Review: The Girl on the Train

Synopsis
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see; she's much more than just the girl on the train...

Review
Last weekend I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. Less than 48 hours later and I knew. I daren't say too much for fear of giving anything away. True to form it's a thriller packed with twists and turns, and although I predicted pretty early on what the big twist was going to be, I was gripped to see how it would play out. I finished reading at 1.30am- when a book keeps you up that late you know it's a good one! What makes this different from other thrillers is its narrative. It's told from the viewpoints of three women, all of whom are connected and none of whom are reliable narrators. Rachel, an alcoholic, takes the train every day past the homes of Anna and Megan. Then, one day, she sees something she shouldn't. A few days later Megan has gone missing and Rachel wakes up bruised and covered in blood, with no memory of what happened the night before. It's fast paced, intense, and you can't trust a single character. Compulsive reading at its best.

As for the film adaptation - I'm yet to see it but I have some reservations. I'm interested to see how they get the multiple viewpoints across without causing confusion. I had seen the trailer before I read the book, so in my mind Rachel looked like Emily Blunt and Megan looked like an actress who looks like Jennifer Lawrence but isn't Jennifer Lawrence. I do wonder how they would have looked had I been imagining them for myself, especially as having googled the rest of the cast Tom and Scott in the film look nothing like I pictured them in the book.