The Couple on the Train – Claire Cooper

I look at where the woman was sitting. There’s a scrap of paper tucked into the gap between the seats. With shaking hands, I pick it up. The note reads: Help me.

At first glance, the couple on the train look normal. She’s dressed smartly, a floral patterned bag on her lap. But her hands are clenched, her fingers white. The man with her has his arm looped through hers, but not in a comforting way. He’s holding her too tightly.

She catches my eye and I see desperation there. I’m opening my mouth to speak when the train grinds to a halt and the man stands, hauling her away. She looks at me again, then at the seat behind her, her face pale.

I find the message she left behind. Help me.

When I call the police, there’s no sign of the couple on CCTV. The kind detective gently suggests that it’s not surprising, with my history, that I am imagining things. Wanting to save someone.

I know what I saw. If no one will believe me, I’ll find her myself.

But as I search, what I find seems personal. Little things that remind me of what happened ten years ago. And I think I’m being followed, that someone broke into my flat.

The hunt for the woman on the train is leading me somewhere I should never go. Can I save her, or will I be next?

Review

Amazing, Showstopping. Perhaps seen before, but Claire Cooper ads her own twist. I’m liking this author a lot.

This book kept me hanging onto my kindle, though I did find the beginning to be a bit off; the way the police treated Laura didn’t seem realistic to me. However, I didn’t really get hung up on that aspect since I assumed this was written like that for convenience of the plot, although I don’t like when an author takes this approach.

The book is separated between then and now timelines—and some input from the anonymous antagonist, muahaha. I much preferred the now chapters. It sometimes felt like the past narration was stalling, and the clues that the author was dropping were easier to pick up in the present and flowed more smoothly than in the past. I did see one big thing coming, though!

I read The Elevator earlier in the year, and I see a bit of a recurring theme going on, but ultimately, I think The Couple on the Train is better. It’s funny because for that book, I thought it stalled towards the last third and started strong, but for this one, the first third is a bit weak in pacing, but then it picks up and never drops!