The Woman in Carriage 3 by Alison James is a slow-burn thriller with an unreliable (and pretty scatter-brain!) narrator. It was not what I expected and I had no idea where the whole story was going but I ended up quite enjoying it. I think it will be hard not to automatically compare it to Girl on the Train or Confessions on the 7:45 so the expectations are high.

The main character is quite a mess, actually. She is like a train wreck you can't stop yourself from looking at. I was really rooting for her to get her life straight. Anyways, it starts off kind of slow but it does pick up later on and it turns into something I didn't quite expect.
I listened to the audiobook at my usual 2x speed and I didn't quite like the voice of the narrator but she did do a good job from the artistic perspective. I just personally wasn't a fan of the voice for some reason.
All in all, it's a pretty descent book with interesting characters. I would read more books of this author!

The Woman in Carriage 3 by Alison James is a wonderfully, well-written mystery. This book will take you on a wild ride, with plenty of twists and turns that you won't see coming. That is what I loved the most. The Woman in Carriage 3 will have you hooked immediately and you will find yourself not wanting the book to end. The narrator does a beautiful job and I love her accent. I highly recommend this book! Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to listen to this wonderful story.

I randomly selected this purely from the title and had high expectations but it was overall a bit slow moving as I thought it would be a fast paced book. This wasn't amazing but wasn't bad either and would be interested in listening to more of her work to see what they are like. Thanks to netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my goodness well at first I wasn't sure what to make of this - but then it started to get really good and was so addictive and I just had to keep listening and listening, till I got to the end. The ending was brilliant

The narration brought the story to life.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

I was given ARCs for both the digital Ebook as well as the audiobook for this atmospheric Whodunnit!

I alternated between the Ebook and the audiobook, and ended up listening to the second half of the audiobook, because the narrator was that good.
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Hattie Sewell has a troubling drinking problem. Throughout most of this story she is rarely sober, and as a result she can't hold down a job, even in a temp agency.

Hattie takes the 18:53 train home from Waterloo station to the parental home in Surrey every evening, and usually finds refuge in Carriage 3. They form a social group of sorts, and Harriet fancies herself in love with the "movie-star handsome" Casper Merriweather..

Harriet's lightning quick infatuation with posh Casper was a bit hard to accept, but then her behaviour until that point would hardly led any reader to believe that she had a sensible thought in her self-absorbed head.

The prologue starts of with a captivating hook: Hattie discovers the body of one of her carriage-mates. The identity of this body is only discovered about half way through the story as the author flashes back to an earlier, more innocent time and shines a light on several of the Carriage 3 passengers.

I wouldn't say that there was much of a mystery to solve: but there were still a few surprises here and there - particularly the poetic justice displayed in the final chapters.

I'm rating this one a 3.75 rounded up to a 4 because I was entertained, the narrator did an excellent job, and justice was indeed done - although my credulity was stretched a few too many times. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

2.75⭐
Publication date ~ May 22, 2023
Page count ~ 316
Audio length ~ 8 hours 0 minutes
Narration ~ Jan Cramer ~ enjoyable
POV ~ multiple 3rd person
Featuring ~ 4 part story, cheating, promiscuous lady, slow burn

Our main narrators are Hattie, Julian, Neil & Louis who meet on their daily commute and develop a friendship.

Since this takes place on a train (not the only setting) I figured it would move along at a high rate of speed, but nope it was awfully slow moving and just okay for me. There was a lot to follow along with and none of the characters were really likable, especially, 29 year old, Hattie, who lives with her parents, does not make great choices and can't seem to lay off the booze or men.

The multiple narrators helped build up the suspense a little and it did pick up somewhat towards the end. I would not categorize this as a thriller though as nothing really thrilling happened IMO. Non seasoned mystery readers might not see the twist coming at you like a freight train like I did.

The Woman in Carriage 3 wasn’t quite what I expected it to be. I thought there would be more action actually on the train 😅 But I still throughly enjoyed it. Alison James is an author that I have read before and will now have to go back and see which of her books I have missed.

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. She soon finds friends with fellow train commuters on the 1853 train. That is until one of them dies.

I loved the narration by Jan Cramer. Every book that she has read has been a hit for me. She does character voices and expressions so well. I did love the little teaser of The Man I Married at the end and I definitely need to find out more about that book too.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for my advanced audio copy to listen to. This book is released on May 22nd.

I want to thank Net Galley and the author for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy.
This book was about a group of people that went together on the same train daily, until one day everything changed.
I didn’t care for the main female character until probably midway through the book, to be honest I didn’t like any of them.
This book took me on lots of twists and turns and I loved it! It was nothing like I expected from the beginning, which is perfection to me..

