Review | The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
Published By: Random House
Published On: January 15, 2015
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 319
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★

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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?

This book was a bit of a struggle for me to begin with, it took me a bit of time to get into. I can't 100% blame that on the book itself as I was very slumpy when I first picked this up. However, it did take a bit of time to really get into the story which I found a little bit boring if I'm being honest.

Despite the slow start, as soon as it got into the action and mystery I was completely hooked. The mystery aspect was so well written that I just couldn't put it down. I was so thrilling and intense that I just had to know what was going to happen. I was definitely very impressed with the writing.

Again in reference to the writing, the plot twists were great. I can't say they were all huge surprises, I did have my suspicions as you always do, but there was definitely a lot that I didn't see coming. It was written so well that there was a lot of arousing suspicion but not too much given away. I was constantly kept on my toes and definitely on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen.

One of the greatest things about this book was the characters. Rachel was a fantastic main character. She was so unreliable, and we all love a good unreliable narrator, which really added to the mystery of the story. You never knew what to believe or what areas of her story were true, which I enjoyed. On top of this, despite her many faults, I really enjoyed Rachel's character in itself. I really didn't expect to like her but she definitely quickly grew on me and became quite a likeable character.

My biggest worry about this book was the ending. I always seem to be disappointed with the endings in this type of novel and was almost setting myself up to be disappointed. However, that was not the case and I was very satisfied by this ending. The ending was so thrilling and not at all what I expected so it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was not at all disappointed.

Overall, this was one of the better mystery/thriller novels I have read recently. It was extremely well written and very thrilling. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and, other than the slightly slow start, there was not a dull moment. I would highly recommend this book, and already have to various people.