The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is…different. Of course, you probably know that it has received rave reviews, so obviously there is something appealing about it. Its movie adaptation comes out in October. So what’s all the hype about? Let’s talk about that.

First, if you haven’t read the book I’ll give you the briefest of rundowns without spoilers. Rachel rides a train into London every day, and every day she passes a house that has caught her eye. She studies the couple that lives in the house every time the train stops at the signal. It just so happens that this house is a few doors down from a house where Rachel used to live with her ex-husband. Now her ex lives in her old house with his new wife and baby. Rachel could not be any more despondent about this. Her life is in ruins, so she finds solace in imagining the happy life of the couple that live in the house by the train tracks. Until one day the woman she has been admiring from afar goes missing. Eccentric and alcoholic Rachel injects herself in center of the investigation without knowing that she has a bigger role in it than she realizes.