 | The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkin's debut novel, a Thriller/Psychological Suspense was published on January 6, 2015 by Doubleday Canada. You can order your copy all over the world, but here are a few places you can order it from or read about it online: Goodreads | Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters.Indigo.ca |
| Description: A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives. 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? A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to Gone Girl, The Silent Wife, or Before I Go to Sleep, this is an electrifying debut embraced by readers across markets and categories. |  |
 Author Paula Hawkins | About The Author: Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. She lives in London. The Girl on the Train is her first thriller. It is being published all over the world and has been optioned by Dreamworks. Website | Twitter | Facebook |
My Thoughts:
Every day is the same for Rachel, until it isn’t. Today, she sees something shocking and out of the ordinary. She has been watching this same couple, day in and day out, during her daily commute on the train. She imagines they have the perfect life. Almost the same perfect life that she had not too long ago. Now everything has changed, so she goes to the Police about what she witnessed. Due to her little problem with alcoholism, they think she is unreliable. She decides to get involved herself. She may be making things more complicated for both herself... and many others.
This psychological thriller is told by three different POV’s: Rachel, the witness (also the ex-wife); Anna, the new wife (married to Rachel’s ex-husband); and Megan, the nanny and neighbour (and person that goes missing). Paula Hawkins, the author does a magnificent job slowly releasing the secrets, bit by bit, throughout the novel, and giving us more information on the real connections between the women.
Every day is the same for Rachel, until it isn’t. Today, she sees something shocking and out of the ordinary. She has been watching this same couple, day in and day out, during her daily commute on the train. She imagines they have the perfect life. Almost the same perfect life that she had not too long ago. Now everything has changed, so she goes to the Police about what she witnessed. Due to her little problem with alcoholism, they think she is unreliable. She decides to get involved herself. She may be making things more complicated for both herself... and many others.
This psychological thriller is told by three different POV’s: Rachel, the witness (also the ex-wife); Anna, the new wife (married to Rachel’s ex-husband); and Megan, the nanny and neighbour (and person that goes missing). Paula Hawkins, the author does a magnificent job slowly releasing the secrets, bit by bit, throughout the novel, and giving us more information on the real connections between the women.
"Before I have time to move, his hand shoots out, he grabs my forearm and pulls me towards him. His mouth is a grim line, his eyes wild. He is desperate. Flooded with dread and adrenaline, I see darkness coming. I open my mouth to cry out, but I'm too late, he yanks me into the house and slams the door behind me."
“She wasn’t that beautiful, carefree girl out on the terrace. She wasn’t a loving wife. She wasn’t even a good person. She was a liar, a cheat. She was a killer.”
“There are tears on her cheeks. She wipes them away and as she does so, something in her expression changes and her face loses all colour. She’s not looking at me, but over my shoulder, and as I turn around to follow her gaze, I see him at the kitchen window, watching us.”
This debut novel keeps you flipping pages… FAST! Just when you think you know who is responsible, you change your mind, mainly because the narrator is changing her mind. The story changes with a few different twists and reveals, especially as the end draws closer. Hard to believe what you are reading, because not everyone is telling the truth. It does remind me of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and/or Mary Kubica’s The Good Girl, but only in a good intoxicating and intriguing way. All three novels play with your mind, keeping you guessing continuously. They all have “Girl” in the title and they are filled with characters having psychological issues. I highly recommend reading The Girl on the Train. Push it up your “To Be Read” pile. Immediately.
My Rating: 5/5 Stars.
My Rating: 5/5 Stars.
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