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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Published in 2014, bestseller The Girl on the Train is set in modern-day London and centers around the revolving perspectives of three different women, whose lives become entangled in a dark spiral. 

Rachel is an alcoholic divorcee who refuses to move past her previous marriage and maintains a sloppily-constructed mentality of blacking out, obsession, and drinking. She has lost her marriage, the chance of motherhood, career, and sanity, but clings to her version of normalcy by taking the train in and out of London at precisely 8:04 and 5:56 every day—wasting away her days with a bottle in hand. In taking the tram every day, Rachel passes by her former home and neighborhood, miserably keeping tabs on her ex-husband’s new life, and also a new couple that has moved into the neighborhood recently. 

Anna is the younger, beautiful woman who has stepped into Rachel’s shoes and now seemingly keeps a happy home with Rachel’s ex-husband, Tom, and their new baby. She is infuriated with Rachel’s drunken interferences, appearances, and phone calls to Tom and is at her wit’s end. Megan is the third woman, a neighbor of Anna’s and the other subject of Rachel’s jealous and hopeless obsession, who also appears to lead a happy, quiet life with her husband. Or so it seems, until a drunken Rachel witnesses a moment on her daily tram ride that points to something very different.

One fateful night, Megan goes missing, and Anna observes (and reports to the police) Rachel stumbling drunk around their neighborhood, and Rachel wakes the next morning with no memory, but many bodily injuries. We won’t tell you what comes next, but death, infidelity, insanity, excitement, and danger all play a part in this breath-taking psychological drama.

The Girl on the Train explores themes of alcoholism, domestic abuse, and psychological trauma. One of the most powerful aspects of this novel is Rachel’s struggle with alcoholism. We slowly uncover the reason she fell into this trap, how she lost everything from it, and how it impacts her in daily life. It is heartbreaking to be privy to her broken mentality, weakness, and self-destruction. The female characters are highly sympathetic, but troubled and unwise. Each woman has a past that is pieced together slowly and meticulously.

It is a fairly complex plot, so readers need to pay attention to the varying timelines, the contradictory information and perspectives given by the three women, and the bizarre mystery that doesn’t unwrap until the very end. Trying to get the truth behind the threadbare information is like pulling teeth; Hawkins entices you with a detail that makes you gasp, and then ends that chapter right there with a cliff-hanger.

Anyone who is interested in the likes of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, a more well-known but similar genre of novel, would enjoy this book choice. 

Coincidentally, a remake of The Girl on the Train just came out on Netflix. While it doesn’t have amazing reviews, if you like to follow a novel with its matching film, then it is available to you! The first film based on the book, filmed in 2016 and starring Emily Blunt, extracted better reviews. 

We would love to hear your thoughts on this exciting thriller of a book. It is a novel that is pure entertainment, but still captures the imagination and twists the heart. We hope you take the time this month to give it a read, as we promise you will not regret it!

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Happy reading!