The Girl on the Train

“The Girl on the Train” is a quick read, which clickety-clacks along snappily enough to read in a few sittings; it is the type of book to read when you want to stay up past your bedtime.

Comparisons to “Gone Girl” are somewhat apt as TGOTT tells a story from multiple points of view, including more than one unreliable narrator. Also, all the characters are a-holes. Much like the post-Harry Potter YA penchant for magic and wizards, this unreliable-a-hole trend may be here to stay in the adult suspense category.

Quite purposefully, I've avoided this book, which topped many 2015 best-of lists and was touted by podcasts like “The New York Times Book Review.” One may chalk this circumvention up to pretending not to follow the herd, but, it frankly didn't look enticing other than the lively Art Deco font on the cover.

Finding myself well behind my book challenge pace, I decided to pick up the book on a weekly library run and devoured it with a 24-hour period. From an entertainment perspective, it fit the bill. I did find the villain's reveal/twist less-than-surprising and wished that the women had been a bit more independent and less similar. The confession scene near the end was rather silly and could have been handled better.

Lauding this book as brilliantly written or something completely new is overrating what is a fine, little suspense novel.