“A tiding of magpies: one for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.”
Synopsis: Rachel Watson is a divorced 32-year old woman who travels in the same 8:04 slow commuter train from Ashbury to Euston. On her daily commute, the train usually stops at a signal near Blenheim Road. Here lies house number 15, where Megan and her husband Scott (or Jess and Jason, as in Rachel's imagination) stay. Rachel admires this strange couple a lot and sees in them the relationship she’d hoped for. Near the same house is house number 23, where Rachel and her ex-husband Tom stayed. Tom married another woman named Anna and has a beautiful daughter. Rachel, on the other hand, is financially and emotionally broke. She has fallen victim to drug and alcohol abuse and experiences blackouts very often. After a night of heavy drinking, Rachel wakes up to find herself all bloody and injured with no memories of the past night. She is assured that she has done something regretful and in the search of what she has done, she comes to know that Megan is missing, and probably killed. This starts a series of love, hate, betrayal and controversies as Rachel tries to unravel the mystery of Megan's killer.
Review: Paula Hawkins wrote romantic comedy fiction under the name Amy Silver around 2009. 'The Girl on The Train' offered the first commercial breakthrough for the author, becoming her best-selling psychological thriller. In spite of the shift from rom-coms to serious dark thrillers, Paula Hawkins has not disappointed her audience. 'The Girl on The Train' is a first-person narrative told from the perspective of three women: Rachel, Anna and Megan. Since the perspectives change with almost every chapter, it's hard to keep track of things. The story is really very well portrayed allowing readers to visualize each and every scene. Hawkins makes the problems of the characters, the problems of the readers. It does get complicated at times with switching perspectives and flashbacks but, keep reading on. The end is surely going to dazzle you and leave you scratching your heads. I strongly recommend this book for all the hardcore mystery lovers and all you Sidney Sheldon fans.
The Girl
On the
Train
On
-Jimil Shah
50