The Woman in Carriage 3
Alison James
It is only by accident that several strangers riding the 18:53 meet, talk and begin a friendship of sorts. Hattie is one of the strangers; she rides the same train, the same carriage and the same seat each day. For months she has been observing those around her but never speaks to anyone, until that night. She and the others, Julian a lawyer/barrister, Casper a very handsome gentleman who works at a prestigious auction house, Louis a mysterious man who works in security and is a single dad, Bridget a very quiet woman that never drinks alcohol, and Carman is employed by the university, connect and form their own group. Hattie is interested in Casper, and he indicates he wants a relationship with her. He tells her he is married but will leave his wife to spend the rest of his life with her.
Let’s start with the characters. I didn’t like any of them. I suppose Louis would be the most likable, but I wasn’t crazy about him either. Hattie is the main character; at 29 years of age, you would like she could reason, think logically, do something right but nope not Hattie. Hattie is an alcoholic. This is the second book I have read in the last week where the main character is an alcoholic and yet none of the characters other than Louis notice or maybe they just don’t care. She also uses sex as a crutch; it doesn’t really seem to matter who he is just that he is. Hattie lives with her parents because her former boyfriend broke up with her because she cheated on him. She is working at a temporary digital marketing job. She falls for a guy who is obviously lying to her. At first, I wasn’t sure what he was lying about but the red flags were waving, STOP! STOP! I so want to say more but then I would be giving out spoilers. Toward the end of the book Hattie seems to finally begin to mature.
Now let’s discuss the plot. It was a bit involved. It started out rather s…l…o…w. It does pick up speed about 1/2 in but by then you are so disgusted with the main character you want to shout, “you brought this all on yourself!” While the first half of the book is slow the last half is predictable.

Hattie is approaching 30 and her life is going nowhere. She has split up with her boyfriend, lost her job, been forced to move back in with her parents, has an alcohol problem, and has a lot of casual dates/sex.

When her train out of London is delayed one day, Hattie and her fellow passengers begin chatting, buy a few drinks and set up their own WhatsApp group. She becomes friendly with Bridget, Lewis, Julian, Carmen and Casper, a Jude Law, look alike, who Hattie is very attracted to.

When one of the group dies on the train and the police declare it a homicide, Hattie realises that she may be involved in something bigger than she’d thought.

It was an enjoyable story with some great characters. Hattie herself was quite irritating and this, I believe, was the author’s intention and the reasons will become clear when you read the book.

I really enjoyed the premise and it was well paced.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The Woman in Carriage 3 was the first book I have read/listened to by Allison James. I found it to be quite slow. Although it was a character driven mystery, I found the characters to be annoying and not easy to like for the most part. A good deal of the story took part on a commuter’s train. One day, the train was stopped for an extended period of time due to a medical emergency. The passengers in carriage 3 introduced themselves to each other, started talking and by the end of the train ride had decided to start a Whats App group so they could keep in touch with each other. The plot developed around the lives of these passengers and their interactions with each other. I listened to the audiobook that was narrated by Jan Cramer.

Of all the characters in The Woman in Carriage 3, Hattie Swell, was by far the most annoying one in my opinion. Although she was almost thirty years old, she had recently been fired from her job in London and was now living back home in her parent’s house. She was gullible, easily persuaded and unable to make smart decisions and choices for herself and her life. Hattie enjoyed drinking way too much and let alcohol influence her decisions and judgment. She had secured a position at a company through a temp agency. Hattie’s life was far from perfect. Her job through the temp agency had put Hattie on that particular train that day and brought her to meet the other passengers. Hattie met Julian, a barrister, Casper, a very attractive man who worked at an auction house, Carmen, a woman who worked at an University, Bridget, a quiet, mousy young woman who did not drink and worked as a civil servant and Louis who worked in security and was a single dad. Hattie was drawn to Casper and his good looks. The two began to date. Their relationship was far from perfect. Hattie was so head over heels over Casper that she went along with everything and anything he suggested or asked of her. Casper confessed to Hattie that he was married but claimed that he would leave his wife for Hattie. He wanted Hattie to go to Mexico with him and live with him. He was working on a big art sale at the auction house and if it went through they would be set up for a long time. Hattie believed her life with Casper would be everything she had always wanted. Then one evening, on the commute home, the group was all together except for Casper when Hattie witnessed that Julian had died on the floor of the train as he exited the rest room. Was it a heart attack or had someone purposely killed him? The investigation that followed would totally change Hattie’s life and her outlook on life as well.