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC of The woman in Carriage 3. The narrator was fantastic and I wanted to find more books that she narrated. The book started off strong, but I felt like it dragged in the middle with not much action or suspense. I am also tired of the drunk female main character. The book didn't work for me, but I would still be interested in reading more by the author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the free audio book in exchange for an honest review. This was narrated by Jan Cramer, who did a great job with the different characters and keeping the story going.!!

This is a character driven book and follows Hattie Swell, a 30 year old woman who is essentially having a midlife crisis. She drinks too much, lost her job and boyfriend, lives at home with her parents, goes out on nightly hookups and rises daily for temp jobs. I did not like her very much and thought she needed to get over herself and grow up.

But, on her daily commutes she rides the train where everyone remains anonymous. That is until a person is injured/killed and all of her train car mates and Hattie bond over being held for hours by the police. There is Julian - a barrister, Casper - a hottie who works in an auction house, Carnen - a uni admin, Bridget - a homely government worker, and Lewis - a tough tattooed fellow. Hattie keeps in touch with some and hopes to bump into Casper as she rides the daily train. Hattie continues her life until reality hits her hard face on.

While this is not what I would call an "edge of my seat, suspenseful mystery", I did find that I wanted to power through to find out how the ends tided up at the end. The beginning is a bit slow but hang in there, you will eventually get there.

The Woman in Carriage 3 by Allison James
Four Stars

Hattie and a small group of regulars of the 1853 train and car 3 become friends and when one of these friends is murdered the rest have a LOT of questions. It's more complicated than that though. Hattie develops feelings for one of the regulars who also likes her but is married so they sneak around. An older gentleman in the group had a son killed by a drunk driver and worries about all the drinking Hattie does. A single dad who is super secretive about his profession. Then there's the quiet girl who doesn't drink and is very reserved. Honestly though, are any of these people who they're pretending to be?

I puzzled this one together fairly early on which is really unlike me so either I'm just on my game today or this was pretty obvious. Could go either way. Overall I enjoyed it but I felt like it could have been a little shorter and still gotten all the points across. Jan Cramer did an excellent job narrating this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook.

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I really enjoyed this book. 6 strangers who commute every day on the same train, in the same seats, they form a friendship group and Whatsapp group and become friends. Hattie is our main character and she is a bit of a drunk and doesn’t always make good choices. She has recently split with her boyfriend and moved back in with her parents. I loved the way this was written in 4 parts and the Prologue had me hooked from the beginning. The characters were all well written and I found myself wanting to know more about them. I found this a real page turner and enjoyed the twists and turns in the book.
This is my first read by Alison James but I am happy to say I will be reading her other books.

*voice of "Stefon" from SNL"
This book has EVERYTHING. murder, trains, cross country travel, secret identities, famous art...
And it's so good! It moved well and kept me interested. The protagonist was initially obnoxious and unlikable, but she develops well throughout the novel. I was able to guess the secret identities as they were brought out, but I think it added to the frustration of the protagonist being so oblivious and it was so satisfying when she finally figured things out.

would give this book a 3.5 stars
This story surrounds the life of Hattie a young woman who rides a commuter train into the city in England. During these train rides to and from work Hattie finds herself recognizing some of the people who travel the train at the same time daily. After the train makes a sudden stop and it is delayed the train riders start up a conversation with each other. Then these people begin to start talking together and develop a commuter train group. Each of them have secrets and things they’re hiding but the, seem to find friendship. Then one day, one of the regular train riders dies on the train suddenly, and Hattie finds herself along with others in the commuter train group caught upon a murder mystery after it is discovered it wasn’t just a heart attack it murder. As the pieces to the mystery come together Hattie finds herself falling in love with one of the commuter train passengers who has Hollywood good looks. .
If I’m being honest the female main character’s personality drove me crazy. She’s one of those characters that is so sweet but so very naive and desperate it drives you crazy. In any case, this book flowed very well and it did keep my interest. As the pieces fall into place it becomes kind of predictable where the book is going but still enjoyable. If you like a good mystery and I recommend it for those who love a good mystery/thriller. I also liked that the characters were interestingness the story line was easy to follow.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture audio for allowing me the opportunity to read this mystery/thriller.

I love reading books, so this was my first audiobook. I enjoyed the story line. There’s a good plot here and great characters. It was a little bit of a slow burn but overall a good book.

Book Title: The Woman in Carriage 3
Author: Alison James
Narrator: Jan Cramer
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: May 22, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars!
Pages: 286

This is only my second author:, Alison James novel; first was "The new Couple" which I really liked so was pleased when I saw another thriller by her.

Hattie Swell, is nearly 30, and a bit of a mess. Eight months ago she had a great job, a great boyfriend-Leo and a lovely apartment. Now she is living at home with her parents in Summerlands (which was supposed to be only for a few weeks), has a temp job with a digital marking company, no boyfriend - only one-night stands and is drinking too much Okay perhaps she is more than a bit of a mess!

