do you think you will? Let us know in the comments below!