Sunday Synopsis

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. I really, really liked it. (Anyone remember Sally Fields saying something to that effect?)

A friend raved about this book. "Oh, it's so good!" She was telling me about it after we saw the movie trailer. So I had to read it. I love a good psychological thriller.

Two things. First, I wish I hadn't seen the trailer first because I had the images of the actors in my head instead of creating my own, which is half the fun in reading books. Second, I actually figured things out before they were clear to the characters. Maybe I've just read so many psychological thrillers that I'm just good like that.

This one was a pretty thrilling ride. The main character, Rachel, is an alcoholic. On the train ride into London (covering for the job she lost) she watches the people in the corner house near the signal and creates fantasies about them. This house is a few doors down from a house which she once lived in with her husband, I mean, ex-husband. These fantasies actually lead her into a nightmare of reality that isn't exactly what it seems. The problem is, a drunk doesn't always remember the truth about things that happen. How did she become tangled up in a police investigation? Will she be able to remember what really happened, or are those memories gone forever? Would anyone believe a depressed alcoholic anyway?

If you liked Gone Girl, and I did, you'll enjoy Hawkins' debut novel Now that I've read it, I'm ready for the movie which will be released in a few days.


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