The Girl on the Train question

It is a really great book. The twist, in the end, was very good. It made me understand that even the people who seem happy in their life can have problems more than the saddest people. It's great when you think about it as a detective story. But, the characters weren't strong enough, or maybe not strongly developed enough.

Overall, it is a very nice book that is worth reading

I didn't like this book much. It's not my usual cup of tea but I was given it for Christmas, which is the only reason I finished it. If it hadn't been a present, I would have been a DNF by chapter 5 at the most. I wanted to shake Rachel until she either died, I died, or some sense was loosened in her head. I know her character has had a crappy run of things, but I just found her lack of self direction and pitiful victim attitude beyond stupid. If her ex had managed to kill her off at the end then I might have given the book an extra star, just so that we would have been put out of our Rachel-misery. I should have identified with Rachel more, I've had quite a few miscarriages, and quite a few of my friends and family have too, but I just found her slide into alcoholism stupid. The ONLY thing which made me give this book any stars at all was that the author is actually a skilled writer. it would have been an easy read if I wasn't fighting boredom and the hope that Rachel might end up under the train instead of on it.

I couldn't stand this book either. I loved Gillian Flynn's books, so when I read that this was suppose to be up in that same category of a suspense novel, I read it... and was way disappointed. I could barely put Flynn's books down, but I actually spent a few weeks reading this because I just didn't care. Not a single chapter made me want to read more. As others said, not a single character was even likable. Also, come on, Rachel is a babysitter for Tom's kid, and the whole dialogue in the beginning is that they completely ignore each other or have little to no communication. I find that extremely unbelievable, especially when in a fictional suspense novel. It just kind of gave away some of the plot by trying to ignore they had a relationship going on in the first place. Bleh.

I enjoyed the book but I did not like how it finished. In the end, at the police station, Anna seems to give a threatening message to Rachel and honestly, I can't see the point. Besides, they both lie about the corkscrew, and I can't understand that either; that gadget was in Rachel's hands and she was prepared for using it in case it was necessary.
All in all, and despite the ending, I think it is worth reading it.

I felt book is slow paced and pretty much predictable but one thing which kept me glued is Rachel's alcoholism. I was curious to know how will the author take it further. I specifically appreciate the author, for depicting ROCK BOTTOM stage of alcoholism with such precision.

If readers feel Rachel as pathetic, sloppy and hate her, then the author has done a very good job.

I listened to this on audio. There were three different voices for the three girls. I enjoyed it very much, but doubt that I would have enjoyed reading the book.

For me, this book was not a thriller. I found the characters were difficult to relate to and the female characters spoke with the same voice. I enjoyed several characters narrating the story and the element of individual perspective.

I have this doubt though...was megan having an affair with the poor doctor or not?

This thread would be much more readable if the OP edited the first post and removed the checkbox for "this is a question." Just because you are asking a question doesn't mean you should select it. (Basically no one should ever select it, because look at what a mess it creates in the threading.)

This book made me depressed it's so dark, but weirdly I couldn't stop read. It's between torture and pleasure.

I can t say i hated the book but i also didn t like it..it s a good story but soooooo borrrring too..it was kind of confusing sometimes..

The first half was boring, the second half was okay until the ending came along. There were some surprises, but most of it was quite predictable and one could smell the murderer a mile away. I would say the book is highly overrated (or overhyped?).

It is true that part of the book was well written and part of it was not. The thing is the book's not like a usual mystery. It feels like some contemporary romance with murder. To be honest, he author needs to improve her style of writing. It was just horrible. I really disliked every character and the ending. The only thing the characters had was one bad thing and that's it. Rachel was drunk and stupid. Megan was cheating and stupid. Anna was selfish and stupid. That is all there is about these characters and also Tom was useless and stupid, even after the mystery. It's like everyone is a psychopath.
Overall it was a messy book and was also hard to get into.

I hate this book with a passion and I still can't believe I finished it. I picked this book up with the promise of a thrilling read and a crazy twist ending, this hope that no matter what happened the ending would make it worth it was one of the only things that kept me reading and I was brutally disappointed. The plot of the book is basically a long drawn out version of that Carrie Underwood song where the lover and the wife kill the guy who's been cheating. Its just altogether a poor read.

From the reviews I've read, it appears that people who regularly read suspense/thriller were not fans of the book. Is it a long beaten-out plot, or is it actually very predictable if you know the genre well?

I finished this book in a few hours because as the reports rightly say - its thrilling, gripping and a compulsive read - you would just keep flipping the pages. I actually skipped my few hours at work to finish this book. I wanted to see what lies at the end so bad!!

But, I will have to say I was disappointed. The story builds up in a promising way that you keep guessing wild ways for it to end but the ending itself is rather plain than the unnerving, unimaginable, jaw-dropping way that you would fancy.

I thought there were a couple of sequences that serve little or rather no purpose to the entirety of the story. Rachel's visits to Kamal does not add much to the story - it ends abruptly.

Did Kamal know that Megan was also sleeping with Tom? I assume he knew she was sleeping with someone else too because she consulted with him about the baby. But wouldn't this information have helped the police in knowing there was a third person?

I could not place Anna's character - the complications in the character seemed forced - when Tom starts hitting Rachel, hinting at killing her - at first she seems focused on being glad about getting rid of Rachel, then, at the end suddenly decides to call the police. Going what she is supposed to be going through during that entire day's ordeal - with her husband coldly revealing everything - her reactions seemed loose. Or maybe Anna had a different side to the story that I did not get.

I was also wondering why did Scott not reveal to the police that he knew his wife was seeing someone else before Rachel did? I feel anyone in his place would consider that a crucial piece of information to give to the police if he really wanted his wife to be found?

All in all, the book is well written. It gives you a very good peek into Rachel's character and her mind - you seem to connect with her so well you feel you know her. This book left me hungry - wanting for something more - as if I just had that thrill within reach and I just missed it!

I enjoyed Rachel's character a lot...

But its the last chapters of the book where it went downhill.
I guessed the killer and thought "how cant you figure it out"

Then when it clicked who was the killer I spent the last couple of chapters shouting
"Just phone the police you idiot"...