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.
