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jo_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Like any other morning at a busy city centre train stations. Passengers wait to board a train at Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. They are starting holidays, new employment and escaping from the past as well as the future.
Imagine taking off the top of the train and picking on a few random people to find out about. Who are they and why are they on that train and what are they bound for on their journey
Holly has landed a job in the capital and she wants to make the most of it and her life, she is excited about going.
Jeff has never had a proper job and is going for his first interview. Understandably nervous he wants to make sure he doesn't fail.
Naz is dreaming of when he owns and runs his own restaurant. In the meantime, he will continue to clean the carriage of its detritus left behind by the passengers and carry on dreaming.
Nick and Lisa, with their children Eddie and baby Evie are often to a family wedding. Nick doesn't want to be on the train, in fact I don't think Nick even wants to be with his family.
Meg is going on holiday with her partner, Diana but they are both keeping secrets from each other.
Rhona really does not want to be on the train with her work colleagues when she has left her daughter poorly at home, but still making her go to school.
Caroline, is constantly answering her phone from her mother, whose dementia seems to be getting worse with every call.
Saheel is sat on the train with a rucksack.......
Kulsooom is not on the train but she goes to use her brother's computer and she discovers something which is going to change her life forever.
If you can imagine the rhythm and motion of a train on the tracks as you go on a journey, no matter how long or short, you can pick up the flow of this story. You have prior knowledge early on you know what is going to happen and you cannot do anything to stop the momentum. All of this builds for the climax of the story but perhaps it is not as you think it all will be.
This is very much a story of today, of the news items we watch day in day out, of the threats that have been carried out and the ones that have been adverted. What it does differently which made it stand out for me was that you saw the other side of the story, you saw how it affected those left behind. You saw the choices some people made so they could live or save others. You also saw with heartbreaking reality the choices made when they were going to die.
You don't enjoy this book as there seems something wrong in saying you enjoy a book which is very much like reading a news report in the paper or watching the equivalent on the television. You have to know what happens, which is one I had to keep reading, it took me no time to read it. It pulled me right in and more and I started to ask questions, to stop and pause and look around as I read it.
You just do not know what is going on in anyones life and Cath Staincliffe has glimpsed a moment, a moment that will change everyone.
Imagine taking off the top of the train and picking on a few random people to find out about. Who are they and why are they on that train and what are they bound for on their journey
Holly has landed a job in the capital and she wants to make the most of it and her life, she is excited about going.
Jeff has never had a proper job and is going for his first interview. Understandably nervous he wants to make sure he doesn't fail.
Naz is dreaming of when he owns and runs his own restaurant. In the meantime, he will continue to clean the carriage of its detritus left behind by the passengers and carry on dreaming.
Nick and Lisa, with their children Eddie and baby Evie are often to a family wedding. Nick doesn't want to be on the train, in fact I don't think Nick even wants to be with his family.
Meg is going on holiday with her partner, Diana but they are both keeping secrets from each other.
Rhona really does not want to be on the train with her work colleagues when she has left her daughter poorly at home, but still making her go to school.
Caroline, is constantly answering her phone from her mother, whose dementia seems to be getting worse with every call.
Saheel is sat on the train with a rucksack.......
Kulsooom is not on the train but she goes to use her brother's computer and she discovers something which is going to change her life forever.
If you can imagine the rhythm and motion of a train on the tracks as you go on a journey, no matter how long or short, you can pick up the flow of this story. You have prior knowledge early on you know what is going to happen and you cannot do anything to stop the momentum. All of this builds for the climax of the story but perhaps it is not as you think it all will be.
This is very much a story of today, of the news items we watch day in day out, of the threats that have been carried out and the ones that have been adverted. What it does differently which made it stand out for me was that you saw the other side of the story, you saw how it affected those left behind. You saw the choices some people made so they could live or save others. You also saw with heartbreaking reality the choices made when they were going to die.
You don't enjoy this book as there seems something wrong in saying you enjoy a book which is very much like reading a news report in the paper or watching the equivalent on the television. You have to know what happens, which is one I had to keep reading, it took me no time to read it. It pulled me right in and more and I started to ask questions, to stop and pause and look around as I read it.
