Into the Water – Paula Hawkins promotes pet cruelty

Just about every pet lover has heard of the spay/neuter program to control the pet population. Not Paula Hawkins though, she thinks it better to kill the poor animal.

In her latest book ‘Into the Water’, Paula Hawkins mentions a pregnant tabby cat. A man who sees the cat thinks (and I quote Paula Hawkins) … ‘I’ll have to do something about that’.

He doesn’t wait for the cat to give birth and then take her to the vet to be spayed though, no he kills her. For cat lovers everywhere I’ll spare you the details.

This is very upsetting. Whether you have a cat, a dog, a bunny or another animal, killing an animal because of a pregnancy can never be justified. Every country has veterinarians and several governments sponsor the spay/neuter program.

Paula Hawkins is no doubt an educated woman, who has enjoyed success with her published books, but apparently, she has not heard of the spay/neuter program. In 'Into the Water' she has a cat killed in a barbaric way?

Why bring a cat into the story in the first place? It has nothing to do with it.

The New York Times gives this book a good review, but read the reviews of readers and the picture changes.

21% of readers on Amazon give ‘Into the Water’ a 1-star review. This is what readers have to say.

This book defies all the intuitiveness of a good mystery. The characters and timelines are so confusing that any mounting suspense from a clearer, more linear narrative is lost. I had to constantly re-think who was who and when was when. I am not sure that the lack of clarity was not an attempt to try to make the storyline more interesting. At any rate, I rarely feel moved to write a review but this book was a waste of time and money. I started skimming as best I could in hopes that it would improve but it never got better.

I had really high hopes for this book since I've been seeing it raved about all over the internet lately. I did like Girl on the Train, so I decided to give this a try. I'm not sure if my expectations were too high, but I did NOT like this book. I've read a lot of books that are narrated by alternating characters, but this was ridiculous. At least 10 different characters back and forth back and forth, hard to keep up with. The entire book was just all over the place. The big "twist' of the book wasn't very shocking. Just overall disappointing.

Unfortunately this book had me rolling my eyes, cringing and laughing out loud in places. I'm surprised it made it to print in this state. Told from ten perspectives, all two dimensional, unlikeable and identical (except for the odd bit of swearing from a couple of characters), countless pages which should have been cut and clunky narrative devices. A huge disappointment.

Where is the real Paula Hawkins. this is a lot of gibberish. confusing characters and totally plodding.

Sorry, looked forward to this, but quit halfway due to too many characters, no guide to who they are or who they're talking about (coz they're not engaged in any actions), it's a struggle to follow which timeframe each chapter is in.

As for me, I’ll never read another book by Paula Hawkins again. Any author who promotes pet cruelty doesn’t deserve to be selling books.

The Girl on the Train - Review

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The last time I was on a train, I saw one of my fellow passengers reading “The Girl on the Train”. Since none of my favorite authors had nothing new on the shelf, I decided to give “The Girl on the Train” a try.

Synopsis

Three women, three men, connected through marriage or infidelity. Each is to blame for something. But only one is a killer in this nail-biting, stealthy psychological thriller about human frailty and obsession.
     Just what goes on in the houses you pass by every day? 
     Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and evening, rattling over the same junctions, flashing past the same townhouses.The train stops at the same signal every day, and she sees the same couple, breakfasting on their roof terrace. Jason and Jess, as she calls them, seem so happy. Then one day Rachel sees someone new in their garden. Soon after, Rachel sees the woman she calls Jess on the news. Jess has disappeared.
     Through the ensuing police investigation, Rachel is drawn deeper into the lives of the couple she learns are really Megan and Scott Hipwell. As she befriends Scott, Rachel pieces together what really happened the day Megan disappeared. But when Megan's body is found, Rachel finds herself the chief suspect in the case. Plunged into a world of betrayals, secrets and deceptions, Rachel must confront the facts about her own past and her own failed marriage.
     A sinister and twisting story that will keep you guessing at every turn, The Girl on the Train is a high-speed chase for the truth.

To be fair, I’ll post five reviews. A one, two, three, four and five-star review.

1 - I did not like the drinking and drugs

By Dianne B May 10, 2015

I did not like the drinking and drugs! It was very slow-going as far as reading. We need upbeat books. This one was a downer!I do not like to criticize, but it was a waste of my time!

2 - Two stars - Slow moving

By Susan W May 11, 2015

I wanted this book to be better than I found it. It was a twisting story, but moved too slowly

3 - Good ideas but seemed lacking in execution

By Sydney May 11, 2015

I liked the idea of the book but not the complete execution. It's difficult for the reader to really like or relate to any of the characters. Although I did feel like the descriptions of Rachel's battle with alcohol to be sometimes somewhat compelling. I really did feel her want/need for a drink.

4 - Excellent read

By Ms S68 May 11, 2015

Very exciting mystery. The author made me feel like I was there. Every emotion and every situation practically jumped off the pages

5 - The best book I've read... EVER!

By Teddy W May 11, 2015

My favorite book- Hands down! I loved it!

Personally I agree with Dianne B who gave “The Girl on the Train” a one-star review. I didn’t like the main character’s excessive drinking either. In fact, Rachel was the most unsympathetic main character I’ve ever come across.

Throughout the story, I lost count of how many glasses of wine and gin and tonics this girl pours down her throat. She drinks when she’s happy, she drinks when she’s mad, she drinks when she’s frustrated, she drinks for breakfast, lunch and dinner and if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she goes looking if there are any wine dregs in a bottle left. Then she wonders why she has blackouts. Here’s a suggestion … stop drinking!!!

It’s also a bit of a mystery where this alcoholic finds the money to support her habit. She got fired because of her drinking, and she can’t find another job for the same reason, so where does her money come from? The writer doesn’t mention unemployment checks, nor welfare, so maybe wine and gin and tonic are free in England.

Her clinginess toward her ex-husband is equally annoying. Phone calls at every hour of the day and night, emails, surprise visits … it’s a miracle she didn’t become the victim of the killer.

All in all, if “The Girl on the Train” is Paula Hawkins debut novel, she won’t sell a follow-up to me. Actually, they might give it to me for free and I’ll pass on it.

This is what comes of trusting a new author … a horrible disappointment.