The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I read this via an audiobook, and am so glad I did. The three women reading it made this psychological thriller really hard to put down. And with them in character, each made me feel a little something more.

Blurb:

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. "Jess and Jason," she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good? Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.

A mystery and whodunit in one, this was a great example of what a classic Hitchcock film was like when I watched them as a kid. No jump out at you moments or gory details; just a smooth and completely engrossing tale of a woman who suffers alcoholic blackouts who thinks she knows what she sees. As the book progresses, I ended up with a pity-hate relationship with her: she was so screwed up that her actions were both pitiful and made you angry at the same time reading it.

While most books you can tell a little bit about the plot without giving it away, this book is a true 'read it for yourself' one. If you are an Audible member, Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, India Fisher all did a superb job of telling the story of the three women in the book.



Book Information:

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 
• Riverhead Books; 2015.
• ISBN13: 9781594633669
• Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook versions.

Disclosure: Amazon links.
 



+Renee Shelton
Twitter: @121degreesC