She commutes home from work via the non-stop 18:53 train~ same trains, same carriage #3, and same people. After eight month she recognizes several of the passengers – as you know most people only are looking at their phones.
Then one evening’s commute on the 18;53 the train stops due to some emergency, Hattie and the group at her table strike up a conversation and Julian goes to the bar and gets them all a drink. They end up having a mini cocktail party and form a friendship. After several weeks the 18:54 Crew not only socialize at a pub after work but Carmen invites them over for dinner. They decide to stay in touch by using ‘WhatsApp’.
The group includes:
Julian – is a barrister,
Casper - works at an art auction house,
Louis- is secretive but says he work in cyber security
Carmen – works at a university, and
Bridget – works as a civil servant but is quiet so we don’t much about her.

In the Prologue we find out that one member from group died while in the restroom. The train is stopped as the transportation police ae are required to investigate.
Of course this has me curious.

I was drawn to this by the title. It seemed like it might be another” The Girl on the Train” which I read and liked. However, once I started reading it, Hattie reminded me of “The Woman in Cabin 10”.
In that one there was a lot of the drinking and throwing-up so this one soon had me rolling my eyes.
However ~ as I continued to read, I started cheering for Hattie as she and the story had me hooked.

Jan Cramer the narrator is great in performing the characters and made the story even more interesting.

When Neil Waller and Natalia Finch two con artists are introduced they seem to be unrelated to the 18:53 crew story~ but we mystery readers know better!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the pleasure of listening to this fun audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 22, 2023.

Modern take on a classic confidence scam / whodunnit with a chick lit vibe.

Hattie comes across as a flaky nearly 30 year old, who likes to party and is back living with her parents after her boyfriend caught her cheating and she then also lost her job in the aftermath.

She now commutes to London for her temporary agency jobs, seeing the same people in the same carriage everyday, although no one ever talks to each other. This all changes one day when a passenger is taken ill on the train and the travelling companions get to know each other during the lengthy delay.

One of the commuters is absolutely gorgeous and seems to like Hattie too. At the same time she spots an advert for her dream job and starts to feel her life is about to get back on track.

But everything is not as it seems, many secrets are being concealed by the new group of friends, and soon one of them will be dead.

Alison James has excelled herself with this gripping, clever and twisty thriller! It really works as an audiobook, and is fittingly worthy for listening to during travel to make those commutes pass faster (though you may not want them to if it means cutting short an opportunity to listen to this audiobook!!)

Hattie, the protagonist, comes across as a bit of a flaky party girl, she clearly likes a drink and a hook-up to cheer herself as she finds herself approaching 30 and living at home with her parents. This of course, necessitates her commute by train, and it is on one such commute, that she meets her future whatsApp group of commuters who typically share a drink and a chat on the journey home. Not only does Hattie enjoy the camaraderie of this group, she also embarks on a relationship/ affair with the swoon-some Casper, into the bargain. All is going well..until one member of the groups dies, on the train, and subsequent investigations suggest it was not of natural causes.... Cue all sorts of mayhem and secrets coming to light. Not everyone is who they claim to be, and we are taken on quite a journey as the story plays out!

All in, it is gripping, twisty and well worth a listen.

On the strength of this book I absolutely cannot wait to listen to another of Alison James audiobooks. As ever, narrator Jan Cramer, excels, making this a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

M<y thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an advance copy.

Alison James’ The Woman in Carriage 3 is a fun new take on the classic whodoneit. Rather reminiscent of classics like The Maltese Falcon or The Thomas Crown Affair.

Many themes/tropes were used to create the level of suspense needed to carry this thriller to a plausible ending. The Strangers on a Train Wish Fulfillment trope was used as part of the long con by the antagonists, and the closed circle of suspects as well as the intelligent psychopath tropes were brilliantly interwoven in this novel’s plot line, complete with a damsel whose life is being flushed down the toilet until she is in distress.

This book had the double crosser being double-crossed by a character whose con was detected, and so ended up being double-crossed by two other parties before the theme is done. I won’t mention any names so that you’ll be able to try deducing who did what to whom while reading it, too. It was an intriguing book that will keep you guessing until the very last chapter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advanced listening copy of this fun book that had me hooked from Chapter 1.

I had high hopes foe this book after reading the description but I was very much disappointed. Its more "chick lit" than crime and thriller. Even for a work of fiction the storyline is to far fetched to be believable.

I like a book with a strong female lead. Hattie is anything but. She comes across as weak, nieve gullible spoiled and forgetable. Not good characteristics for the heroine. You would hope to see some growth of the character as the book progresses but I didn't see any at all.

Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend this book