Craxi Reads: The Girl on the Train

When I saw the book title for October’s book club, I was ecstatic to read something that was actually on my to-read list. They selected The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I was looking forward to reading this one and had every intention of getting to book club to discuss the book.

I would classify The Girl on the Train as a mystery. Megan was found missing and later dead. Of course everyone blames the husband. However, Rachel happens to see something outside the train window prior to the murder that might indicate that it isn’t the husband after all. The problem is that Rachel is a falling down drunk that no one takes seriously especially since her ex-husband and new wife (Anna), who she has a tendency to harass, is neighbors with Megan. Rachel was told by the police to stay away from the neighborhood but she finds it difficult as she tries to remember the night of the murder. Because Rachel experienced a black out on the night of the murder, she feels she has to figure out how Megan was killed or if she was involved in anyway.

It took a while to get into the book. Once I got into it, I was hooked. My cousin felt the same way. The beginning is slow going but once things start happening, you just want to keep going. There are twists and turns that I didn’t expect but if I really pay attention I’m sure there were clues pointing it out along the way. However, Megan and the murderer were similar people when you stop and think about it. I probably just gave away the murderer…..

The Girl on the Train is a simply written. It is an easy read that really doesn’t take a lot of thought to keep the characters straight as long as you remember who is “writing” the current chapter. There are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting but the plot isn’t that deep which for me is good. I really don’t like deep-thinking, thought-provoking books.

The Girl on the Train also is one of those books where there are flashbacks and written from several different characters perspectives. You had to be cognizant of the date at the beginning of the chapter and who is “writing” the chapter. Most of the chapters are from Rachel’s perspective but you have some from Megan and Anna.

Book Club decided that The Girl on the Train was better than Gone Girl. I think I disagree. The plot was deeper and there were more twists and turns in Gone Girl. The ending in The Girl on the Train might have been more satisfying but I really liked Gone Girl better. We all agreed that we weren’t sure how The Girl on the Train ended up on the best seller list for so many weeks. It was good but not THAT good.