When Selena Murphy finds out that her husband is having an affair with their nanny, she vents to a woman she has never met before on the train home and feels better for having told someone. However, shortly after Geneva (their nanny) goes missing, and Selena begins to feel like her whole life is crashing down around her and she's left with nobody to trust.

This story is incredibly detailed and complex, there are lots of different strands which all eventually come together, as well as a few good twists and turns along the way. I love a thriller told from multiple points of view and in this case it was really successful. Being able to really get into the heads of the characters and see the same situation unfold from different people's perspectives was interesting, especially as one of the main storylines was focusing on an affair.

Selena Murphy discovers her husband Graham’s affair with their nanny, Geneva, and decides she's had enough. One evening, on the 7.45 train, she vents her frustration to a stranger named Martha, who listens in return. Soon after, Geneva goes missing, and Selena’s life starts to unravel. The story unfolds from multiple perspectives that eventually intertwine in an intricate and clever way.

Lisa Unger delivers another gripping thriller with this novel. The characters' shifting personas and the story’s many twists keep you guessing. The narrative is well-paced and filled with unexpected, shocking moments. It explores themes of revenge and the fragile nature of family lives, which can collapse like a house of cards.

Overall, this book is a captivating read full of dangerous secrets and layered deceptions. Thanks to NetGalley and HQ General Fiction for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book
I liked the premise and how the author delivered it
There were lots of twists that I didn’t see coming
A good book

It was very difficult at first to see how 2 very separate stories in this book were entwined. A random conversation on the train home leads to the main character's life unravelling and finding out things from her past she could never have imagined.

Review hadn’t saved. Really enjoyed this one- writing what fantastic and drew me in, didn’t want it to end!

Lots of twists and turns in this book, that kept me going.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This book started out at pace and literally did not stop with exciting twists right to the end. It was thrilling and I loved how the story kept me gripped.

I wasn’t a big fan of the characters though - I didn’t find any of them who I could really relate to or that were particularly likeable. However, this did not take away from my enjoyment of the story at all.

Definitely a worthwhile read!

A riveting read and full of twists and turns. Couldn't put it down. Looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

You might start reading this book, thinking that it is a modern take on the classic , 'Strangers On A Train', you would be a little right (after all, a train is involved and Martha and Selena begin as strangers- but the only thing in common is the noir-ish tone of the tale which is being told.

A chance meeting, a long day with 2 women at the end of their tether, take to confiding their secrets with each other. The expectation is that this is a fleeting reprieve, bonded over a drink and their lot as 21st century women, to then part at their destination, never to meet again.

However, events have been set in motion so that whilst Selena gets off the train in a physical sense, her journey is just beginning.

Between Martha and Selena's narratives, through which you build up a clear idea of their lifestyles, there is that of a girl named Pearl, the daughter of a single parent who lives above the bookshop she runs. Who Pearl is, and what she has to do with the 2 women is not immediately obvious, but as the 3 tales begin to plait themselves together, the suspense is heightened to torturous levels for the reader who is pulled into a web of intrigue, deceipt and mystery.

Martha's text messages, requesting a meeting , collide with the disappearance of Selena's nanny, Ginny. Having suspected her of having a fling with husband, this appearance could not have come at a worse time. Barely clinging to financial security, supporting the entire family, the last thing on her mind is meeting up with the woman to whom she disclosed her darkest secret.

And yet, Martha may have not only the solution to Selena's dilemma, she could also be the key to events in Selena's past which, till now, never really made sense.

As the plot comes to a point of cohesion, there is no let up in the tension between these women who both have incredibly valid reasons for behaving the way that they have. It is a world which is cruel and manipulative towards women, the expectations on, and for them, are written from the day they are born, and it will take a cataclysmic act to break the chains holding Martha and Selena down.

I loved the nuanced layering of these characters, Selena appears to have it all, and on paper, it looks like she does but she knows her entire existence is predicated on a lie. Martha has told so many fictions that finding a path back to herself seems next to impossible. And yet, together, they just might affect a change for one, or both of them.

I loved the high wire tension of the story, the way the first person narration really puts you inside the heads of the protagonists, and how you trust the author to not let you down. There is just the right amount of suspense, too much and you feel like you cannot breathe or need a break, but the pitch is just great, I was swept up in this feminist murder mystery and could not finish until I had reached the denouement.

Definitely a new convert to Lisa Unger, I will be looking for her back catalogue for certain!

I had mixed views about Confessions On The 7:45. It has a good premise for a psychological thriller and I enjoyed reading it, but there was something a little bit lacking for me. I tend to rate my enjoyment of psychological thrillers by the extent they grab me and I find them unputdownable, and I didn’t full engage with this one. But it’s a good read and there are plenty of good reviews.

I thought this was going to be a bit like Gone Girl, or The Girl on the Train but how wrong was I. This was boring, boring, boring - sorry but that is my opinion.

This is a fantastic read with lots of twists and turns.
There was no Gone Girl huge twist...or shock but it was a very steady, well paced thriller which was very gripping and enjoyable.

The writing is excellent, the characters are well formed and layered. Its very original and interesting!

There isn't much I can say without spoiling it and that's the last thing I want to do, as its really a book to be devoured in a single sitting and thoroughly enjoyed.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really struggled with this, found it very boring and far too many names for all the different identities. Disappointing.

This book was a dark and twisted ride but I loved it! Following Selena as she finds out her husband is cheating on her and a random encounter with a stranger on her train home this takes a sinister twist.

Interspersed are the stories of two young women who experience a very different upbringing and are involved in this all somehow.

Although I could see some of the twists coming there were enough that I couldn't which kept me gripped with this book. Looking forward to my next Lisa Unger read.

While I was reading it. I was totally caught up in the narrative and really enjoyed it. but after thinking about it for a couple of days, I downgraded my star rating from 3 to 2. I liked the backstory of Pop, Pearl and Gracie, but the present day events just felt contrived and messy - probably not helped by the fact I guessed the twist pretty much at the start of the book! The story races along really well, and the writing is really strong, but I don't think it was really for me. It would be a great book to read on holiday by a pool though!

I had deja vu with this book which spoilt it for me. I have read or watched something very similar and just could not get past that feeling but nothing against the book it was well written and very gripping. Just did not work for me

WOW I loved this book ! Highly unusual storyline that kept you gripped from the first page to the last! Really well written, great read, highly recommend

Confessions on the 7.45 is a thrilling read that links several characters in what appears to be a random way. Selena meets Martha on her commute home. She shares a confidence with her while her guard is down, and this seems to initiate the slow unraveling of her ‘perfect’ life.

Pearl develops a friendship with her mum’s latest boyfriend Charlie, and when tragedy strikes he takes her under his wing.

This book looks at the relationships we hold dear, and shows that they are not always what we believe them to be. The storyline is gradually revealed, while still maintaining the interest of the reader. I found it to be a well planned, novel with an ending that left me fully satisfied unlike some other similar thrillers I’ve read.

What a great book thoroughly enjoyed throughout read it super quick didnt want to put it down....would definitely recommend this book to others

This is a riveting, twisty tale about strangers who meet on a train and tell each other their secrets.

Selena is a young mother who suspects her husband of cheating.
Martha is a woman Selena meets on a train.
Anne is a beautiful temptress, using her boss to gain advantages.
Pearl, a young woman with a wild mother.
Geneva a young nanny.

All these women’s stories are told along the way and they all interconnect. Lisa Unger is a clever author whose books I’ve enjoyed previously and this doesn’t disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview this enjoyable, easy read.