The Girl on the Train

Book was filled with unlikeable characters, which made it impossible to feel for any of them. The story itself kept me interested until the end.

A novel that gets you hooked from the first few chapters..each chapter is an unravel and that makes one to sit and read it till the end.

It is a very fast paced novel and an entertaining read. But I guessed the killer around the halfway point and confirmed it by the time I read 3/4th of it. Still had a good time reading it.

I am spilt down the middle about this book. I found the first half of the storyline completely fascinating, however towards the end of the second half and the actual end its self was rather disappointing as I found it quite predictable. As a result I felt the ending lacked compared to the actual set up. I don't know whether the ending was so disappointing to me becuase I had heard so much hype about how excellent the WHOLE thing was and raised my expectations very high. Then when I got to read the book it overall didn't live up to my high expectations and in my opinion I can never enjoy things that are too predictable. Although in saying that characters in this book never bored me and really made the whole experience of reading this book slighty more enjoyable.

I'm about a hundred pages into this book. I am debating whether or not to finish. So far, I'm bored and annoyed and think all the women are poorly portrayed. So, we'll see. Maybe I'll take a break and come back to it and discover it's not bad. But so far, blech. I also made the mistake of skipping ahead, so I already know the twist. And it seems to be a terrible thriller twist. So, maybe I'll just stop.

Took it back to the library the other day. We are so done.

This was the “it” book of the summer about five years ago, the one everyone was talking about and that everyone couldn't put down. It was supposed to be the page-turner with the twists you couldn't see coming. And so I too engulfed this one to see what everyone was talking about.

Truthfully, if I had to sum the book up in a word, it would be “meh”.

It's hard to give too much of a plot summary without giving too much away, and while I, unlike the rest of the world, did not think the book was all that and a bag of chips, I still don't wish to spoil it for those you enjoy these things more than I do. Or as my wife would describe it, “everyone else but you.”

Fair enough.

The essence of the plot, then, is that a woman named Rachel, down on her luck and sipping gin and tonics from a can while taking the train back and forth to London, fantasizes about what the people in the houses behind the tracks do, the kind of lives they lead. Her own life has fallen apart and she takes a kind of solace in the lives these fantasy people lead in her head. She has even given them names, since their real names are unknown to her.

Then, one day, she sees something as she's staring through the train window, something that turns her fantasy on its head. At that moment, her life changes from fantasies about these people to an all out obsession about what she saw. An obsession so deep, she risks her life and livelihood, and perhaps darkest of all, her integrity to get close enough to discover the truth.

It sounds like an enthralling premise, doesn't it? Critics have been using the term Hitchcockian to describe it. It does have a certain “Rear Window” quality to it, that strange voyeuristic quality of Jeff Jefferies looking out his back window and seeing something he thinks is a murder. But that's were the comparison ends. It starts with a voyeur and turns into a study of a life in freefall. In that regard, the book actually became hard to read. As the main character made bad, then worse, then catastrophic decisions, I wondered how much longer I could read until the unraveling of her life became too unpalatable. It never quite got there, but it came really darn close.

The plot relies largely on what the New York Times referred to as “unreliable narration”, meaning you can't trust what the narrator is telling you. Except that you can. The narration flickers between three narrators, all of the women, all of whom are involved in the plot. Each one has their quirks and problems, each has moments of fooling themselves, but that's really all they're fooling. Unreliable narration only goes so far, and when at least one of the characters is a blackout drunk, you can readily expect that their memory will be a bit, shall we say, fuzzy.

Another of the devices used to confuse the reader is a jumbling of the timing of the scenes. The cutting is designed to bring the reader back and forth and possibly add some confusion, but a careful reading will show that each chapter is timestamped. You get a certain anticipatory feeling as you near the time when you know that the precipitating event happened, and that you'll finally get to see it, feeling like maybe you'll be surprised by what's around the corner. But you aren't.

Or at least I wasn't.

Also, the book was written in the first person present tense. Don't get me started.

The climax doesn't twist nearly as much as everyone had been claiming it did. I found myself unsurprised at the ending, indeed, hoping for something different. I was disappointed when I was right.

