The Couple on the Train by Claire Cooper

                                        

Ebook: 356 pages      

Genre:  Thriller, Mystery, Fiction                                    

Publisher:  August 23, 2024  Bookouture

Source: NetGalley

First Sentences: There are times when I am deeply grateful I live at the end of the line. This is one of them. 

Review Quote:  A completely compulsive thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat! If you like Lisa Jewell, Andrea Mara and Shari Lapena, you’ll love The Couple on the Train.

My Opinion: 

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.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

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 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?

Author Profile:                

                               

                              

                                    Courtesy of Amazon Profile

Claire Cooper grew up in a small village in south Wales before moving to London to study for a degree in Ancient History and Egyptology. After a spell as a development worker in Nepal, she lived in the capital for many years, spending much of that time as a civil servant in a range of different Government departments. She hung up her bowler hat when she discovered she much preferred writing about psychotic killers to Ministerial speeches. More recently, she returned to Wales, and now lives with her husband by the sea in Pembrokeshire. She also writes as C. J. Cooper.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Profile.    Goodreads Profile