It is not a typical genre that I read nowadays. I used to when I was still quite young. Especially not since I moved to Europe because books are a lot more expensive here, so I tend to buy only those which I would really like to own forever. Having said that, the rise of e-books and audio books opens up a lot of possibilities for me. As I often tell my book-loving friends, that I have a tiered approach to my book purchases and reads. Anyways, more about that later. Here I wanted to talk about two books that I read over the course of two years through two very different mediums and would admit that I liked them. I would probably not re-read them, these books aren’t meant to be re-read either, but these are definitely great thriller books for a weekend read (or listen) depending on how you like them.
The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train is a fast paced crime thriller with characters that are quite run-of-the-mill. It is like a book that is absolutely made for the movies. Although lacking brilliance of plot or characters, it still engrossed me once I made it beyond the first few chapters.
Rachel is the typical estranged-depressed-alcoholic ex-wife of an irresistibly handsome man (Tom in this case). She obviously has no job and is seething in an abyss of despair. Her most favourite pass time is to create a make-belief life of the couple who live in a house that she sees everyday from the train, on her way to work. Since she doesn’t have a job, she actually pretends to go to work. Then quite remarkably something happens which changes her life, for better or for worse. So far a predictable story line. There are twists and turns obviously, places in the book where you are not quite sure which way it will go but then it sort of ends in a way you would imagine it to. So why read the book?
Read the book because it doesn’t have the sordid language that a paperback thriller would have. Infact it has a far polished language that I would expect from such a book. And, most importantly, read it or rather listen to it because of the audio book narration. It is just fabulous and does almost half the job of keeping the reader enticed to the book, keeping you awake in the night till you have finished. And for these locked down days, I recommend it as a good weekend read / listen.
Buy it on Amazon:
The Girl on the Train
The Woman in the Window
This is another of those books which have been turned into a Hollywood movie. Most deservedly. Anna Fox is a social recluse who lives alone in her upscale New York home. To ward away her loneliness, although she doesn’t obviously think that is the reason, she drinks ‘occasionally’. She almost never steps out of her home and the closest that it gets to being social is to look out of her window and see the world go by, for her neighbours.
And then new neighbours move into the house right opposite hers. She has the perfect view of their living room from her window and hence she drinks and she watches. One day, what she sees, changes her life. Does it start feeling like you are reading my previous review? It might, only that the characters in this novel are much stronger and less stereotypical. The thrill in the plot is almost sinusoidal, it rises and falls almost at an equal pace. The story line is quite snug, built in around the strong character build. Although the story unfolds mostly within the four walls of Anna’s house, the author has done an incredible job of not diluting the visual structure of the novel.
I read this book on my Kindle e-reader and while I will not spend to buy a physical copy of this book, I was quite content with the e-book. I would recommend this book as a weekend read, especially these days when weekends are nothing more than looking out of our own windows and seeing life pass by.
Buy it on Amazon:
The Woman in the Window: A Novel
If you have read these books, let me know what you thought about it in the comments below. Also share your views on what you think about audio books and e-books. Do you like them as alternate ways to read? You can sign up for a free trial of Amazon Audible with my link here and try these books to start your journey in the world of audio books.
Liked this review? Would like another weekend read? Why don’t you read my review of Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine.
Speak you soon, till then Stay Safe!
