Just when I thought I had figured out The Couple on the Train, Claire Cooper threw a twist in that I did not see coming.
Since I read so many psych thrillers, I really enjoy it when an author does that.
I was convinced that it was a run-of-the-mill, obvious who the culprit is type book. I should have had more faith in the author.
Not only was I wrong about the perpetrator, but the truth was also so slyly hinted at that I totally missed it.
The story unfolds in “Then” and “Now” chapters, and the transitions are smooth. They’re also evenly spaced out. I didn’t realize until the very end that there was a reason for where each “Then” chapter was placed.
New readers should pay attention to that.
Laura is also an unreliable narrator. It’s unclear through most of the book if she is even mentally stable. No spoilers, but that plays heavily into the resolution…which was one of the more thrilling ones I’ve read in recent memory.
Oh, and stay tuned for the very end. I mean it – read to the last word. Or you’ll miss something important.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Couple on the Train and will be looking for the next psych thriller from Claire Cooper.

I forgot to review! This was a super quick and easy read. It has everything you want from a domestic noir, the twists, the turns, the red herrings. I flew though it and loved every second

Loved this book. I became totally engrossed in the story and had no idea where the story would go.
Fantastic story and what a twist at the end. Shocking!

This storyline is right up my alley. The Couple on the Train is a well written, clever, engaging and suspenseful psychological thriller. Claire Cooper kept me invested until the end to see what happened with Laura.

Thank you, Claire Cooper, Bookouture, & Netgalley for my early copy! All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this quick, twisty read. I thought I knew where it was heading but there were still a few surprises along the way. This would be an enjoyable read for a beach day or for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This book is packed with mystery and suspense. I loved the blurred lines of not knowing what was real and what was imagined. I was so anxious to know how everything tied together and with glimpses from the past it makes your mind spin even more. There are shocking revelations and I just when I thought the last twist was revealed more secrets come spilling out. Wow! The ending had me gasping out loud!

I've read several of Cooper's books and The Couple on the Train is my new found favourite.

It had me hooked from the opening chapters and that was it, everything cancelled for the foreseeable as I became so caught up in the plot.

The pace is set from the off and the suspense and tension built the further we neared the penultimate pages for that final killer twist!

Narrated across dual timelines - past and present - Cooper takes us on a twisty thrill ride with Laura, as she begins her investigations into what she saw on the train. Why won't anyone believe her?

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Couple On the Train' by Claire Cooper.

Omg!!! Yet another gripping read from the brilliant Claire Cooper!! If you haven't read any of her books yet then I highly recommend this one and also 'The Elevator' which are the 2 I have read but I cannot wait to read more!! In this story Laura is on a train and spots a couple but the woman looks anxious and worried. When the couple get off Laura notices the woman has left a note saying 'Help Me' on it. Laura tries to find the couple but fails so tells the police. Unfortunately without much to go on the police cannot help so Laura decides to try and hunt the woman down herself but by doing so she risks everything. Claire does an absolutely amazing job of weaving the past and present timelines together smoothly ensuring the reader sees everything that is and was going ion without gibing away too much of the storyline until she wants to. Claire also does a brilliant job of giving us multiple perspectives as well as multiple timelines and I especially loved the chapters from the unknown protagonist which definitely added extra mystery to the story. With a storyline filled with drama, friendship, mystery, lies, danger and twists which will keep you turning the pages. Claire's fantastic writing skills definitely added to the tension and made me feel like I was right next to Laura throughout seeing and feeling everything that she was. I was completely hooked from the very first page and just could not put it down! Each and every time I attempted to something happened and I just needed to know what would happen next so I ended up picking it back up until I eventually completely devoured it in one sitting of several hours so make sure you clear you schedules! I absolutely LOVED the storyline itself and I was intrigued reading what had happened in Claire's pasts and what weaved everything together. I do want to say that I have read hundreds of thrillers so it is getting harder and harder to keep me hooked on a book through the day so just because I found it to be a slow burner that's not to say everyone will feel the same. There were several plot twists that I was not expecting so congratulations to Claire on them as it it getting harder to shock me but you manage it!! Claire's talented storytelling ensures the characters and atmosphere come to life before your eyes. My heart went out to Claire who is definitely someone who worries about everything and is hypersensitive which I can definitely relate to. There were times that she did annoy me slightly but I found that made her even more realistic as Claire really drew her flaws as well as her personality, strengths and weaknesses into her character. I was completely invested in her character and was rooting for her to discover the truth and stay safe while doing so. I love the fact that she is so determined to uncover the truth and I found that the way she investigated was very clever. I would definitely love to see this book turned into a TV drama and will be the first in line to watch it. I am also looking forward to reading more books by this brilliant author! If you are looking for a twisty psychological thriller with twists you wont see coming then this book is definitely one for you!

Overall a suspenseful, intriguing and twisty psychological thriller with an ending you wont see coming!

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A great read, set in dual timelines ( I preferred the 'then'). Maybe a little predictable for those that read a lot from this genre but still an enjoyable story.

My first book from Claire Cooper, and I absolutely devoured it! The plot had me hooked from the beginning and I felt compelled to read until the last page.

I loved the twists within the book, the book flowed perfectly, and I enjoyed the switch in timeline. This book made for a perfect rainy evening read. I would recommend this book to anybody. A great read!

I look forward to reading more from Claire Cooper in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.