“I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.”
Paula Hawkins is a bestselling British author best known for her psychological thriller novel, The Girl on the Train. Having been raised in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), Hawkins moved to the UK when she was seventeen years old, going on to read philosophy, politics and economics at Keble College at Oxford University. She would also become a published Chick-Lit author, writing four books under the pen name ‘Amy Silver’. The Girl on the Train was her first commercial breakthrough, taking six months to write. Dealing with themes such as domestic violence and substance abuse, the novel has since been adapted numerous times and firmly established Hawkins as one of the best thriller authors in the UK. Join us at What We Reading as we dive into every Paula Hawkins book in order of release!
The Money Goddess: The Complete Financial Makeover (2006)
Far from the intense psychological thrillers she would eventually become renowned for, Paula Hawkins’ first book was 2006’s The Money Goddess. The book serves as a fun and incredibly informative personal finance guide specifically for the needs of women.
The book features a fictional group of girlfriends, all of whom experience first-hand the ups and downs of financial life. Featuring thoroughly researched and expert advice on everything from debt, investing, pensions, mortgages, maternity and so much more, The Money Goddess was acclaimed for its practical advice suitable for women of all ages looking to learn more about making their money stretch further.
Confessions Of A Reluctant Recessionista (2009)
Published under the pen name Amy Silver, Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista is the first of four romantic comedy books written by Paula Hawkins. Cassie Cavanagh has a great job, a great boyfriend, and enough money to keep her kitted out in expensive clothes and shoes. What Cassie doesn’t reckon on, however, is being sacked from her job in the middle of the economic recession.
Not only that, but her boyfriend dumps her for an older woman. Cassie also appears to be sliding into debt and is frustratingly forced to listen to her flatmate, Judy’s advice on money. Cassie is a certified spendaholic, but can she find a way of stemming her spending and begin clawing her way out of the recession?
All I Want For Christmas (2011)
It’s Bea’s first Christmas with her baby son, and she’s determined to do everything right. But there’s still so much to be done. Her Christmas menu needs refining, her cafe, The Honey Pot, needs decorating, and she’s foolishly invited the entire neighbourhood to a party on December 25th. So the last thing in the world she needs is to find herself involved in other people’s lives, let alone fall in love.
When Olivia gets knocked over in the street, however, Bea can’t help but invite her inside The Honey Pot and get to know her. It turns out that her life is somehow even more hectic than Bea’s. Chloe, on the other hand, has nowhere else to go. After an affair with a married man, she’s become alienated from her friends and family. Yet, Christmas is a magical time and, in the warmth of The Honey Pot, new friends can be made, hearts can heal and romance can finally begin to blossom.
One Minute To Midnight (2011)
For many years, beginning when she was just thirteen, Nicole Blake spent every new year with her three friends: Julian, her first love, Alex, her best friend, and Aidan, her obsession. Together, the four of them had partied hard, supported each other and fallen in love. Until betrayal and tragedy split them apart. Now, Nicole is settled down with her husband, Dom, in London.
But, in the weekend running up to New Year’s Eve in 2011, Nicole and Dom are preparing for a trip to New York to see Aidan and Alex for the first time in years. With so much still unsaid and unresolved between them, can they really return to their old friendship? And, if they do, will Nicole ever want to return home again?
The Reunion (2013)
Jen, Andrew, Lilah, Natalie and Dan were inseparable during their years together at university. But, in the seventeen years since, they have hardly seen each other. That is until Jen invites them all to stay at her house in the French Alps, the place where they had spent one glorious summer until tragedy tore them apart.
When a snowstorm descends upon them, the group find themselves trapped and forced to confront the unresolved issues, frustrated passions and broken friendships lingering over them all. And, as relationships shift and marriages flounder, the truth behind what really happened those years ago finally comes to light. That’s when Jen realises some wounds may never be healed.
The Girl On The Train (2015)
Undoubtedly the most famous Paula Hawkins story to date, The Girl on the Train follows the story of Rachel. Rachel catches the same commuter train every day. She knows that it will sit and wait at the same signal every time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s become so used to the routine that she’s even begun to feel like she knows one of the couples she sees. ‘Jess’ and ‘Jason’, she calls them.
Jess and Jason’s life together appears to be perfect. That is until Rachel sees something shocking. It’s only a minute before the train rolls on, but it’s enough for her. Now everything’s changed. She now has the chance to become a part of the people’s lives she’s so far only seen from afar. And they are about to find out she’s much more than just the girl on the train.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Girl On The Train
Into The Water (2017)
The first mystery thriller book by Paula Hawkins published after The Girl on the Train, 2017’s Into the Water opens with a single mother turning up dead at the bottom of a river that runs through her town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself being cared for by her mother’s sister, a woman who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from.
Similar to The Girl on the Train, Hawkins once again delivers a propulsive psychological thriller that explores the deceptiveness of memory and emotion, as well as the devastating ways in which the past can reach the present.
A Slow Fire Burning (2021)
When a young man is found brutally murdered in a London houseboat, it triggers unsettling questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt already reeling from another loss in the family. Miriam is the nosy neighbour who is deliberately keeping secrets from the police.
A Slow Fire Burning is the story of three women with separate connections to the victim. Three women who are all simmering with resentment. Whether they know it or not, all three are attempting to right the wrongs done to them. When it comes to revenge, even the best of people can do horrible things. But how far might some of them go to find peace? And how long can their secrets smoulder before they explode into flame?
Blind Spot (2022)
Since they were kids, Edie, Jake and Ryan have been the closest of friends. Three of them against the world. Edie thought the bonds between them were unbreakable. So when Jake is gruesomely murdered and Ryan is accused of the crime, her entire world is upended.
Edie is alone for the first time in years, living in the remote house that she and Jake shared. She is grief-stricken and afraid. And for good reason too. Someone is watching, waiting for this moment. Now that Edie is alone, the past she tried so hard to leave behind has finally caught up with her. The latest Paula Hawkins book to date, Blind Spot is a quick and snappy short read, perfect for any thriller fans looking for a one-sitting story.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
