The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was released last week and is already being called 'the next Gone Girl' by many reviewers.
Rachel catches the same train into London each day and enjoys looking at the houses that go by and imagining the lives of those inside. One day, she sees something that will set an entire chain of events rolling which steadily build to a thrilling climax.
I can understand why early readers of The Girl on the Train are comparing it to Gone Girl, as it contains first person perspective from - in this case, several - female characters and is a thriller with a cracking pace. I enjoyed the flawed characters and the urban tension was palpable.
I groaned out loud at certain peak points in the novel when characters behaved against my advice (don't you hate that?) and didn't see any of the events coming. I also didn't work out 'whodunnit' either, which makes for an entertaining read.
The Girl on the Train is an impressive debut and I very much look forward to watching this author in the future.
My rating = ****
Carpe Librum!
I was the same. Rachel was such a frustrating lead character! And likeable despite that!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Every time she made a choice I didn't agree with I felt like yelling out to her, but you could understand her deep desire to be 'helpful'. Such a well-written yet flawed character; it was refreshing.
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