Watching the world go by

This is one of those books where you’ll figure “it” out about halfway through — but you’ll be so enthralled that you’ll still devour the second half of the book, just to see if you were right!

“A tiding of magpies: One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told”

First of all, this is not a book where you’re going to be particularly fond of the main character — or any of the characters, really. We met Rachel as she’s taking the train into London. The more we learn about her, the more depressing she gets — she lost her husband when she started drinking, which itself was set off by her inability to get pregnant. Now she’s living in an old friend’s spare bedroom, and she’s obsessed with her ex and his wife and their new baby. She’s also obsessed with their neighbors — a young couple she sees every morning from her seat on the train. Then one day, she sees the woman with a new man. Then the woman disappears.

Rachel lies, a lot. She’s a very unreliable narrator (and human being). This gives the book even more tension, since you don’t ever really know which version of her story to believe. Definitely a good read!