I found myself fascinated by the witness and how she was treated by the community. So many of us would have done the same, not taken the extra step to get involved, especially given she didn’t know the girls or even their last names. In fact, when we read so often of people directly witnessing crimes and not stepping in, her actions seem almost minor and definitely understandable. to his wife – to help her, to console her – but he knows also that it will make no difference and so is putting it off. The truth? He wants just a little longer like this, looking out on the lawn. In”

The writing was so tedious it was hard not to dnf, I had to sit through an entire chapter of how to make flower arrangements and another chapter explaining why a character has a deep hatred for flies!!!! WTF?! All bc I am stubborn and wanted to know what freaking happened to the girl!! Ella Longfield was on her way home on the train when she notices two young girls flirting with two men that she is sure are just out of prison. Ella is of course concerned and debates on what she should do to make sure the girls are safe. Should she call someone? Approach them? But as the trip goes on one thing leads to another and Ella finds herself home without having done anything. The next morning she awakens to see on the news that one of the girls, Anna, had gone missing the night before. who can travel through time. Today she will write about a child at a kitchen table in Cornwall who cannot peel her orange, moaning and whining for help. The mother – creaming butter and sugar and smiling – I tell you what, Melissa. Why don’t I show you how to zest before I peel it? We”In addition to the main plot, there is a lot of other things going on. It's not only a thriller, but also a drama because we dive into the lives of other characters linked to the disappearance of the young woman and some parts were really touching. The ending wasn't phenomenal, but decent and satisfying enough. If you are 90% or less done reading this book and you think you know what happens in the end, you are wrong. Unfortunately, it isn't because there is some genius twist ending that you never see coming. No, it is because you haven't even been introduced to the culprit, so there is absolutely no way you could know. My least favorite type of book is the kind where at the end they drop a whole bunch of information to wrap it all up. And that is exactly what this book did. The next day, the news of Anna Ballard, one of the girls on the train, missing was on the TV broadcast. Ella heard the news and guilt crept into her instantly like never before. She should’ve done something that night. What would have happened if she didn’t stay still? have never forgotten the joy of learning to revive roses with fresh water and cutting the stems super sharp at an angle. The miracle of them lifting up their heads again as if saying thank you.” The ending. As usual, it is always nice to feel that I am wrong about the villain. This book gives me that. However, it feels like the author rushed to reveal the villain and did not give enough time to give more plot about it or explore his character. Final Thoughts

HOWEVER; some ppl just don’t want the details. The gory details or the interesting stuff. I don’t know all that many of those ppl, but this is perfect for ppl who want to skip the grit. :D In the end this one was simply one of those books that to me was just an alright read that hadn't really grabbed me as much as I prefer. It wasn't that I didn't like it but more of one that I will find a bit forgettable once moving on from it since nothing really popped out to me or became overly exciting in my opinion. Perhaps other will enjoy it a bit more than I did with the style in which it was written though.

The next day one of the girls, Anna, is reported missing, and Ella is beside herself, wondering if she could have helped the girl instead of turning away. Anna's friend Sarah is saying much about what had happened to them the previous evening and the police soon run out of leads. But what is Sarah hiding? Who else in the girls' families are keeping secrets? And who is sending Ella anonymous postcards? This book was not for me. I tried and tried to get into it, but I struggled a lot. I finished it and I feel like I didn’t really even read anything. I was pretty disappointed with all of the things that went on through this story.

THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR — Matthew Hills is the private investigator hired by Ella. His main job was to help Ella figure out the person who sent her the threatening letters. Throughout the story, we can get a glimpse of her personal life as well as his investigating skill in handling the case. There were some lenghts along the way, but nothing major. The short chapters kept me engaged and maintained a good pace. I loved the multiple point of views, they were all equally interesting. In this book, almost everything happens “off-screen” so to speak, so—if you want the action this may not be the book for you. I wanted to phone not because I was worried for the girls, but as a punishment, because I was angry at how Sarah had made me feel. It is so odd that you can stand in a space - a place in which you normally feel so happy and safe - and then suddenly you can stand in precisely the same spot and feel like this completely different person. I don't want to be this person. I hate this new person.”My name is Madhura and I am a voracious reader. I love writing and talking about books. The Literary Circle is my creative space where I talk about my love for all things bookish. Anna and Sarah’s friend Tim was the abductor. When Ella went to visit Anna’s mother, she recognized him in a picture and knew he had been on the train. He had been following Anna to London, abducted her, and kept her in one of his family’s apartments. Now another thing with this one that seemed to make it a bit tougher to connect to the story for me was the way the book changes the point of view between several different characters. The chapters are titled with things such as The Witness (Ella), The Father, The Friend and eventually The Private Investigator along with a couple of other POVs later in the book so as it's switching I was struggling to match who was who and the characters were just not popping out to me and taking a life of their own. Perhaps it was the style or perhaps I just didn't feel there was enough depth to them to really connect but it gave the story another bit of slowness to it.