Good book but predictable. A definite recommend though.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher. All thought and opinions are my own

With a title that caught my attention and the fact it was recommended for fans of Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena I decided this book was one for me.

Written in a then and now format 'The Couple on the Train' gets off to a slow start. As the reader gets to know the protagonist Laura and discovers the reasons behind her quest for answers it picks up pace. Laura's determination to help a girl she believes to be in trouble leads to some interesting revelations about her past. Nothing is as it seems.

Overall a readable psychological thriller which held my interest. I did mostly predict how it would end, though it was not a spoiler. Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review.

BOOKWORMS REVIEW:
Laura is on the same train as a couple,but the woman seems anxious,and.appears to be manhandled by the bloke. As they get off the train the woman has left a piece of paper behind with 'help me' written on it. Once Laura has seen this she tries to find.the couple. She tells the police who don't have much to go on so Laura decides to track this woman in need down herself,risking everything to do so...her work,even possible arrest as she hinders the police too. It plodded along nicely,told in dual timelines,drip feeding us facts from lauras own past,but I did guess the end. Thank you to NetGalley Bookouture and Claire Cooper for an arc to read and review
BOOKWORMS RATING:3.5 Rounded up 📒📒📒📒

I usually enjoy train-themed books, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. The protagonist, Laura, during her daily train ride, thinks she witnesses a woman being held captive and discovers a note pleading "Help Me" on her seat. With the police showing little interest, Laura becomes determined to rescue the woman herself.

The narrative started off strong, but lost me when Laura's obsession with the woman's safety began to dominate her life. The plot alternates between the present and Laura's teenage years, which was initially confusing. Her teenage years were engaging, but in the present, Laura's character was just annoying. It seems implausible to suspend your entire life, future, and career to search for a possibly endangered stranger.

Despite its potential, the book ultimately fell short for me. I managed to finish it, but the negatives overshadowed the positives.

Every day, Laura commutes by train to her job as a customer service representative. She hates her job, her boss hates her, and her new co-worker Sam has a crush on her that she wishes he didn’t. However, her life might be finally looking up. Pottery has only been a hobby up until now. But an article in the news has brought her to the attention of a reputable gallery owner who wants to see more of her work.

She’s happily staring at the story on her phone one morning when a couple on the train catch her eye. Laura senses something’s not right. She sees fear in the woman’s eyes and notices the tight grip the man has on her arm. When he forcefully tugs her off the train at the next stop, Laura is convinced she witnessed an abduction. A note the woman left behind confirms it. “Help me.”

But when Laura tries to get help, nobody wants to believe her. Not her boss. Not her mother. Not even the police. But why would they? The article did more than feature her pottery. It told everyone about her dark past. Only Sam believes what she saw, but Laura suspects he has an ulterior motive. That leaves only Laura to save the woman from the train before it’s too late.

A sinister, fast-paced psychological thriller, “The Couple on the Train” by Claire Cooper is so taut with suspense and pulse-pounding scenes that you’ll find yourself chewing on your nails as you white-knuckle the book. That’s quite a mental image, isn’t it? But trust me. This book is enough to make you assume the pose — or invest in hands-free reading. Strangely addicting and mildly frustrating at the same time, dual timelines that follow Laura now and ten years ago keep you glued to the pages. It becomes clear that in order to figure out what’s going on with the missing woman in Laura’s present-day, you’ll first have to figure out what happened in her past when she was still a teen hanging out with her friends.

But beware of the evil that’s lurking in some of the chapters! While the story is told from Laura’s point-of-view, it’s also told from an unknown character’s perspective whose interior monologue appears in italics — and who is as creepy as the psychopath watching from the shadows in a slasher flick.

Reading “The Couple on the Train” is a dizzying, compelling ride on the most twisted roller coaster you can imagine. While you’re looking one way, a twist comes at you from the other direction and flips you knees over elbows. The character of Laura is maddening. So much so, that it appears like she’s as mad as the police believe her to be. But she’s not. The creep-o in italics proves it. It’s only when her past and present collide that the mystery of the couple on the train is solved, and the long-hidden truths about them and Laura are revealed. My heart was in my throat at the end. The final twist was so shocking, it made my stomach feel a bit uneasy from the jolt. I loved it!

3 stars overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this book in return for a honest review

I did start of well and I was hooked but as I read on it started to become quite flat. Especially the ending where I felt like as soon as it climaxed it just stopped and I was left a bit confused with it suddenly stopping.

Laura sees a couple in the train-- they look like typical couple. However the woman looked anxious and frightened and before leaving she slips a note to Laura with only one sentence- Help me. However when Laura goes to the police the couple was nowhere to be seen and no one believes Laura. Laura must prove that she wasn't imagining before it is too late.

