AUDIO

The Girl on the Train

9 CDs. 11 hrs. Penguin Audio. 2015. ISBN 9781611763737. $40. Playaway digital, digital download. F
COPY ISBN
OrangeReviewStarHawkins's highly engrossing debut novel introduces listeners to Rachel Watson, an unreliable point-of-view character if there ever was one—she is unemployed, an alcoholic, and stalking her ex-husband and his new wife. She attempts to save face by pretending to go to work every day, seeing the same seemingly perfect couple daily from her train window. Rachel's narrative is intersected by those of two other women—Megan, the woman who lives in the house Rachel is obsessed with, and Anna, who lives down the street from Megan and is married to Rachel's ex-husband. When Megan disappears, layers of the women's personalities are slowly revealed in unexpected ways. Narrators Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, and India Fisher give outstanding performances.
VERDICT A gripping novel that will appeal to fans of psychological fiction and suspense. ["With only a brief look into backstory, undeveloped characters offer no reason or motivation for their actions, and none of them is likable," disagreed the review of the Riverhead hc, LJ 10/15/14.]
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