Book Review: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

It seems as though The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was the undeniable smash hit of 2015. Everywhere I turned, someone was recommending it, and it consistently appeared on must-read lists, especially for fans of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Much of The Girl on the Train unfolds aboard a commuter train heading into London, where we’re introduced to one of the main characters, Rachel. She’s unemployed, struggling with alcoholism, and hiding the truth about her job status from her flatmate. During her daily train rides, Rachel passes by her old townhouse ... the home she once shared with her ex-husband, who now lives there with his new wife and their baby. A few doors down lives a seemingly perfect married couple, relatively new to the neighborhood. Rachel becomes fixated on them, creating imagined stories about their happy life. But when the wife Megan suddenly goes missing, Rachel believes she holds key pieces of the puzzle though the police dismiss her due to her unreliable state. 

The novel is primarily told in the present tense through alternating perspectives from Rachel and Anna, the wife of Rachel’s ex-husband. Interwoven into this structure are past-tense chapters narrated by Megan, the missing woman. While I didn’t mind the shifting viewpoints between the three women, the constant transitions between past and present timelines were frustrating at times. It made it difficult to stay fully immersed, as I had to continually adjust to the changes in perspective and time. 

Of the three women, Rachel was by far the most likable, despite her flaws. I found myself rooting for her, even as I wished she would stop dwelling on the past and confront her reality instead of numbing her pain with alcohol. Her flatmate’s passive-aggressive approach to Rachel’s drinking problem was also frustrating. Rather than offering meaningful support, she issued empty threats without following through, which only added to Rachel’s downward spiral.

Anna, the ex-husband’s new wife, was particularly hard to like. Knowing she had been his mistress while he was still married to Rachel immediately soured my opinion of her. It often felt like she took a certain satisfaction in Rachel’s misery, whether by flaunting her relationship or emphasizing that she was able to give him the child Rachel could not.  Megan, the missing woman, was equally complex but difficult to connect with. She carried deep emotional baggage that influenced her destructive choices, making her a tragic yet chaotic character. 

Despite a slow start, The Girl on the Train ultimately pulled me in, and I’m glad I stuck with it. There were moments where certain character behaviors felt inconsistent, as if they were written that way purely to mislead the reader. Another aspect that didn’t quite work for me was how Megan’s relationship with her brother, Ben, was initially framed in a way that suggested something inappropriate, only for that implication to shift later in the story. 

Overall, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a gripping psychological thriller that delivers plenty of twists and suspense. While it shares similarities with Gone Girl, it ultimately stands on its own as a compelling and addictive read for fans of domestic suspense and unreliable narrators. Four out of five stars.

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