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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
That was definitely a good read :D though long. It was not a fast pace novel. Events are slowly simmering, building tension piece by piece.
It's not a typical story, there are no heroes here. All characters were flawed, some more than others. And they were not lovable. Although I sympathized at some points with Rachel and Scott and even Megan. They were real human beings, with regrets, secrets and mistakes. That was great from the writer, building such realistic characters and diving deep into their emotions and minds.
Her descriptions are very detailed, never cheap to write an emotion or what's happening in the character's head at every event.
The plot was great and the way the whole story unfolded in the end was unexpected and well thought of.
Events were moving slowly. But it develops a hunger to find out what's happening?
She took her time in letting us know all the characters well, which were her greatest achievement in the novel.
There is no happy ending here, not in the traditional meaning. But it was a good ending.
This novel shows scary kinds of abuse. How People can be as cruel and frightening as monsters. How a person can ruin someone else's life. How a person can ruin his own life. And how fragile people can be.
As for the characters:
Rachel was stuck. She imprisoned herself in her drinking and longing for a past that was basically a lie. Unable to move on. But she does have some nobility and goodness in her. Trying to find out what happened to Megan, a complete stranger, helping Scott, rushing to Anna at the end, her sworn enemy, to warn her about Tom.
Megan has a dark past, a secret that probably dug huge holes in her soul. and she became a troubled person, unsettled, unsatisfied by anything, or anyone. Can't handle rejection and has a need to be wanted. Probably trying to fill these holes. But I did feel bad for her a few times.
Anna is a horrible person in every way. She probably deserved Tom. She had no guilt or regret towards Rachel, though she stole her husband. She probably did her a favor :D but no one knew that. So it was not intentional.
Scott has clear anger issues, and Megan probably kept him on edge. I felt bad for him. I kind of liked him in the beginning, but not towards the end. He was a victim first. I didn't believe at anytime that he was behind Megan's disappearance.
Kamal was probably the better person, although he was sleeping with his patient against all rules and ethics. But he was compassionate and nice.
Tom was ]a pathological liar, abusive and his abuse was mental. It was directed mostly at Rachel's thoughts and even memories. To make her doubt herself, disbelieve herself.
He was basically a monster in disguise. Hiding his true nature behind his charms and he was good at it. He got two women to fall for him, or three counting Megan, though i don't believe she had any real feelings for him.
The ending was suitable for all the characters, some more than others.
It's an enjoyable read but it takes time and some patience, for me at least, I like fast pacing :D
It's not a typical story, there are no heroes here. All characters were flawed, some more than others. And they were not lovable. Although I sympathized at some points with Rachel and Scott and even Megan. They were real human beings, with regrets, secrets and mistakes. That was great from the writer, building such realistic characters and diving deep into their emotions and minds.
Her descriptions are very detailed, never cheap to write an emotion or what's happening in the character's head at every event.
The plot was great and the way the whole story unfolded in the end was unexpected and well thought of.
Events were moving slowly. But it develops a hunger to find out what's happening?
She took her time in letting us know all the characters well, which were her greatest achievement in the novel.
There is no happy ending here, not in the traditional meaning. But it was a good ending.
This novel shows scary kinds of abuse. How People can be as cruel and frightening as monsters. How a person can ruin someone else's life. How a person can ruin his own life. And how fragile people can be.
As for the characters:
Rachel was stuck. She imprisoned herself in her drinking and longing for a past that was basically a lie. Unable to move on. But she does have some nobility and goodness in her. Trying to find out what happened to Megan, a complete stranger, helping Scott, rushing to Anna at the end, her sworn enemy, to warn her about Tom.
Megan has a dark past, a secret that probably dug huge holes in her soul. and she became a troubled person, unsettled, unsatisfied by anything, or anyone. Can't handle rejection and has a need to be wanted. Probably trying to fill these holes. But I did feel bad for her a few times.
Anna is a horrible person in every way. She probably deserved Tom. She had no guilt or regret towards Rachel, though she stole her husband. She probably did her a favor :D but no one knew that. So it was not intentional.
Scott has clear anger issues, and Megan probably kept him on edge. I felt bad for him. I kind of liked him in the beginning, but not towards the end. He was a victim first. I didn't believe at anytime that he was behind Megan's disappearance.
Kamal was probably the better person, although he was sleeping with his patient against all rules and ethics. But he was compassionate and nice.
Tom was ]a pathological liar, abusive and his abuse was mental. It was directed mostly at Rachel's thoughts and even memories. To make her doubt herself, disbelieve herself.
He was basically a monster in disguise. Hiding his true nature behind his charms and he was good at it. He got two women to fall for him, or three counting Megan, though i don't believe she had any real feelings for him.
The ending was suitable for all the characters, some more than others.
It's an enjoyable read but it takes time and some patience, for me at least, I like fast pacing :D
I had not heard about the book until my book club elected to read it. This book was a page turner for me. I was guessing and questioning the entire story. I felt like I knew the characters, but none of their actions is what I expected. I felt like I was right there with the characters. The book had me on the edge of my seat and ready for the next chapter and for answers to all my questions. From the beginning I loved the idea of sitting on a trains and how our perspective alters what we see as reality.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 ⭐️I was confused most of the time in a good and bad way. I don’t think I grasped the timeline of when things were happening in each point of view. In the beginning I had a hard time getting into it but the last 100 pages were good. I kinda guessed towards the end which made the ending a little anticlimactic but she had me stumped for a while.
Alkuu oli raivostuttavaa päähenkilön epätoivosuuden ja säälittävyyden takii vaikka hyvin kuvaaki alkoholistin ja masentuneen ihmisen mielenmaailmaa. Lopussa hyvä jännitys ja lopetus
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really interesting and a super quick read. Wanted to shake Rachel a couple of times though because of repeated poor decisions.