> Skip to content

Article  •  4 April 2017

 

Darkness surrounds us

Paula Hawkins’ psychological thrillers: several million opinions and counting.

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins’ gripping story of love, obsession and murder, was a runaway success, smashing records and selling more than an astonishing 18 million copies worldwide. It also occupied the No. 1 spot on the UK hardback chart for 20 weeks, the longest run of any book previous. Faster than a speeding bullet, The Girl on the Train won over critics, with many labelling it the thriller of 2015. All the while word-of-mouth travelled, elevating the book into ‘must-read’ territory. Stephen King loved it (‘A really great suspense novel. Kept me up most of the night.’), as did Marian Keyes (‘A long, long time since a book gripped me like this.’).

Hawkins has said she wrote the first half of the book about a woman who sees something unsavoury on her daily commute very quickly. The story was also adapted by DreamWorks Pictures into a movie starring Emily Blunt in lightning-quick time – debuting in cinemas a mere 20 months after the book’s release. It was a box-office smash, grossing almost four times the film’s $45 million budget.

The Girl on the Train brought all the chills and thrills expected of a page-turning thriller, but also offered a fresh, ‘domestic’ take on a genre long dominated by serial murderers, granite-jawed detectives and gore. ‘I think people have got a little bit tired of a trope of a beautiful dead woman on the first page of a novel,’ Hawkins said in an interview with The Guardian. ‘It’s more the psychology of crime going on. They don’t tend to be so much about violence or about bloody acts.’

‘Domestic noir’ is a term attributed to British author Julia Crouch, and one that’s been liberally applied to Hawkins’ writing. In a nutshell it refers to the exploration of the darkness that exists behind the shiny, happy social-media facades of our modern lives; and the locked doors of our suburban homes. If it’s a truism that novelists should use their platform to reflect the issues of our times, then indeed domestic violence should not be shied away from. And, thankfully, authors like Hawkins are opening the doors to exploring the horrors that exist all around us.

Just two years on from Hawkins’ propulsion to global notoriety, she releases her second novel, Into the Water. Set in the northern English town of Beckford, the mystery lingers around an infamous waterhole that, due to the deaths of several women, has been dubbed the Drowning Pool. But is it a suicide spot or some kind of dumping ground? This time Hawkins explores the murky territory of the stories we tell about our pasts and their power to destroy the lives we live now. Unsurprisingly, DreamWorks were keen to secure the film rights to Into the Water, and took out an option months before the novel’s release.

‘This story has been brewing for a good while,’ Hawkins said in a statement. ‘For me there is something irresistible about the stories we tell ourselves, the way voices and truths can be hidden consciously or unconsciously, memories can be washed away and whole histories submerged.’

Feature Title

Into the Water
The addictive No. 1 psychological thriller from the author of The Girl on the Train, the runaway Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller and global phenomenon.
Read more

More features

See all
Q&A
Paula Hawkins Q&A

The Into the Water author on writing, remembering and day-to-day darkness.

Book clubs
A Slow Fire Burning book club notes

An exciting new thriller from the author of The Girl on the Train to discuss with your book club.

Q&A
Paula Hawkins: 5 questions

Meet the author of The Girl on the Train.

Article
Natasha Swingler shares her #1 tip for starting your decluttering journey

We caught up with the creator behind @effectivespaces to learn about her upcoming book.

Article
A brief guide to Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series

Everything you need to know about Evan Smoak – known as Orphan X – and the books that follow his complex life.

Article
The series adaptation of A Gentleman in Moscow is almost here!

Eight years after the book was first published, fans of A Gentleman in Moscow will finally be able to see Count Rostov on screen.

Article
Meet the characters from The Tea Ladies

Meet the tea ladies from Amanda Hampson’s Tea Ladies series.

Article
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Friday Barnes with these fun activities

2024 marks ten years of the Friday Barnes book series. Discover a few ideas for celebrating this impressive milestone.

Article
CBCA Book of the Year Notables 2024

5 Penguin books have made the Notables list this year. Learn more about them here.

Article
Books to keep older kids busy this Easter

Easter is almost here – and there is no better gift to give than a book! Learn more about some of the best books to gift older readers.

Article
Look Inside Peter’s First Easter

Look inside this cute and colourful board book, perfect for introducing children to the world of Peter Rabbit.

Article
Look inside The Tale of Benjamin Bunny Picture Book

Sneak a peek at the brand new picture book edition of the original tale.

Looking for more articles?

See all articles