Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

21 reviews

corriejn's review against another edition

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4.25

Not my most typical fare, but I found it very engaging. Decidedly not a light read, and note the major CW for active alcohol addiction, but I was pretty hooked throughout.

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maddiehoop's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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lbeller7's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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ale94's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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lucyford's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A really great mystery book! It met all my expectations and the story came together very satisfyingly at the end. The complex changes in timelines and characters really let you get the most of the story, and led to a very unexpected but believable ending. The writing style is nice as well, and my only criticism is that it wasn’t super captivating in the first hundred pages or so, but the rest of the book made it all worth it!

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zoeypaugh's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75


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kotashomelibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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neverlandpages4's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

  • I was excited to read this because it’s what inspired many of the more recent thrillers like “The Woman in the Window” and “The Woman in Cabin 10” and the hundreds of other thrillers that have “woman” in the title. Unfortunately, this was one of the least thrilling and one of the least suspenseful books I’ve ever read.

  • I should’ve known I wouldn’t like this because one of my least favorite tropes in thrillers is the alcoholic unreliable narrator. I quickly get tired and annoyed with the amount of times that drinking is mentioned and the main character constantly being confusing about the details of what might’ve or might’ve not happened.

  • I was also really confused by the timeline. We follow 2 or 3 timelines that are leading up to each other but at the same time, they constantly switch to a random time and I just couldn’t keep track of it.

  • Also, there’s the matter of the racist stereotypes and the wrong portrayal of Muslim characters.

  • Part of me finds it hard to believe that this is the book that a lot of people were raving about years ago when it first came out. Same with the movie (which I won’t be watching now). It felt so mundane and predictable and not unique. If I hadn’t written my thoughts on the book as I was reading it, I wouldn’t have been able to write a review because I honestly remember nothing.


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chamaeleontis's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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eule's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3,5 - 4 ★

This is a great mystery thriller with a deep character insight and an intriguing idea of a story. 

The ending was very satisfying and I loved the idea of "the girl on the train", who saw everything and became involved in the lives of strangers. 
Furthermore, by structuring the book with times and dates as chapters and the division of chapters by "Morning" and "Evening", the concept of this books was pretty cool, however, sometimes confusing, because it jumped around in the timeline. 
Additionally, I liked the described struggles of the main character. Many people suffer from alcoholism and depression, which are very sensitive topics and therefore, it is important to talk about them by not just neutrally describing the condition, but explaining the struggle and the influence on the character in detail.

*spoiler*

Yet, some characters were a little too traumatized (Megan´s history??) and the plot seemed to be a little slow in the middle of the book. 
Also, I absolutely loathed Tom. He is such an asshole and exemplifies all shitty men on this planet. I am sorry for every women that is treated that shitty. I am sorry for every women who is being cheated on and who has to endure gaslighting. 
At last, I need to mention the relationships in this book were very weird (the sexual tension between Rachel and Scott??). Even though, most of the characters were not so likable due to their mental issues and their behavior, it perfectly shows how such problems can destroy a human being. 

*spoiler ends*

To conclude, if you like a character-driven book with a lot of drama and mystery until the end, I recommend you this gripping novel by Paula Hawkins.

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