The Girl on the Train - March 2015 Book club

Another who loved the book. I thought the character of Rachel was especially well-drawn. One was almost sucked into her hopelessness (which became quite understandable towards the end of the book). I wondered if anyone close to you had been through similar struggles with alcohol which maybe helped you shape her so well

Thank you for my copy - I thought it a terrific read. My question sort of echoes others in that it's about the fact that none of the characters were very likeable. I wondered were you tempted to make Anna nicer? Certainly my first impressions of her were very good but they became progressively less so

I really enjoyed reading The Girl on the Train as psychological thrillers seem to have gone out of fashion in favour of character led police whodunnits.

Paula, I'd like to ask if any particular authors have influenced your writing and will your next book be in the same genre?

Finished the book in a rush because I wanted to know if my suspicions were correct and they were. Agree with a previous poster re loose ends and Kamal. Unless of course I missed the tying up of loose ends in my rush to finish. I did enjoy this book which was very different to my usual reading matter. I would like to ask the author if she liked any of her characters. They all seem to be well drawn but unlikeable to me.

Just finished reading this and really enjoyed it. Great twists and turns in the story line balances a nice line between liking and hating certain characters.

changes in timeline and between characters helps to keep you wondering till quite late in the book who was responsible.

8/10 for a great read

SPOILER ALERT

annemac, even if someone had witnessed the ending from a train I don't see how they could know any secrets.

The two women are the only ones who know that it was murder and nothing could be proved anyway. I did think the aftermath was brushed away as there was no mention of any proceedings or inquest etc. and Rachel seemed to be off on her travels in an instant!

I really enjoyed the book and didn't want to get to the end - I hope there isn't a sequel though as I don't think it would work.

I would like to ask the author if she really thinks someone on a train could make out silver birds on the earrings of someone sitting in a railside garden. (Sorry to nitpick)

Overall a good read, although I felt it dragged on a bit in the middle. I thought the ending was good, and for me, unexpected for a long time - my money was on another character altogether!
I thought the female characters were excellent, if unlikeable.I would have liked a little more about the main men characters too.
It was an unusual perspective for a novel, to be meeting the main characters from the outside ( the train) but I think it worked well.

I enjoyed the story although all the characters were quite mad in one way or another. My feelings for Racheal were like a protective mother, she was a lost soul and I felt myself rooting for her until she did the same thing all over again the next day then I wanted to shake her. I thought it did pick up speed in the last two chapters but like a train it needed too. What I would like to ask the author is,does she think someone on a train may have see the ending (which I won't give away) too? If that's the case then someone else knows a secret and that may be the start of a sequel. I didn't guess the ending until it was made clear so well done!

It got much better about two thirds of the way through. I liked the ending. Wasn't exactly a surprise though. It became apparent too soon.

I really enjoyed this book although I found it hard to get into to start with, it seemed a bit all over the place.

I didn't like any of the characters and often find it difficult to read a book like that but was glad that I persevered.

would have liked to have got to know more about Tom as we never got to find out much about him.

As others have said, the ending seemed rushed, would have liked more depth to it to round it off better.

Thanks for my copy. Will be reading it as soon as I rush and finish Ridley Road. Can't wait :-)

Is it only me who feels less and less bothered about picking it up? It seemed a page turner at first, but it's very slow. And all the characters seem the same.

Starting mine tomorrow. Planning a duvet day.

Firstly, I must say that I found this book a real page turner, enjoyed the plot and didn’t guess the ending (TBH, I rarely do). I always like this style of writing – the various (often misleading) viewpoints, the frequent changes in perspective – and with the short, dated chapters I found it easy to follow the sequence of events.

Having said that, I didn’t like a single character in the book, and usually I stop reading if I can’t empathise with at least one of them. Not one of the main female characters showed any sign of being their own woman - they all seemed set on having a man to look after them and defined by their roles as arm candy. And the men were just obnoxious. There were a lot of coincidences and convenient periods of memory loss, but I appreciate that these were a necessary plot device to move the action on.

Apparently there’s a film in the offing. What a shame Hitchcock’s not about to make it! My question to the author would be:

The Girl on the Train seems destined to be a box office hit. Did you start to write the book with this in mind?

