The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Omg.  Omg.  OMG!!  This book.  Man, I waited too long.  It was soooooo good!

I was hesitant at first because it was billed as the next “Gone Girl”.  And I HATED “Gone Girl”.  HATED IT!  So much in fact, that I ended the book and threw it across my apartment in Braintree at the time.  Hated it so much that I refused to see the movie.  Just hated it.

This book on the other hand was everything “Gone Girl” is not.  There were sympathetic characters, there was closure, and there was a cracking murder mystery.  I was sure I figured out the culprit halfway through, and then a big twist at the end really threw me for a loop!  That is definitely a sign of a good book.  The book follows three characters, two in the present tense and one leading up to the current time in the book.  All the characters are flawed in different ways, and you aren’t quite sure what to think, but at the same time, they all have characteristics that you can sort of identify with.  Unlike “Gone Girl” which didn’t have any redeeming characters.  Ugh.

So if you need a book that will suck you in but leave you satisfied in the end, this book is it.  I can’t say enough good things about it.  Also, you should probably read it before the movie comes out I think next year starring Emily Blunt.  The book is now out in paperback, so it’s the perfect beach read.  I couldn’t put it down for two days!

*Phew*  Writing is hard work!  I just started working on my first cozy mystery and I’ve been trying to write pretty consistently for the past few weeks.  I’m around 20,000 words or 60 pages in, but at the same time, I’m taking a class on “Mastering the Mystery Genre” with the Sisters in Crime Guppies page.  It’s really helpful, but I’m finding less time to write while completing my assignments.

For reference, my last day at my current job is Friday, and I’m taking the entirety  of next week off to hopefully get some writing done (and maybe head to the Cape for a mini-vacation).  I start my new job (still in the same field) on the 18th, so I want to get as much done before I start there!

At the same time, I’m making my way through my TBR (to be read) pile.  It never seems to get any lower, but that’s okay.  Books are great all the time.

Last night, I finished reading an Advanced Reader’s Copy of

A Certain Age: A Novel

For fans of the roaring 20’s, flappers, and decadence, this book is for you.  Also, for fans of intricate murder mysteries.  The book starts with a newspaper clipping of a famous trial with many glittering faces involved.  You’re not quite sure who all the people are yet, but it definitely reads like a true crime novel at the start.  The two main characters that we follow through the book couldn’t be more opposite.  Theresa is an older woman, married, with children, and a very handsome lover.  Sophie is young, independent, and newly engaged.  She happens to be engaged to Theresa’s brother!  The handsome lover of Theresa, soon meets Sophie and then a sort of love triangle is formed.  Through parties, mishaps, and clandestine meetings, we learn more of the story that opened the book.  By the end, we are shocked by the culmination of the trial and it’s aftermath.  Beatriz Williams also leaves one part of the story open to further interpretation, with Sophie’s sister off to find her wayward husband in Florida.  Now that book I would also read.