Entertaining and engaging, in a Lifetime movie sort of way. All the characters have terrible decision making skills. Although the pace clipped along and kept me mildly interested, I had a hard time believing that it's possible that every single one of the characters is as big a mess as they are.

I see a lot of reviews saying they hated the characters, especially the women. I actually even liked Anna by the end of it. The gaslighting, emotional abuse and control exhibited by all the male characters is typical domestic violence. They get the the victims to think they're crazy, or stupid, or vulnerable, say that it's them making things up, imagining stuff. This is not rare, provoked behaviour. I hope this book has sparked conversations about PTS, grief and addiction.
The story dragged, and I didn't enjoy it, but I felt compelled to finish, and some of the character growth was quite deep.

I liked this enough. I like the different perspective to try to deduce who the killer is by what the characters know and also getting to go deeper into their life. The main character was hard to like but her thought process I thought was pretty relatable when she self sabotages herself or starts to get paranoid.

Had a nice narrator

This book that kept me hooked the entire time. From the start, I was curious and kept thinking, “What's going to happen next?” Each chapter had some surprising twist which made me want to keep reading. The characters felt so real, and the story kept me guessing. It's the kind of book where you never know what's coming, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way to the end. If you love a thrilling mystery, this one will definitely keep you interested from beginning to end!

My first mystery/thriller! Usually I prefer to know what is going to happen during intense reads. I was able to hang in there though and found the story incredibly entertaining. 

The journal-esque and multiple first-person POV structure of this novel set this story up to just about perfection, laying the path for some surprises that you might guess and others that only few will. This dynamic is elevated even more with a plethora of messy, well flushed-out characters that keep you engaged all the way through with excellent pace, mystery, and curiosity that all lead to a thrilling ending.

OMG! 

This is such a good book. 

Rachel uses the same train every day, watching as the same view out the train window. Her ex-husband had an affair, with Anna and he had another affair with Megan. However, Megan goes missing. Anna thinks all the phone calls were coming from Rachel and we find out towards the end that it was Megan. 

Rachel goes to Anna when she remembers what happened the night Megan went missing because she remembers that Tom was with Megan and not Anna.

The surprise in me when I found out what happened to Megan and who hurt her and the plots twist.

 “The Girl on the Train” was a book I was really excited to dive into, but it ended up being a bit of a mixed bag for me. The premise sounded intriguing—peering into the lives of strangers from the vantage point of a train window. It's a setting ripe for mystery and suspense, and the author does set up a compelling scenario. I mean atleast in theory.
However, as I got deeper into the story, I found myself losing some of that initial enthusiasm. The characters felt flat, and I struggled to connect with them. The protagonist, Rachel, had a lot of potential as an unreliable narrator, but her constant state of intoxication and the circular pattern of her thoughts made the narrative drag. And not in the way that can be interesting at times.
The plot had its moments of tension, but overall, the pacing felt uneven. There were parts where the story really picked up and I was exited to see what happened next, but then it would slow down with repetitive reflection or way less fun side plots. The twists were decent, though not as surprising as I'd hoped—they felt a bit too ... rehearsed and planned out. It does not feel like the characters doing an action but rather the author deciding they will do this.
In the end, “The Girl on the Train” wasn't quite the thrill ride I was expecting. It had some interesting elements and a strong setup, but it didn't quite deliver on the suspense or character depth I was looking for. It's a decent read if you're into psychological thrillers, but for me, it just missed the mark. So for me it is a sad 2.5 read. 

Turns out I just need to go on a 12 hour road trip to read a physical book

Meu deus, eu amei, ela usou muito bem a famosa história da ex namorada louca e como os homens têm costume de manipular todas as mulheres ao seu redor.
Mas fiquei pensando durante um bom tempo que esse livro seria perfeito se fosse escrito pela Gillian Flynn

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 Stars= It was a very good read. I might read it again.

