THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Paula Hawkins
Riverhead Books
January 2015

The Girl on the Train debuted at the top of the NYT list, something almost unheard of for a first book. Necessarily that called for a lot of pre publication hype and the usual comparisons to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. I have never read Gone Girl and generally avoid books so extensively hyped. In the case of The Girl on the Train though, I found the book's premise almost irresistible. Rachel commutes to London daily and has taken to watching a couple who live in a house close to the tracks. They appear to have an idyllic life and Rachel dubs them "Jess and Jason". One day Rachel sees something quite shocking from the train and hears the next day that "Jess", actually named Megan, is missing. Rachel feels that she must tell the police what she saw. But if she does will she do more harm than good?

Told in the alternating voices of Rachel, Megan and the new wife of Rachel's ex, Anna, The Girl on the Train kept me riveted throughout. That is no small feat considering that each narrator is not only entirely unreliable but also entirely unlikable. Rachel is an alcoholic who has let everything in her life go after the break-up of her marriage. She lives in a fantasy land and is making no attempt to straighten herself out. I did have a little sympathy for her but none for Megan or Anna. The Girl on the Train is a gem of plotting and a twisted tale that will keep you guessing from beginning to end.

I recommend The Girl on the Train highly!

RATING- 4.5 Stars