Sunday 30 October 2016

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: Review

Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Thriller
Originally Published: 
Pages: 316
Prices: £6.49 (Hardback from Amazon)
            £3.85 (Paperback from Amazon)
            £4.99 (Kindle Edition)
Publisher: Doubleday
Series: Standalone
Source: Bought

About the book (Taken from Goodreads):

EVERY DAY THE SAME

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. 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.



UNTIL TODAY

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 goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?


My review:
I don't read many thrillers; in fact, the only other one I've ever read is 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn and I'm glad I read this one! While personally, I didn't think it was quite as good as 'Gone Girl' the hype is still well deserved.



By the end of the book, I really cared about Rachel and her fight to recover the information she'd lost and her effort to conquer her alcoholism. I was genuinely disappointed when she gave in and had a drink and I actually clapped to myself whenever she hadn't had a drink in a while. 

All the characters were fantastic in their own special ways. One narrator was a drunk, the second was a liar and the third a cheat - so who could you trust?  They were all extremely well written, which made for very compulsive reading. Whenever I put the book down I just had to go back for more! 


The only thing wrong with this book was the ending. The whole book built up to a whole load of nothing which was incredibly frustrating. I could guess who the killer was several chapters before the end, but still, everyone else was clueless. By the end, I was glad it was finally over, not because I didn't enjoy the book, just because the ending dragged way too long. The whole confrontation at the end was really strange... It was so unlike the characters involved and it left a really sour taste in my mouth. But, even if the ending did fall a little flat,  the rest of the novel was great, so,  four stars it is.



Have you read 'The Girl On the Train' yet? Is it really the next 'Gone Girl'? Did it deserve all the hype it received? Seen the movie yet? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

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