You just do not know what is going on in anyones life and Cath Staincliffe has glimpsed a moment, a moment that will change everyone.
l1nds's review against another edition
2.0
I just don't see the point of this book. Literally the first 50% of it is boring strangers on a train, then it all goes a bit disaster movie, but it's all so flat. There's no substance to it. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie was absolutely devastating on a similar subject but this one ultimately felt like it had little to say.
coops456's review against another edition
3.0
Phew. A very intense read.
As the blurb explains, this is set on a Manchester to London train with a terrorist on board. We get to know both the would-be bomber and the travellers and staff in his carriage.
The sense of impending doom builds subtly yet steadily. The characters were well-drawn, with each chapter written from a different person's standpoint. Refreshingly, Staincliffe shows how the family of the bomber are also victims of his actions.
Anybody else think that Nick was well on his way to radicalisation himself?
As the blurb explains, this is set on a Manchester to London train with a terrorist on board. We get to know both the would-be bomber and the travellers and staff in his carriage.
The sense of impending doom builds subtly yet steadily. The characters were well-drawn, with each chapter written from a different person's standpoint. Refreshingly, Staincliffe shows how the family of the bomber are also victims of his actions.
Anybody else think that Nick was well on his way to radicalisation himself?
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
The 10.35 from Manchester to Euston is a busy train and all of humanity is on board. Jeff is shy young man travelling for a life-changing job interview, Holly is a young woman flush with the excitement of starting her career, Nick and Lisa are travelling to London for a wedding with their two young children in tow, Rhona is worried about her daughter, so is Caroline. Among the passengers in the coach is Saheel, clever student but recently radicalised, his behaviour arouses suspicion.
This should have been the sort of book that I dislike, sensationalist and overwrought, but it's not. Staincliffe writes the book in two sections, the build-up and the aftermath, and both are excellent in their different ways. The characters and their interactions are carefully drawn, yes some are cliches but others are not and the microcosm of British society that can be seen every day on a train is realised. Even Saheel's family is carefully considered, his precocious younger sister, his destroyed mother. I particularly liked the way that the book didn't necessarily end on a happy note, it was just about how life has to move forward after tragedy and that restraint was appreciated.
This should have been the sort of book that I dislike, sensationalist and overwrought, but it's not. Staincliffe writes the book in two sections, the build-up and the aftermath, and both are excellent in their different ways. The characters and their interactions are carefully drawn, yes some are cliches but others are not and the microcosm of British society that can be seen every day on a train is realised. Even Saheel's family is carefully considered, his precocious younger sister, his destroyed mother. I particularly liked the way that the book didn't necessarily end on a happy note, it was just about how life has to move forward after tragedy and that restraint was appreciated.
herreadingroom's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! This book is an absolute gripper! Its the first of Cath Staincliffe's books that I have read and my thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. We meet 8 of the passengers on board a train from Manchester Piccadily to London Euston - as the story of their lives unfolds so the author builds the tension layer upon layer upon layer; the reader cannot help but become attached to the characters and care deeply about the tragic outcome. Sadly a situation that the world is seeing more and more of, this book, sometimes graphically, tells the horrors of terrorism in our world today and how it changes lives of those it touches forever and how damaging and far-reaching its effects are. I raced through this book wanting to know the outcome and found it impossible to put down. Highly recommended and I look forward to reading much more of Cath's work.
wendoxford's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to review without a spoiler but...a documenary-like drama of a suicide bomber and the lives he invades, destroys and changes. Compulsive, topical and poignant
kathrynlikesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
As someone who frequently takes public transportation, this book really got to me. The first half of the book is was really suspenseful - told from multiple points of view, the chapters were short enough to really build up tension, and keep me reading, however the author didn't seem to be able to keep that tension building, which results in a second half that is more of an examination of how the action of one person can affect the lives of countless others. It really is a heartbreaking story, and provides a human look at what causes terrorism.
angeline123's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
becci_27's review
I don’t know what to rate this book as I found it to be powerful and a must read you get to see something you never want to be in that situation but to actually read about what it might be like is horrowing so I don’t know what to rate it because it seems wrong to but the writing was fantastic
sammyastevens's review against another edition
4.0
So compelling yet harrowing to read! Read it in one sitting as was completely gripped, had me in tears at the end. Well worth a read.