The Girl on the Train

This book, in my opinion, has been over-hyped in its comparison to Gone Girl, but is still a good book and a quick read (I read the book in a day).

The novel starts off slowly as Rachel describes her mundane commute from the suburbs to London, but hang in there - things escalate very quickly! She eventually takes a liking to an attractive couple that catches her eye because they hang out on their house deck at the same time every day, right by one of the stops in Rachel's train ride. However, Rachel witnesses something shocking one day that leads to a criminal investigation. Like a moth to a flame, or, more aptly, eyes drawn to a train-wreck, Rachel takes rubbernecking to a whole other level, taking it upon herself to get involved and solve the mystery.

... did I forget to mention that Rachel tends to get violently drunk, frequently experiences blackouts, and once lived down the street from this couple?  Hmmm.  Hmmm indeed. A foggy memory isn't exactly the best thing to have when you may (or may not) have been involved somehow...

Paula Hawkins' writing and characterization reminds me of Herman Koch because they both create such despicable characters and when you're reading the book, you feel violently disgusted and embarrassed for these supposed "protagonists".  Everyone is an absolute hot mess and psycho and the situation they've gotten into is quite the cluster. You eventually realize that you're the girl on the train, observing the chaos down below and unable to tear your eyes away because, well, schadenfreude.