TRIGGER WARNING: ALCOHOLISM, INFIDELITY This was my first book by Paula Hawkins, and good golly, Miss Molly, I enjoyed every second of it!The whole plot was full of twists and turns. In fact, it had so many twists and turns that I was going to get car sick, or should I say train sick? You see what I did there? takes a bowI loved almost all of the characters. They all stood out in their own way. The only character I didn't like was Anna. That girl needs Jesus. She even stated her desire to be a MISTRESS! She liked being the other woman! Anna enjoyed all the lying and sneaking around with a married man. She was so annoying when she talked about how her marriage was so wonderful and her life was perfect. Girlie, your hubby cheated on his last wife with you. What makes you think he won't turn around and do the same thing to you!? Honey, get right and go with God. Sheesh.I'm giving this four stars because I figured out the “who done it” about halfway into the story. although that doesn't make it any less exciting. There is so much to unpack towards the end of this book. You will need at least three suitcases to carry all the baggage.This was sitting in my TBR pile for ages, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up because it was a fun one!

Was kept guessing until the end

I enjoyed this story for the most part even though I liked A Slow Fire Burning better I think. I always have a hard time when women are so obsessed with motherhood though. I think anything is going to be spoiled by that for me. I listen to a lot of crime novels, but I still don't consider myself much of a crime or mystery reader, except that apparently I am to an extent. I don't tend to ever rate them higher than a 3. Anyway, pretty much everyone is this book is awful. Which is fine, it's realistic if not a little relentless. Thought it ended well, but sad what happened to Megan

I feel like maybe this is a love it or hate it type book. While some point out that the protagonist is unlikable, I felt like that may be true but also she's understandable in a pitiable way. Yeah, she's fucked up, but there's a reason and there's a reason people continue to treat her a certain way. The plot is pulpy often, but has a decent set-up and stinger. I'd be lying if I said I didn't see the ending coming from a mile away, but I did enjoy the ride.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH, IT WAS SO FUCKING CAPTIVATING

the characters ? INFURIATING, STUPID, DEEPLY MENTALLY ILL ( rachel, scott, anna, i beg seek help)

the plot ? AMAZING

the writing ? PERFECT, not once did I feel bored nor sleepy while reading this, which is quite rare

I felt so many emotions, rage, sadness, FEAR.

Sssssuch a good read !!!

(btw the cover is so clever lol)

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH, IT WAS SO FUCKING CAPTIVATING

the characters ? INFURIATING, STUPID, DEEPLY MENTALLY ILL ( rachel, scott, anna, i beg seek help)

the plot ? AMAZING

the writing ? PERFECT, not once did I feel bored nor sleepy while reading this, which is quite rare

I felt so many emotions, rage, sadness, FEAR.

Sssssuch a good read !!!

(btw the cover is so clever lol)

Amazing suspense novel! I don't usually read books like this one, but I was sucked in, and loved it! I thought I “had it”, and that it was predictable. But not necessarily!

Well-written, suspenseful and well-crafted story.

When we start a book, with no clue about the plot, we form a certain idea about the characters from the first few sentences about them. The idea is an extrapolation based on what we want the character to be, the kind of characters we have seen before. I took this book to read on a 12 hour overnight train ride; thought I'd enjoy it more that way. I thought the whole thing would happen on the train; a mystery surrounding a young girl on the train - someone notices something wrong - gets themselves into something bigger than they thought it would be and so on. Sadly, the book is more about the girl that uses a train rather than one on a train.
Someone suggested me Gone with the Wind, said that it's so good that once I read that I'll comparing all other books I read, with that. I never read the book, but I realize what he felt. I couldn't help but compare this book with Gone Girl, at least somewhere in the middle of the novel, the diary entries-the skeptical woman police officer, the type B men, infidelity. (For some reason, every woman in this book smells all the men, and almost kisses them, what's up with that??) I found it hard to empathize with any of the character, even the baby; but I guess I shouldn't be so ‘judgy'.
Jump in, if you want hold hands with Rachel Watson on a downward spiral of her path to self destruction as she narrates to you her totally unreliable past. Enter - two other apparently level headed women; you'll end up deciding one of them is lying. Or are all of them lying? Or are all of them innocent?
Even though, it's a fifty pages too long, it's engaging, a good one-time read.