The Girl On the Train

by Paula Hawkins

Paperbook, 408 pages

Published Jan. 9, 2016 by Penguin.

(155 reviews)

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. 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.

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 offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to Gone Girl, The Silent Wife, or Before I Go to Sleep, …

A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to Gone Girl, The Silent Wife, or Before I Go to Sleep, this is an electrifying debut embraced by readers across markets and categories (Goodreads).

2 editions

Jamie reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It's a shade or two too complicated to be the basis for a Lifetime Movie, but I couldn't help thinking this is how things actually would go down if a real-life amateur 'sleuth' got involved in a mystery. Think Nancy Drew as a blackout drunk divorcee with no skills to recommend her the job but a stalker's gift for obsession and rationalization. It's not as funny as you might expect given those parameters. Or at all. But I enjoyed it.

jellybeyreads reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A solid 3 stars.

The good:
1. Unreliable narrator. Actually, 3 of them. Unreliable narrators are fun.
2. The narrators all engender an interesting complex of emotions--pity, disgust, affection, frustration--which was sort of emotionally satisfying.
3. It explores different types of domestic abuse -- not all abusers hit, and not all abusers who hit hit all the time.

The not-so-good
1. I prefer my unreliable narrators to be just a bit less obviously unreliable. Trying to figure out whether you can trust them is half the fun.
2. The narrators engender interesting emotions but are not, themselves, particularly interesting or richly developed. They are defined primarily by their feelings about motherhood and fertility and not a lot else, which would get old fast even if it weren't already overdone to death.
3. The Big Reveals were too obvious. Obviously there was another Other Man--the narrator always referred to the Other …

doug reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Tight writing and storytelling. Three narrators device effective and done well. Not exaggerated, as often the case.

Thomas Gaffney reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Great read. Highly recommended. Unlike "DaVinci Code", this is a massively popular book that lives up to the hype...

Sean Gursky reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I have to get up early tomorrow morning to catch the train.

I was intrigued by the similarities to Gone Girl, but I felt that this story fell short. This was a story about terrible people making bad life and relationship choices with a murder mystery added in for good measure. This was a solid 'it was okay' rating for me, it wasn't particularly exceptional in any area and am surprised to see it listed on so many to read lists.

Kevin Smokler reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Storygraph'

2 stars

Thrilling read that left me feeling empty inside. Flat characters leave you with a big lump of "who cares?""

govmarley reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Man, I hated these characters. The only characters I hated more were the ones in Gone Girl. What a frustrating story!

Rachel. She's a mess. She is a mess, and needs serious therapy. She is a liar, and an alcoholic, and a terrible, terrible roommate. I. Do. Not. Like. Her. Everything bad that happens to her is basically her fault. When the main character is so awful I have a hard time caring what might happen to them.

And the other characters? They are just as bad. It was like a train wreck reading about their messed up lives. I can muster not an ounce of pity for any of them. Simply atrocious behavior that ruined everything about the mystery for me.

unicorndeburgh reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

The protagonist is unpleasant, and so are all of the characters except for the saint who lets her stay in her apartment. The mystery is implausible -- I don't buy the convenient amnesia.

Sharyl reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

(How did I manage to delete my review?)

I liked this novel, though I also have mixed feelings about it. The story is told by three very unreliable narrators named Rachel, Megan, and Anna. It is cleverly paced, but still, in the end there are a couple things I still wonder about. (This will make for an interesting discussion, anyway.) There is a climatic scene at the end that doesn't seem to be written in a way that fits with the rest of the book, in my opinion.

The only character I found truly sympathetic was Rachel, despite the fact that she made me cringe and stressed me out. Both main male characters are abusive jerks, and the third guy isn't much, either. Comparisons with Gone Girl are inevitable, but this is a much different plot. I do recommend it.

NightDrake reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I thought it was a pretty good book overall. I did find the ending to be a little bit predictable though.

Gossamerchild reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

I'm not going to add much to the conversation on this one. It was good, I really enjoyed it, though I had to slog through the first sections as Rachel seemed too pathetic for words. Glad I worked through it, though.

John B reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Almost every character a jerk, and a plot that unwinds about half way through. Finished hoping for a new twist, but it really just continues to be a character development piece. If you don't mind a weak story and you want to look into the lives of sad people, this is your book.

Cheri reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Oh, I really liked this book a lot. The narration was fantastic, too. Part of me leans toward 5 stars.

pithypants reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A convoluted hangover.

This books started strong, but ultimately tested my patience. The very thing that makes the story suspenseful - an unreliable narrator/witness - grows tedious by the end of the book. The set-up was well-crafted and it was fun to speculate who the actual "bad guy" was early on. As the book went on, however, I was frustrated that none of the characters were sympathetic. The end (when it came) was such a twist that it seemed to fall from no where - and was wrapped up just as fast. For a book that spent a lot of time spinning its wheels in the middle, the end seemed too abrupt to be satisfying.

Don't get me wrong - I think this will be a hit with book clubs because there's ample opportunity to speculate and compare notes. And it does start out in a way that compelled me …