This was a slow burn thriller and Laura is a typical unreliable narrator. The story started out slow not much of twists and turns and a but boring to begin with. However the ending got little interesting and this made me gice the book a three star rating.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



✨ Two Timelines
✨ London
✨ Pscyhological Thriller
✨ is it real?




✨ Laura is the main character in this story. Minding her own business in the early hour of London commute she found something strange. A woman who looks distress with her partner that time and leaves a note ‘Help me’.
✨ The story actually very fast pace, it has two timelines and some other part felt like ‘you’ vibes because of the stalking. Anyway, I love how Laura still finding the time to know the truth. Is she having hallucinations or there is actually a girl in need of help?

✨ Definitely a good read. I just find that the other chapters has a repeated words to make it longer but actually doesn’t affect the story. It’s just me 😄
✨ it’s a win read for me from this author and will put to my tbr is the elevator which is her debut book.


✨ Thankyou @bookouture for the opportunity to read this arc for a honest review.




🫶🏼shaye.reads

Wow what a book! I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this. It absolutely blew me away with all the twists. Once I picked this book up I was hooked from the first chapter and struggled to put it down. The story is addictive and gripping and you will want to keep reading until you find out what was going to happen next.
I will definitely be reading more from this author and will be recommending it to everyone.

Wow ! You won't be able to put it down. So many twists and turns you'll never see what's coming! This book will keep you guessing until the very end.

This one throws you straight in and moves at a steady pace but I just couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to get to the truth. It unfolds in a ‘Now’ & ‘Then’ timeline which definitely adds to the suspense and builds the momentum. I can’t say I loved the characters but I didn’t not like them either. I did find Laura really irritated me at times. It’s a well developed cleverly written storyline that unfolds superbly. The characters are well developed characters that you feel you get to see what makes them tick. It comes together as it should with no questions left unanswered.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review #TheCoupleOnTheTrain

Laura is on her usual commute on the train when she sees a couple near by who don’t seem right. The woman seems to be pleading with her and when they get off, Laura finds a note asking for help. This sets her off on a desperate quest to try and help this mysterious woman.

This was an intriguing thriller with a solid plot that dived straight into the drama. The book was definitely well written but I found myself struggling to get into the overall story. My main issue with this was the main character, I struggled to connect with her and found her personality irritating and a bit over the top. Early on the book gave me similar vibes to The Girl On The Train, most likely due to the main character’s paranoia and obsessive personality. Overall this was a mixed bag for me, I think it would have been better cutting some parts out as there was some repetition, however I found it written well with some suspenseful, twisty scenes. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

A addictive and unpredictable tale that could scarily happen to anyone! The plot felt realistic making my pulse race. The ride on the train is a bumpy one so hold on tight.

This was such a fast paced book, the setting and scenario was made more scary by the fact it is an everyday setting and this scenario could happen to anyone of us. Because of this I was immediately hooked and just had to keep reading as the adrenaline, excitement and danger amped up.

I really enjoyed this book from the first page it gripped me, couldn’t wait too find out what happened! I loved that it was written in the past and present. So we got a build up I love a good thriller book and I really enjoyed this one, I wasn’t sure what to expect but it surprised me!

I liked it! It 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!

Thank you Bookouture for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Couple On The Train is a suspenseful, engaging, gripping and fun read.
I really enjoyed the tension build up and mystery element woven throughout.
Laura travels on the train for work in the same seat every day.
One day a couple sits opposite, the woman is pleading help with her eyes and body language.
After they exit the train, Laura sees a note which she thinks the woman left for her to see.
It reads “Help Me”.
After the police can’t help her after lack of evidence, Laura begins the search for answers herself.
Soon she is caught up in the drama, danger and the lies until the shocking truth is unleashed…….
I loved the twists in this one and the very unexpected ending.
The sharp plot was clever, the characters mysteriously flawless and the opening chapters on the train were appealing but the book overall was gratifying.
As my novel journey progressed I had to know the truth, so I accelerated my reading to find out the truth.
I look forward to Claire’s next book.

This was such an interesting read which pulls the reader in -
it really kept me guessing and i love that,
I enjoy the past and present, they really complemented each other and the story.
Really good read.

This was a fascinating read that pulled me in and kept me turning the pages. It kept me guessing and reevaluating and I enjoyed the way the two stories from the past and present where presented, unfolding. Great read!

This is actually more of a 3.5 star rating.

It took a while for me to get into, but once I did I really enjoyed it! It’s got an unreliable narrator and switches back and forth from Now to Then.
Without spoiling, I’ll say there was once scene that legitimately shocked me and it’s not the one you’re thinking of lol.

Thanks to NetGalley & publisher for this ARC!