Book review: The Girl On The Train

The Girl On The Train

Paula Hawkins

Doubleday, £12.99; ebook, £6.02

Like many commuters, every day Rachel distracts herself on her journey to and from work by indulging in fantasies about the lives of the people whose houses she peers into from the safety of the train.

Unlike most commuters though, Rachel develops a morbid obsession with a couple she passes every day, a couple who just happen to live a few houses down from where she used to enjoy domestic bliss with her ex-husband Tom.

Fuelled by many gin-and-tonics, our protagonist revels in fantasising about the couple’s perfect life, until one day she notices something untoward.

When the perfect wife is reported missing a few days later, Rachel feels compelled to get involved, with predictably sticky consequences.

This is a fast-paced clever thriller which grapples expertly with the reality of alcoholism and loneliness, a cut above the current crop of psychological thrillers featuring girls in peril.