The Woman in Carriage 3 by Allison James was more of a mystery than a thriller. It was quite predictable and the characters were annoying. I rolled my eyes a lot about the choices and decisions Hattie made. Since this was the first and only book that I have read by Allison James, perhaps I will give her another chance in the future and read one of her future books.

Thank you to Bookouture for allowing me to listen to The Woman in Carriage 3 by Allison James through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Publication is set for May 22, 2023.

This was a good read, but don't go into it thinking it's a standard "murder" book (despite the line at the top of the cover ...tbh that's a bit misleading). The murder that takes place is almost incidental to the rest of the story.

Hattie's life is a mess. She's almost 30 and back living with her parents, flitting from one temp job to another and one dating app guy to the next.

A delay on the train home one night sees the usual group of commuters interact with each other and start to form loose friendships. It's here that Hattie falls for the charms of Casper and it's here that everything really starts to fall apart ....

This was a super easy and quick listen but was a bit dull. There wasn’t really any action in the book until the very end and even that was very predictable. Hattie, the main character was infuriating so it’s no surprise that the events of the story happened to her. This was a good palate cleanser between books.
The narration of the book was super and made it really easy to listen to.

Commuter friendships bud over drinks on the train home.... but they're called into question when one of them turns up dead.

This one was a pretty slow start for me. I was about 30% through when it started to grab me and fully 50% through, I was still wondering where it was going. That being said, the back half of this book is a pretty fast-moving story that went places I absolutely did not expect based on the title and description. After finishing it, I found myself thinking that the first 25% of this book could be cut. We could have gotten to know the characters as we went instead of doing a pretty lengthy build up.

Additionally, the main character was pretty naive and a total train wreck for the most part, but i get that she was intended to be that way. Still, her whole story included a lot of text messages, and I found myself distracted by every single text exchange (with her romantic partner or otherwise) ended with "kiss" or "kiss kiss" or "kiss kiss kiss". I'm not sure if that's a Bristish thing or what but it was way overkill for me and didn't help make the character any less annoying.

Overall, I really enjoyed the back half of the book, it compelled redeemed the first half, and it was enough that I would definitely read more from this author.

Another book using the "oh look a 30 something woman who's life is a mess" plot - le sigh - as a cover up for a poorly developed character. Harriet clearly has troubles, the cause of which are never explored, but sadly comes across as rather unlikable meaning that it's hard to feel emotionally invested in the story. The plot itself is predictable but moves along at a lovely pace making this eminently readable at the end of a long week.

Thanks to NetGallery for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Hattie’s life is no where she pictured it. Living with her parents, working a temp job, partying every night. That is until she meets Casper on the 18:53 train.

A standard thriller with lots of twists and turns. The author provided great character building and the plot flowed well. It was an easy read and would gladly read another of this author’s books.

I did have two issues:
1. The main character, Hattie was portrayed as someone with low self worth who would cling to anyone that was kind to her. I wish she wouldn’t have been so flighty and annoying.
2. The narrator (I listened to the audio version) did not do the book justice. Her portrayal of many of the characters did not meet up to what I expected from these characters. She almost seemed to read in a mocking tone.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

This was an easy and quick read. You can easily read it within a day. For the most part, it was a pretty standard mystery/thriller. Therefore, the story was a little predictable. But, what I didn't care for was the MC, Hattie. She made horrible decisions! She was utterly obsessed with a man she barely knew. Not only that, but she never questioned anything. It made it hard to like her character.

If the MC wasn't so weak and the relationship wasn't rushed, this would have been an easy 4-star read.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Alison James, and Bookouture Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

3.75 ish stars

This was a fun, dramatic thriller. From my perspective as a reader, it was pretty clear fairly early on who was manipulating the protagonist, and I was surprised that she couldn’t see any of it; however, it’s exactly that kind of dramatic irony that makes this type of story work well. I enjoyed this book, and for the most part, the ending (and especially the final scene or so) was satisfying, which I always appreciate.

This was a solid read. It didn’t read as much as a thriller to me, as the twists didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, but it is definitely a mystery. I liked the premise of the book, with several people making friends on the train, and a romance between two of the passengers with a mystery involving another. It is a plausible plot which I always enjoy.

A few of the twists weren’t super twisty (as in, shocking) and felt a little predicable. There were some red herrings too which I think adds to the story.

Definitely a good read, and I will be reading more of Alison James’ books. I enjoyed the excerpt of The Man She Married at the end, and picked that one up next. Thanks!

