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Better

My second blind date with a book went much better than my first; I read all of Paula Hawkins' novel The Girl on the Train in one day.

What I liked about this blind date: the writing, which was spare, elegant and cleverly executed; the snowballing pacing, the three points of view presented with dates, which helped me keep the convoluted timeline straight in my head, and the mystery itself, which aside from one barely noticeable slip was quite deft.

What I didn't like about this blind date: I'm not a fan of unreliable narrators, alcoholics or endless self-pity parties, all of which saturate this book, so I skimmed a lot. I knew who the killer was going to be almost from the beginning because of that authorial slip (which I will be nice and keep to myself.) Most of the characters were artificially rather than convincingly flawed. The references to sex had these odd amnesiac-style time gaps, i.e. I turned as he put his arms around me, warm and aroused. Afterward we both stared at the ceiling (my words, not the author's.) After the fourth time we leap-frogged the sex like that I really wished the author had just skipped sex references altogether.

It's a pretty slick story, and I see why they made it into a movie (although I will politely pass on watching the film version.) Emotionally I was a bit afloat, as there were no characters I felt I could connect with at all, but instead I focused on the puzzle. Most readers would likely enjoy the mystery, and perhaps the chance to get inside the minds of the three POV characters. I didn't feel as if I'd wasted the reading time, so I'll recommend it with a note of caution on all the negative points I mentioned -- if these are major nopes for you, give this one a pass.

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