By Paula Hawkins
Genre Mystery/Suspense
Pages 336
Synopsis
Rachel lost her husband to another woman when she couldn't get her drinking under control.
Megan's trying to piece a life together while still holding onto a secret that haunts her
Anna loves being "the other woman" if she could just get rid of the ex-wife.
These three women's lives are about to be drawn together by a secret. A secret that will take one of their lives and might kill them all.
First Sentence There is a pile of clothing on the side of the train tracks.
What is has going for it
Everyone has or is going to read this book. Some books are written and for whatever reason are picked up, talked about, recommended and become wildly popular. I'm not one to follow the crowd but this book looked like one I might want to check out. So, when my book club decided to read it I was all for it. Something about this book (and I never was able to put a finger on what it was) makes you unable to put it down. It's incredibly engaging and, well, much like watching a train wreck (no pun intended). I gulped this one up. I was completely enthralled. I didn't much care for any of the characters. I figured out the mystery fairly early in the book. Earlier than I was supposed to, I'm guessing, and yet. I sped read through it. I guess what I'm saying is this: What does this one have going for it? Whether you like it or not, you're most likely going to be dragged into the story and helpless to set the book down.
What's lacking
As I said, none of the characters are likable. Seriously! These people are completely horrible. And I don't mean perfectly flawed. They were worse than flawed. I could sympathize with Rachel but I really had no patience with her. What really bothered me was that the mystery was completely predictable and then you had the villain monologuing. Really?! Needless to say, after being completely enraptured for the whole book the ending was predictable and a complete let down. I felt something like this...
Yea or Nay?
I'd still recommend this one for the writing and the spell it casts over you but you'll probably see the ending coming. If not, you might like it.
Ooh interesting review, I'm very torn as to whether I should read this or not. I do like books that have you engrossed from the start, and this definitely sounds like one of those, but I am also a person who likes characters I can root for, so the fact that they're all pretty horrible makes it a bit more difficult for me. I think I might still give it a go, but it will probably be later in the year. Great review, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'd still give it a try but no rush.
DeleteYes, I thought the characters were awful. Terrible. Disgusting! And I didn't really care what happened to any of them. But yes, I was drawn and continued to turn the pages. And I went back and forth as to whodunnit, until the clues were totally obvious. I don't know what to think about this one. It just left me feeling icky for the most part. It was more depressing than suspenseful for me which made me feel disappointed. I do wonder what everyone out there in the world loved about it so much.
ReplyDeleteYeah the characters were depressing. It'll make for an interesting discussion, I think.
DeleteI wish I was drawn into this story. I seriously can only read 19 pages a day. I'm no longer wanting to DNF if like I did the first 40 pages, but I still can put it down very easily. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. I wish I could stay it's worth sticking to it till the end. I guess if you want to know who dunnit.
DeleteThe characters really are repugnant, but I liked that this one kept me engrossed. Even though I knew there was a twist at the end, it still kept me guessing. I'm pretty gullible, so I'm almost always surprised by twist endings. Ha ha. While this one was pretty depressing, considering the subject matter and the unlikable characters, it still kept me totally enthralled. I liked it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I have it three stars on Goodreads. I liked it because it kept me enthralled. Would have loved it more if there was a likable character or two.... even with the predictable ending.
DeleteMan I'm seeing this one everywhere. Not sure I could get all the way through if I can't like any of the characters!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's one of those books everyone is reading. It wasn't too bad but don't feel pressured to read it.
DeleteI just got a notification that the library is holding a copy of this for me. I was excited to read this one but after reading your review I will be going in with some reservations. I knew some of the characters would be difficult to like but I didn't think they'd all be bad. :\
ReplyDeleteHaha. I'm sorry it was predictable, but you crack me up.
ReplyDelete