Reviews

The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins

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cay_'s review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.75

serenereader9's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

The plot and premise was interesting but I didn’t really sympathize for any of the characters except for Rachel a little at the very end. I could tell we were supposed to care about them despite their mistakes and personality, that we should feel some draw to them but Anna is just annoying and wasn’t at all concerned that she had ruined a woman’s marriage and life. The thing she is most annoyed with from her husband is being compared to Rachel, Megan is

Spoiler

Having multiple affairs all the time and has a dark past that could have been avoided

and Rachel is always making terrible and cringey decisions when she gets drunk. It was getting annoying with how frequently it was happening but near the end she sobers up and I like her ever so slightly more for it. (Can’t believe Cathy let her stay with her that long) I will say there was an interesting theme of motherhood. I was invested in the mystery and that part I enjoyed, it wasn’t an earth shattering twist and I wasn’t too surprised but it was a good ending.

bethanj's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a reread for me, but it honestly felt like I was reading this book again for the first time, and not in a good way. It’s very forgettable.
I found myself struggling to finish it. The plot was very slow to unravel, yet there was barely any character development.
I have to be honest though - I didn’t see the end coming the way everyone else seems to have. I had no idea who had done it and so the ‘who done it’ moment was good enough for me to warrant this book three stars. Three stars because I really did enjoy the last 100 pages or so of the book. Losing two stars because the rest of the book was a bit of a bore.

gillianwoolfrey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

corasteffani's review against another edition

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5.0

I have mixed feelings about this book, on one hand, I couldn't put it down, and I finished it in three days even though I didn't have much free time. I wanted to know what had happened. I liked the story telling and the fact that story was told from the POV of three different characters,I liked the ending.I didn't see it coming.

On the other hand, my problem was with the characters, how dislikable they are.I was disgusted by how easily almost every character was involved sexually with some other character.I don't like the fact that being unfaithful to their partners don't bother them. I hate all cheaters and women who knowingly get themselves involved with a married man and don't believe what they are doing is wrong. Married women who take their husbands for granted and cheat on them.

Overall, it is a decent mystery novel.