Full disclosure, this is usually the type of book that I really dislike. The characters are awful, I mean AWFUL. Flawed, and petty, and one dimensional, but for whatever reason I really enjoyed it. Possibly because all the characters are loathable so I wasn’t rooting for or against any of them.
The book starts with Rachel, sloppy drunk girl with truly awful taste in men, watches the same house everyday on her commute to work. One day, she sees what she thinks is an affair, maybe? She doesn’t really know because she is a drunk and has little gaps in time. Turns out, the girl that may or may not have been murdered, lives in a row house on the same row where Rachel once lived with her husband. Rewind to when I said that Rachel had really bad taste in men… well, her ex, Tom, is a classic gem. He cheated on her with Anna who married him and they live in the same old house where Tom and Rachel lived. To add more elements of intrigue Megan, the woman that Rachel saw having an affair (maybe?) goes missing and everyone is blaming her husband, Scott. A normal person would not get involved, but Rachel isn’t normal so off we go on a wild ride.
Was this book predictable? Yes. Did I want everyone to suffer an awful fate? Yes. First off, the main characters Rachel, Tom, Megan, Anna, and Scott are just horrible. They drink to excess. They abuse women and men. They have affairs. They have dirty secrets. Really. They are the people that make one hate humanity. Typically, a book with these characters would not be something I would be excited about but Hawkins writing style is easy, her transitions are solid, and I kept reading because I was hoping that the characters would get something they would deserve. What I mean succinctly, is I wanted them all to die horrible, horrible, deaths. They don’t, well MOST of them don’t. There was a bit of a little shock and the VERY end, but everything leading up to that was pretty cliche. Even though the book is a suspenseful thriller, the characters are mundanely petty, until the end. It doesn’t strike the reader as over the top and while the events compiled together might be unbelievable, Rachel’s erratic behavior is explained through her alcoholism. The narration changes throughout the story to follow the three women. I did think this was a bit of a cheap trick, but I understand how it was intended to throw out some red herrings. It didn’t, but bravo to Hawkins for trying something a little different.
At the end of the day, this is a fun little summer read. It isn’t thought provoking and the fiction doesn’t mirror society to condemn or praise. There is no sub level to this fiction, what you see is what you get. I think this is the perfect type of book to take on your vacation. At this point in my life I have three kids aged five and under and occasionally I’ll be reading a book that doesn’t lend itself to be started and stopped at a moments notice. Kids are no respecters of, “Just let me finish this chapter,” but The Girl on the Train can be paused at any time. To me, that is a mark of fiction I can get behind on busy days with busy kids.
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