Review of The Girl On The Train

I recently finished reading "The Girl On The Train" by Paula Hawkins. 

This book is soon to be a movie, coming out in October. 

I tend to stick to the Young Adult genre, but a friend suggested I read this.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised and finished the book in only 2 days!

I was particularly drawn to this book because I personally related to 

Rachel Watson, the main character, who was an alcoholic. Rachel

is a drunk who ruined her marriage after countless

black out drunk nights. 

Soon after discovering her husbands affair and their divorce Rachel

gets fired from her job for showing up drunk.

She now spends every day taking the train back and forth to London

so people think she still has her job. Every day the train drives 

past her old house where her ex-husband and his new wife (the mistress) live

with their newborn baby. A few houses down

lives a couple that Rachel romanticizes into the "perfect couple".

She observes this couple everyday, giving them made up names

and background stories. One morning she sees in the news that 

the wife, of her perfect couple, is missing. Soon she discovers that on the night

Megan, the wife, disappeared she spent a black out night on that street fighting with her ex.

Rachel's already messy world gets turned completely upside down.

Now, instead of focusing on her ex-husband and his new wife, 

she dedicates all of her time to finding out what happened to Megan.

Rachel obsesses over Megan's disappearance, making up lies

and inserting herself into the investigation. 

This story was a whirl-wind of emotions and mystery. I was completely

captivated by this story; the plot, the finely tuned

characters and all the secrets and intrigue. There was a short period of the book

where I got a bit frustrated with the slow pace. Overall, it was a great read, though. 

The considerable build-up of suspense made much more sense

once the book came to its end. Although it seems that Rachel is having a psychotic

break, the reader builds empathy for this unlikely character. 

I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys shows like Law and Order or Criminal

Minds and suspense stories. I would give this book a strong 4 out of 5 stars.