Mike Sansbury, assistant manager of The Grove Bookshop, reviews The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

A NUMBER of factors contribute to a book’s journey up the bestseller charts; in the most honourable cases this ascent is a result of word of mouth, when book groups, booksellers and readers are so excited about a title that they can’t resist singing its praises.

More usually, however, it is a result of a ruthless marketing campaign, thrusting the book at all and sundry so that it becomes the thing to read, the accessory to be seen with. Paula Hawkins’ first novel, The Girl on the Train, has reached dizzy heights with the help of a clever piece of marketing that has consisted mainly of giving booksellers, and other people of great influence, free copies and leaving the book to work its magic.

The jacket design was what first caught my eye; the blurred glimpse of an image as a train rushes past is what kick-starts the story as our narrator, Rachel, passes her old home (where her ex-partner Tom now lives with his new lover, Anna). It promised a ride on an unexpected route, although when I began to read the book I had the uneasy feeling that I was travelling through familiar territory – so far, so 4.50 from Paddington.

But what the heroine, Rachel, sees from her carriage is just what we all see, glimpses of houses and people, whose exciting adventures she openly admits to inventing. She also admits to being less than perfect, but her battle with alcohol is one which I found myself willing her to win.

The perfect lives she dreams up for Jason and Jess (the names she gives to an attractive couple who are often in their garden as her train passes) are in stark contrast to her own existence, and the fact that their house is so close to the home she once shared with Tom makes things worse; we sense that Rachel is somewhat unreliable, but we can’t help rooting for her.

As events pan out and she becomes embroiled in the twists and turns of the plot, trying to solve a mystery while being suspected by the police, she tests our sympathy to its limits; we could be forgiven for siding with Tom and Anna, but Anna’s hostility towards Rachel is hard to take as we watch our heroine battle with drink, her job loss, the concern of her landlady and the mysterious disappearance of Jess/Megan.

As the plot develops, we are never quite sure who to believe – every character has flaws and in the end there is a very unlikely alliance that saves the day. The author’s most impressive achievement here is to make us sympathise with a main character who is an unreliable, duplicitous secret drinker. Despite her flaws we are able to see through to her inner decency.

Terry Hayes, author of the spectacularly popular I am Pilgrim, describes the plot as Hitchcockian, and it certainly kept me gripped throughout. If you are looking for something to keep your interest as you undertake your daily commute, I can recommend The Girl on the Train without reservation, as the short, well-paced chapters are perfectly suited to that 30 minute journey to Leeds.