What's up with Tom?

[Elyse]

What's up with Tom? He is obviously not your average cheating husband. He lies, he cheats, he violent... sociopath?

[Kathlene]

I wish we had found out more about him at the end. To have the first-person perspective of TWO women who lived with and loved him for years, I was a bit disappointed he was still such a mystery at the end. (I realize that was kind of a necessity to keep the big reveal secret...) When Rachel started talking about all the news stories that started running about him -- never been in the army, etc. -- I was hoping there would be SOMETHING about why he was so messed up and insecure and crazy. While I rationally KNOW there sometimes aren't answers, I always want there to be!

[Elyse]

Yes. I want more answers too! "Girl on the Train: Book two"- Evie meets her grandparents and discovers her fathers crazy past.

[Kathlene]

I'd read it. :-)

[Aaron]

I think not knowing about Tom is the whole point. The very idea that he lived and loved(?) two women so closely for so long and they STILL didn't know so much about him - he's definitely a sociopath, and a very good one. Taking away the mystery would take away the strength of his character. It would be like Bruce Wayne getting a big Batman tattoo on his arm for all to see.

[Kathlene]

Yeah, but once you find out Bruce Wayne is Batman, you want to know his backstory! Without knowing he watched his parents get shot in an alley, he's just a douchey billionaire who dates supermodels.

But I do see your point. This was Rachel's (and Anna's and Megan's) story, not Tom's. And even if they found out there was some horrible event that led to Tom's crazy, I imagine they would still feel like they didn't know him at all.