Book #13: The Girl on the Train

Amazon Link

I decided I wanted to read a book on the bestseller list. This one looked interesting and was recommended by the librarian at our library. I was intrigued that it was billed as a "psychological thriller." I don't think I've ever read anything of that genre before. I'm not sure I will again.

I will say it was well written. It was gripping and intense and made me want to keep reading. But it was so dark and depressing it made me want to run right back to safe arms of inspirational fiction. I figured by "psychological thriller," it'd be something to make me think. But in reality, I think it just means the characters were all a little psychotic. And getting embroiled in their lives made me feel a little psychotic too. The main character is a depressed, divorced alcoholic who has blackouts whenever she gets really drunk. So she's always a little confused and off-kilter. Subsequently, I felt a little confused and off-kilter throughout the whole book as well. I'm sure it's a mark of a good writer that Hawkins can make me feel that way, but I didn't really enjoy it. And I'm depressed enough on my own, I don't need to read about anyone else's depression too - fictional or not!

When it comes down to it, I think the thing that bothers me the most is that there was no redemption. *Spoiler alert* The main character starts out depressed, unemployed, lonely, and drunk most of the time. Then there are murders, affairs, lies, and deception. By the end, the murderer is revealed (I was admittedly surprised), and Rachel manages to get her drinking under control, but she's still lonely, unemployed, and stuck in her depressed crazy brain. At least in my fluffy Christian books, there's resolution and redemption.