*Reviews contain
spoilers* All synopses taken from Goodreads.com
The Girl
on the Train
Rachel takes
the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track,
flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that
allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s
even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them.
Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a
minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed.
Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and
becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of
everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?
Firstly,
I think Paula Hawkins made a really brave decision to write the protagonist, Rachel, as
quite an unlikeable character (initially she is, anyway). I had to stop myself
from shouting at her throughout the whole book because she was so infuriating at times. A couple of frustrating
moments in particular were when she appeared to kick her drinking habit, but then the next
paragraph or chapter would begin with her drinking a G&T! *Facepalm*
The other
main character, Megan, was not particularly likeable either. So it
was really quite strange reading a book and not warming to either of the two
key characters. Saying that, however, I was really rooting for Rachel near the
end, especially when she figured out that it was Tom who had manipulated her
for years and convinced her she was a mad, violent drunk. I wanted Rachel to get
her revenge on him, but little did I know just how gruesome that revenge was
going to be!
Towards
the end of the book, I found the part when Anna and Rachel suddenly seemed to be BBFs a little strange. It was a bit odd and unrealistic. After all,
the storyline mainly revolved around Rachel’s hatred and bitterness towards
Anna and Anna’s desperate attempts to get Rachel out of her and Tom’s lives for
good.
I was surprised
by the twist – who actually killed Megan. I was convinced it was
going to be either the mysterious man with red hair on the train, or Rachel's roommate, or Anna, or perhaps even Rachel herself.
Now that
I’ve finished the book after reading and hearing so much hype about it, I’m really
excited about the film. Although I can’t actually picture who is going to play
Rachel. Apparently Emily Blunt has been signed, but I’m hoping they will cast
her as either Anna or Megan, she’s definitely too far too glamorous to play a
downtrodden alcoholic. It has also been recently reported that the film will be
set in the US instead of the UK. If that’s true, I think it’s a huge mistake!
It should definitely be set in London.
The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins, 4/5 –
gripping and creepy, fans of Gone Girl will love it
The
Husband’s Secret
My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then
I’ve died...
Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to
be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest,
darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you
built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you
stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive...
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an
incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted
wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that
letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess
barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the
earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.
Meh. That
pretty much sums up how I feel about this book. Meh.
I
downloaded it onto my Kindle ages ago. I’d heard so many great things about it,
but every time I picked it up, I soon put it back down again. The reason why? Because
there are SO MANY NAMES. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it has to be done, but in
this case, almost all of the names mentioned were entirely irrelevant to the story. Within
the first few pages, I felt like I’d just been introduced to every single
person Cecilia Fitzpatrick had ever met. Now that I’ve finished the book, I
think that it was unnecessary to mention so many people who make such a
fleeting appearance.
Another point
that annoyed me a little was the huge emphasis that is put on the story of the
Berlin Wall. I am still not entirely sure why it is so closely intertwined in
the story. My interpretation is that maybe the Berlin Wall represents a
barrier that shields Cecilia from anything negative in her life – that she is so comfortable in her domestic bliss, but then when she discovers her husband’s
sinister secret, everything she thinks she knows comes crashing down in the same
way the wall did in 1989. I could have that completely wrong, but that’s just
how I interpreted the frequent mentions of it.
Even
though the story wasn’t really grabbing me, I forced myself to carry on. Partly
because I just wanted to know what the husband’s bloody secret was, dammit. But
when the secret was revealed, I wasn’t even that surprised. It was pretty
obvious it was going to be a murder, what else could be so dark and disturbing?
All in all, the general concept of The Husband’s Secret was fantastic and had
so much promise, but unfortunately, the entire story was just a bit
predictable.
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty, 2/5 –
two points for the general idea of the book, which is intriguing and
thought-provoking
The Lie
I know your
name's not really Jane Hughes...
Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny
cottage in rural Wales. She's happier than she's ever been but her life is a
lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.
Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what
should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that
claimed the lives of two of the women.
Jane has tried to put her past behind her but someone knows the truth about
what happened. Someone who won't stop until they've destroyed Jane and
everything she loves.
I was so
disappointed by this book. It was quite similar to The Husband’s Secret in that it
had so much potential and was such an interesting concept, but the more the
story went on, the weaker it felt.
For one
thing, I just didn’t believe in the friendships of the key characters –
something which is an important part of the book. Without that belief, the
whole story just seemed entirely unrealistic. The women appeared to really resent
being in the same room as each other, so why on earth would they go on an
intense backpacking holiday around Nepal together? Not one of the characters in
the friendship circle was likeable, even the main character was far too naive
and insipid to be a believable heroine.
I felt
like the ending of The Lie was a little bit… how can I put this… thrown
together. It was as though the author had started off on a roll, then got a bit
bored and finished the story as quickly as possible. Towards the end, I just
didn’t care and that is not how you should feel at the end of a thriller.
The Lie by C.L. Taylor, 1/5 – disappointing!
If you've read any good thrillers (or any great books) lately, then please let me know! I'm always on the lookout for good books. Either comment below, or tweet/follow me on Twitter or Instagram: DinkyDanni_
