Review: The Girl On The Train

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Genres/Themes: Thriller, Women’s Lit, Drama, Alcoholism, Mystery

★★★☆☆

I’m pretty meh about this book. Honestly, I didn’t enjoy it much but, three stars because it was written well and I see the appeal.
Synopsis (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?

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I didn’t like this book mostly because of Rachel’s character. If I can’t like the main character it is hard to read the book… especially if I dislike ALL the characters. I only liked Cathy and she barely showed up.

Also the mystery was really slow going because Rachel doesn’t remember the night well. So, because of that the book was mostly her stupid decisions while drunk, self-pity, and remembering the past.

I’m really not sure what else to say about this book. The writing was well done and I actually enjoyed the different perspectives and their different times. I found it interesting and was just waiting for Megan’s time to catch up.

Would I recommend it? To people who like Thrillers and Literary Fiction… probably? Just to see if they liked it.

Goodreads