This was my first by Alison James and won't be my last! The suspense kept me hooked, as did the element of who dun it. I loved the diverse, colorful characters, the layers the mystery, and the people, and the incredible plot twists that kept flipping toward the end. It was perfect.

First things first, I see lots of people disappointed in the lack of action in the majority of the book, so as a disclaimer, keep in mind this is more of a Paula Hawkins or 'The Other Passenger' kind of novel, not a locked-room one.

Alison James's latest novel is a character-driven mystery in which a group of commuters start a little circle of friendship-by-chance, however, the group is shaken after one of them dies unexpectedly while on the train ride. Could it be that one of them is responsible?

Narrated in different POVs and divided into 4 parts,The Woman in Carriage 3 is an easy to follow and light read, just the right thing for anyone that is looking for some thrilling story that perhaps some people may even call cheesy, but who cares!

Any seasoned reader will know all the twists and turns but even I was surprised by a small twist in the last quarter of the book, Alison James sets the tone just right for you to get distracted with Hattie’s naivety and a couple of red herrings.
No doubt I’ll be checking out more of this author’s books soon.

The Woman in Carriage 3 by Alison James
Audiobook 🎧

Hattie travels on the 1853 train every evening on the way home to her parents house where she is living after her recent break-up. After being stuck on the train due to the sudden death of another commuter, Hattie and some of the other people in her carriage strike up a friendship (and a WhatsApp group). Hattie becomes tangled in the lies and secrets of the people she met on the train until one night another commuter dies, but this time Hattie wonders if someone from carriage 3 is responsible?

It took me a long time to get into this book, but once I did I was keen to find out the ending. I found it hard to warm to the main character Hattie, as she made some incredibly questionable decisions, although by the end I was rooting for her. I’d class this book as more of a mystery than a thriller: it certainly didn’t have me on the edge of my seat, but did have me intrigued enough to finish the book and be satisfied with the ending.

For me this was an easy to follow audiobook that was nice to have on in the background, but just a bit too much of a slow burner for me to be really gripped. I’ll definitely try some other books by the author as there were elements of the writing that I loved.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5/5

Thanks to Alison James, NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for advanced copy of The Woman in Carriage 3 which is released on May 22nd.

This one was fine, I guess. I ended up requesting it on Netgalley on a whim, but have come to realize that British crime thrillers and I don't particularly get along. I don't know the best word to describe it, but I found it kind of cheesy.

Hattie makes friends with the people she rides the commuter train with. They all create a whatsapp group and chat about who is taking the train that day. Sorry - but this just seems unrealistic to me, but maybe. She starts dating one of them and discovers that he might not be who he seems. Oh, and one of the train gang clan is murdered on the train.

Even the most "exciting" parts of the book felt dull. The murder was anti-climactic, and the killer was predictable.

Hattie was unlikeable and all around just a ditz. Essentially, she starts dating this guy who tells her he's about to make a million plus dollar bonus at work, and he wants to leave his wife and for Hattie to run away with him to Mexico City. She sees absolutely zero red flags with any of this.

Overall, it was over the top and unbelievable, and I would have DNF'd but for the fact that it was the only audiobook that I had in my car at the time.

Bit of light reading for the train or holiday read. Strangers who regularly take the same train journey are linked together and become a socially active group, which is a bit far fetched, maybe it does happen. Then two of them become romantically involved and the commute takes a detour and ends up in South America. I did read to the end, quick read for me. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

This was such a good book. It had a story line that is unique to me as I have never read a book quite like it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it kept me on the edge of my seat wanting more. The twists and turns were great and unpredictable. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc! I will recommend to all my friends!

2.5 stars
The Woman in Carriage 3 started off with a promise but gradually got worse, with clumsy dialogue, far-fetched plot and over-explained repetitive narrative. I usually stay away from the books narrated by Jan Cramer (as she over expresses every sentence and the accents she tries to do are comical and borderline offensive, and she makes the characters sound unnatural), so perhaps it affected my opinion.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy.

The audiobook was nice to listen to but the story was just meh.

The main character drove me insane. She has a huge drinking problem and clearly makes horrible choices. It was hard to follow the story with how ridiculous she was.

I thought the plot would be different. Don't want to spoil it for others.

This book sure turned out in a different way I expected it to be. We get to know Hattie is a 30 year old, single woman, living with her parents, her life is a bit of a mess and she has taken to drinking, a lot of drinking to help her get through it. On her commute on train she gets to know a group of people who are also regulars on the 1853 train. That is until one of them dies.
Hattie starts to investigate and things take a very very strong turn.
Lean back and enjoy!
Thank you #NetGalley for this advanced audio version