Want a thriller read done right? pick up The Girl on the Train. There, that is my review in one short sentence convincing you to pick it up. The Girl on the Train was a gritty, sometimes even uncomfortable like read. Rachel, the main protagonist, is so unlikable.. actually, every single main character in this book is hateful. More than once I was disgusted by Rachel and I feel that is what made the book such a different experience for me. There is no clear indication on who you should be rooting for or who you can side with or who the hell to trust and confide in. *shivers* this book really gave me the creeps, and I loved every single page of it! 
 Granted, the beginning was slow, it took me a day or two to get to page 70 but right after we are finally up to what the synopsis reveals, you are officially locked in this game of lying, deceit, despicable characters, and suspicion. Told from an almost dual POV of Rachel and someone else, as well as their two differing timelines that will ultimately diverge, you can't help but run a 100 theories through your head trying to figure out where Paula Hawkins will take the plot. The pacing of the book and how only fragments of the real story and happenings and memories get thrown at us is what makes it such an addicting read. Rachel is a drunk. Like a complete and utter drunk. Everyday she wakes up saying she'll quit then drinks as much as humanly possible.. whether it be morning, in the train, or even as soon as she wakes up in bed. As a result of that, Rachel has had her fair share of blackouts and lost memories.. some very important memories that could solve the whole damn mystery. 
 Rachel is not supposed to be a likable character. She frustrated and disgusted (3rd time already?) me to no end. All I wanted to do was shake her and tell her to GET A GRIP and to hell with her cheating ex-husband and to just, for God's sake, MOVE ON. Of course Rachel's demons aren't that easily fought.. and so we trudge along, unwillingly may I add, through Rachel's worthless days.. but that added to the gritty and chilling feeling of the whole novel. 
 I don't think I've read an adult mystery thriller as good as The Girl on the Train.. I know it has been labeled as the next "Gone Girl" which I've read, but I truly believe this amped up the suspense and thrill while keeping me engaged throughout the whole novel. While I was able to guess correctly on one point, the motive, and the execution of the crime as well as all the other memory holes are what kept me going. This is a brilliant thriller and I can't recommend it enough. I am interested to see what Paula Hawkins' next book will be and if it's another thriller that will leave me, days later, still thinking and obsessing about the characters and events that took place within the book's pages.