Quick take
But have they all jumped? Or have some of them actually been pushed?
Synopsis
A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from'”a place to which she vowed she'd never return.
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.
Beware a calm surface'”you never know what lies beneath.
Why I love it
Book of the Month
For centuries, women have been drawn to a particular spot above the river that flows through a small English town. According to local legend, they’ve leapt into the drowning pool to be one with the water. But have they all jumped? Or have some of them actually been pushed? When both a teenager and the mother of her best friend are discovered dead in the present day, the townspeople must confront their darkest fears and question everything they thought they knew. In her adrenaline-fueled follow-up to her sensational debut, Paula Hawkins avoids the sophomore slump and proves that she is a must-read for suspense lovers.
Member ratings (12,100)
Brittany B.
Albany, CA
'Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath'•• this book really surprised me! I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it, but following each character through each twist and turn was easier than I thought
Brooke B.
Norman, OK
Couldn't put it down and kept me guessing until the very end! I loved it just as much as Girl On The Train, maybe more! The way she developed the characters was truly incredible and never boring! ??????????
Alyssa G.
Charlotte, NC
Wow. Talk about twists and turns. I loved this. It was told through the eyes of so many people, and each of those people were so well described. They were all so different. “Every story has two sides”
Paula H.
Hinesburg, VT
Just when I thought I knew what was going on, bam, I’m wrong. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Nel, I understand why she was the way she was & she was the perfect offset amongst the others in the story.
Erin L.
Elm City, NC
I was fascinated by the way the author managed to present so many different female characters and still keeping reactions and the story believable. Nothing about this book felt forced or pretentious.