Thoroughly enjoyable read, loved the idea of basing the story around a bit of nosiness and daydreaming! Look forward to your next novel.

Thank you for my copy of this book which I've just finished. It was hard to have empathy with any of the characters and Rachels drunken exploits made for uncomfortable reading. Was this the author's intention? I did, however, really enjoy this modern 'whodunnit' and liked the way that the guilty party finally evolved.
I had to concentrate hard on the dates at the top of the chapters, as the story moved back in time with Megan's story.
Spoiler alert!
One story-line wasn't actually resolved ( unless I missed it) and that was ; who let the police know about Megan's first child?Was it Kamal?

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I'm another one who loved the book and found it hard to put down. The female characters were well drawn though I didn't actually warm to any of them.
I liked the idea of imaging stories/lives of people you were watching from a train and how things seen in this way could sometimes be simply that - imagination and far from the truth.
Compared to the action in the rest of the book the ending did seem rushed but it didn't spoil the book for me.

I absolutely loved this book. (thankyou GN). I read it in four sittings and found it hard to put down. I loved the character of Rachel. Especially when she sat dreaming on the train making names and stories up for the people she saw in the gardens alongside the track. I felt quite sorry for her character although SPOILER ALERT as the book progresses you realise that she has had a lucky escape. No wonder she drank so much !

I agree with harrigran the ending was a bit disappointing and seemed to be rushed off although I can definitely see room for a sequel.

SPOILER ALERT

I read The Girl On The Train in two days this week. I enjoyed the book but more or less guessed who the murderer was quite early in the book, despite the red herring at Scott and Megan's house. The strong smell of disinfectant and later a mention of a smell of something rotting. All three women characters were damaged in some way and had issues which would not make for an easy life. I began by thinking Rachel was just a hopeless alcoholic but came to see that she was a victim of circumstances. Megan's story was sad too and she did not deserve the ending she got. Anna, I believe, was quite ruthless and despite her getting her man she didn't get the happy ever after.
I would like to have seen justice carried out and not the sudden ending, was Tom also damaged ? we know nothing of his background other than the lies he told. Perhaps Paula Hawkins feels a sequel may arise from this book, Rachel and Anna now have a secret they share which will bind them together forever and will little Evie get to know about her father ?
This book was different from other crime thrillers because the police are not in the forefront and the emphasis is on the observer from the train.

Thank you for my copy of Girl on the Train. Although it was a gripping read and I thoroughly enjoyed it, I did find at times that I was getting mixed up with the various characters and I had to keep checking back on the timelines. I would like to know how Paula Hawkins kept track of the stories and timelines of the different characters as she was writing the novel.

Thank you for my copy of The Girl on The Train (I thought I would have to try and get it from the library, as I had seen it reviewed in magazines and liked the look of it - however, being a new book it would be on the Quick Loan shelf and I don't generally read books that quickly) - in the event I did read my copy in a week, I kept wanting to know what happened. It was a really good book, I too have looked at houses, gardens, people from my (now rare) trips on a train and I like to imagine things happening - so this was a book I could identify with, maybe not the main character or even events, but it was very readable all the same.

Thank you for The Girl on the Train which is fascinating & I can imagine sitting on the commuter train & peering into other's lives as you flash by their houses. The start reminds me a bit of a Bridget Jones novel. Gazing out of the train window will certainly never be the same again! Very clever idea & plenty to keep the reader hooked to the end. How does the author Paula Hawkins get her first novel 'optioned for film by DreamWorks'?

Thank for my copy of Girl on a train which arrived yesterday. Started reading it last night and after a quick whizz round the house (just to make it look okay) plan to visit coffee shop and read for a couple of hours. It's gripping from the start!c

Having been ill all Saturday night I spent Sunday in bed reading Girl on a Train.

I found it hard to believe that someone would get themselves into so many bad situations as the heroine, even someone with her problems. Having said that I did enjoy the book, the idea of someone looking in on peoples lives from a train is interesting. I did find the jumping about back and forth in the timeline a bit annoying, but that is a personal gripe of mine. All in all I would recommend this book