Review: "The Girl On The Train," by Paula Hawkins

I picked this one up shortly after viewing the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation. For those of you who know me, or read my posts, you’ll know that I try to always read the book first- in fact, I recommend it. I love a good psychological thriller; many were comparing TGOTT to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl (which was great) so I took no time getting this one started.

We are introduced to three female narrators- Rachel, Anna and Megan- as well as many other supporting characters. As we get to know each person, what do we learn?

You never know what happens behind closed doors

What you see, isn’t always what you get

Above all else, TRUST NO ONE!

That really means no one. There are no likable characters- everyone is scheming, secretive, unreliable. Even the three main characters consist of a liar, cheat and alcoholic. I was able to correctly predict ‘who done it’ early on, so there was no sense of surprise at the big reveal, but that still didn’t ruin my reading experience.

Ms Hawkins has delivered a well crafted thriller. It’s suspenseful, dark, twisty and undeniably unsettling. I recommend this book to those looking for a good psychological thriller such as Gone Girl.

“One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl… Three for a girl. I'm stuck on three, I just can't get any further. My head is thick with sounds, my mouth thick with blood. Three for a girl. I can hear the magpies—they're laughing, mocking me, a raucous cackling. A tiding. Bad tidings. I can see them now, black against the sun. Not the birds, something else. Someone's coming. Someone is speaking to me. Now look. Now look what you made me do”. –Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train

- Colleen