Friday 13 February 2015

Book Review A Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

“To everyone else in this carriage I must look normal; I am doing exactly what they do: commuting to work, making appointments, ticking things off lists.
Just goes to show”

I was really looking forward to reading this book as last November I heard all about it at an event from the author’s agent. Straight away it caught my attention so I made a note of it and when the publishing date came round I bought a copy. Not just any copy though, a signed First Edition! It arrived wrapped up in box, bubble wrap and a sleeve around the book. It felt like Christmas as I unwrapped it – credit to Goldsboro Books for their fantastic service and packaging.
I was already reading a book so I put this on the book shelf reluctantly while I finished the current book. I finished it 3 days later and on a cold Sunday afternoon I snuggled up on the sofa with my fluffy blanket and started to read A Girl On the Train. I was hooked and read half of it within a few hours (I am a very fast reader, always have been). I stopped for dinner and the washing up and then started again. By the end of the first day I had read nearly all of the book, but my eyes were getting heavy and I had to go to bed. Next day I had to work, so after dinner that evening I finished the book. I hate finishing a book that I have been enjoying as it leaves me feeling empty.

So about the book. It is a fast paced psychological thriller about a woman named Rachel who is a functioning (on most days) alcoholic. Her drink of choice is usually Gin and Tonic in a can or a bottle of wine. Rachel gets the same train every day to work although we later find out that she has no job and is just pretending to go to work to keep her job loss from her friend Cathy who Rachel rents a room from. Rachel was once married and has lost her husband and her home. However the husband has moved his new wife into their old house which is next to the rail tracks. Rachel also suffers from lost time, where she cannot remember getting to where she is.

Every morning the train stops by the same signal and she can see into a house by the rail tracks. She has given the people who live there names – Jess and Jason – and makes up stories in her head about their lives. One day however Jess is gone and her disappearance has been reported in the papers. Rachel had drank herself into oblivion that day and has no recollection of what she had done or where she had been. Rachel then becomes involved in a web of intrigue, missing people and strangers.
We find out that “Jess” is in fact Megan and the book then begins to follow Megan’s story too. Each chapter has a character’s name and a dateline. You have to be careful to check these otherwise you could get easily confused as to who you are reading about especially when the action gathers pace.

The plot twists and turns and keeps you hooked right to the end. Every review I have read states the same thing “I never would have guessed the ending” and that goes for me too.

I would highly recommend this book to lovers of crime and thrillers. I look forward to the next offerings by Paula Hawkins with excitement. This really is one of the best books I have ever read.

A Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins is available now in Hardback and eBook.

Published by Transworld Books 



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