Set in the suburban areas outside London, the train provides the backdrop for the book. Rachel Watson is a recently divorced woman who lost her home and job while dealing with infertility, alcohol addiction, and depression. Although she does not work anymore, she occupies herself by riding the train into and out of London daily. During the rides, Rachel watches the houses and imagines the lives of others. She particularly loves a couple she sees through the window. She names them “Jess” and “Jason.”
The plot reveals the couple’s names to be Megan and Scott. One day, Rachel sees Megan with another man. Since Rachel’s life is a mess because her ex-husband, Tom, cheated and left, she gets triggered by Megan’s unfaithfulness. The conflict arises when Megan disappears.
The next chapter introduces us to Megan Hipwell. She is Jess in Rachel’s narration. Megan is a nanny for Tom’s child. Megan’s husband becomes hopeful she would be interested in having a baby since she is around a child, but she misses working at an art gallery. She eventually quits her job as a nanny and lies she is getting sexual advances. Realizing Megan’s sleeping routine is strained, her husband, Scott suggests a therapist. Megan meets her therapist and finds herself fascinated.
I think Rachel is invested in the lives of Megan and Scott because they appear to have the fairytale marriage she craves.
Megan arrives one evening to find Scott searching through her computer for signs of infidelity. She recalls her therapist, Dr. Abdic, suggested she keep a diary of her feelings, but she does not because Scott is always snooping. The following Saturday, Megan asks her friend, Tara, to cover for her while she meets with a lover at a hotel.
Rachel has an accident and needs stitching. During the process, the doctor notices a bump on her head, and she has flashes of trying to avoid a blow. Drunk when this happened, Rachel is unsure of her memories. However, she remembers she had the accident after she read of Megan’s disappearance in a news article.
The novel continues to provide Megan’s perspective even when she is confirmed dead. Although she is grateful for the doctor-patient confidentiality of therapy, she is reluctant to divulge her past before she met Scott. Eventually, she opens up to Abdic. She also invites him for a drink. When he declines, she kisses him on the lips.
Rachel reads about Megan’s disappearance and discovers some facts. Later on, she recalls how her inability to conceive a child led to her addiction to alcohol and the failure of her marriage. Rachel sends Scott an email pretending to be Megan’s acquaintance with some vital information.
In my opinion, Rachel is kind and looks out for others. Quite sure that Megan ran off with her lover, she tries to allay Scott’s fears.
During an interrogation, Rachel tries to remember what happened on the night Megan went missing. Although she was at the scene, she had a distorted account of what happened. Provided with pictures to identify who Megan was kissing the other day, she points to Megan’s therapist. Scott Hipwell replies to Rachel’s email and asks to meet. In “The Girl on the Train,” the rising action begins as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with Megan Hipwell’s disappearance.
The next chapter introduces Anne Watson, Tom’s current wife. She returns from shopping to find her husband reading an email from Rachel and asks when they will be free from her stalking.
When Rachel visits Scott, she is shocked that the house has the same layout as the one she lived in with her ex-husband. Rachel confesses that she saw Megan kissing another man. He believes her, and after identifying Megan’s lover, he asks her to leave. Afterward, he calls to appreciate her efforts and discuss the quarrel before Megan goes missing.
I think Rachel’s obsession with alcohol is a cry for help. While people cannot understand her readiness to self-sabotage, she is fighting depression the only way she can.
Megan worries that her lover has not kept in touch. She goes for her therapy appointment and asks if Abdic is emotionally attracted to her. When she begins to yell, he tries to quieten her, and she kisses him hard on the mouth and returns home.
While on their way for a family hangout, they run into Rachel. Anna tries to protect her child, and Tom suggests they return home. When Tom tries to discuss the arrest of Megan’s therapist, Anne hardly engages but is more concerned that Rachel is trying to break into their house. Tom reassures her, but she wants to inform the police.
After a while, Kamal Abdic gets released because there is insufficient evidence that he murdered Megan. Rachel is shocked and continues to drink. When she calls Scott, he accuses her of lying and hangs up. Rachel calls Tom and tries to discuss the events leading up to Megan’s vanishing. Tom warns her to stay away from Scott.
I think Anna is afraid of Rachel because she has proven to be mentally unstable and consistent.
Megan returns to Kamal Abdic to confess all that happened in her past, including how she unknowingly drowned her child.
The next chapter follows Rachel going to therapy to recover her memory. She sets an appointment with Kamal Abdic and is surprised at how easy it is to open up to him.
When Anna Watson sees the headline claiming Megan was a child killer, she berates herself for employing her as a nanny. When Tom returns, she insists they leave the neighborhood, but Tom refuses.
Spotting Rachel coming out of Scott’s house again, Anna talks to Tom about it. He calls Rachel and begs her to stay away from Scott. Anna starts to miss the days she worked as a real estate agent. Later, she sees Rachel across the street looking at the house and confronts Tom because he promised to make her stop.
In my opinion, Rachel’s decision to go to therapy shows her willingness to heal and quit drinking.
Meanwhile, Scott invites Rachel to the house and holds her hostage for a while because he feels betrayed by her actions. Rachel reports to the police about his molestation, but they do not believe her. Unhappy because she foolishly thought Scott and even Tom cared for her, Rachel experiences a flashback where she sees Tom nearing her in the underpass.
After another fight about Rachel, Anna stumbles on Tom’s gym bag. She searches and finds Megan’s phone. After reading some texts, she throws the phone over the fence and follows Tom to bed.
The climax occurs when Rachel finally organizes thoughts and her repressed memories and realizes that her ex-husband, Tom, is responsible for Megan’s murder. Tom gaslighted her a lot even while they were married. It was easy because she mostly drank into a stupor and lost her memory. After Rachel solves the mystery, she goes to Tom’s house to save Anna.
Anna opens the door and barely acknowledges her. Rachel says they should leave, but she refuses. As they converse, Rachel exposes the deceitful and lying Tom Watson. Although Anna says she does not believe Rachel, she feels uncomfortable. They begin to revisit Tom’s lies. The turning point happens when Rachel and Anna discover that Tom has been lying to them all along. Rachel’s self-doubt and insecurities metamorphose into clarity and confidence.
In my opinion, finding Megan’s phone in Tom’s bag opens Anna’s eyes to his secretive lifestyle.
Tom returns home to find them together. Rachel confronts him, and he tells Anna to disregard all she says. Anna states that she had Megan’s phone in his gym bag and knows everything.
To this, Tom gives a hurtful explanation of why he cheated on Rachel and Anna. He also confesses to killing Megan. She was pregnant, but he did not want to take responsibility for the child. Rachel tries to run for the door, but Tom hits her on the head, drags her back into the house, and starts to beat her. When she runs out again, he runs after her, and she drives a corkscrew into his neck.
In the falling action, after Rachel confronts Tom and their violent struggle ensues, Anna realizes Tom’s guilt. Although she calls the ambulance, Tom dies. Leaving out how she drove the corkscrew deep enough to kill Tom, Anna tells the police Rachel killed him in self-defense. Soon, Rachel is set free.
In the resolution, the conflict gets resolved when the truth about Tom’s deceit and Megan’s murder is exposed. Rachel gets cleared of suspicion, and Anna, now free from Tom’s manipulation, supports the account of events. Rachel sobers up after one last drink and goes on a nice vacation.
I think Anna’s support for Rachel proves her hatred was not as intense as she thought.
