User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Selena Murphy has a husband who is cheating on her. Twice, in a week's time, she has caught him sleeping (not really sleeping, though) with the nanny. Her life is full of pressures and a husband who lost his job but won't find work and also won't take on full time care of the kids even though he's home all the time. Work, a long commute, a cheating husband, kids that want more from her than she can give, the constant feeling she needs to present a perfect life on her Facebook page, all these things are weighing down on Selena. Her nanny is wonderful with the kids, with keeping the house running and now Selena needs to fire her, needs to confront her cheating husband, and she has no idea how to keep life running when there is just one of her and so many responsibilities.
As Selena sits down on the 7:45 train, she meets Martha, who confesses she is having an affair with her boss and wants out. Add in some little bottles of booze and soon, Selena is telling Martha that she thinks her husband is sleeping with the nanny. Martha comments how nice it would be if all their problems would just disappear.
And then the nanny disappears. Selena is frantic as the police move in on her and her husband, Graham. Her husband has secrets that come out about his past relationships with women. Selena could be the last person who saw the nanny alive, if she is more than missing. And Selena is wondering if there was much more to her meeting Martha, on the train. Martha has her phone number and is texting her, wanting to meet up, asking her questions, probing questions, hinting dark things to Selena and Selena has no idea who she can trust.
This story is crammed full of twists and turns and people with hidden pasts, motives, and secrets and it's all closing in on Selena. We get to hear the story from not only Selena, but a girl named Pearl, the nanny, a retired detective, and Martha. As the story progressed, I figured some things out before the actual reveal but I didn't mind since the story is put together so well, it all made sense that I might figure some things out. Step into this story and you just may walk away with trust issues you never had before.
Publication: October 6th 2020
Thank you to Park Row/HarperCollins and Edelweiss for this ARC.
Rating: really liked it
I'm always on the lookout for that special domestic thriller that will actually thrill me rather than just make me roll my eyes throughout. Unfortunately,
Confessions on the 7:45 wasn't it.
Selena had a rough day. She just found evidence that her husband is cheating on her with the nanny. So when she boards the train to go home and strikes up a conversation with the stranger in the next seat, she confesses everything. After all, what does it matter, since they'll never see each other again? But soon after, the nanny goes missing, and Selena realizes the perfect life she's cultivated is spiraling out of control.
This story is just ridiculous. From the main characters to the supporting cast, every single person in here acts so stupidly, and nothing they do makes any sense. Find evidence your spouse is cheating? Stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away! Random stranger messages you to meet up? Go meet up with them to see what they want! Discover who the bad person is? Don't tell the police, go fix it yourself!
This story is written from so many points of view, and a lot of them are not necessary to the progression of the plot. In fact, some of them are quite dull and obvious and could easily have been excluded. Everything is spelled out for the reader, slowly and in detail. But it's not hard to infer where the story was going, so I found it really hard to keep my attention throughout.
There also seems to be some sort of woe-is-me complex going on that drove me crazy. The characters are whiny but unable to accept that they controlled their actions and the outcome. Instead, they justified everything by saying how they had no choice and they had to do it, no matter how outlandish. It was so annoying to read this defeatist attitude over and over.
When I first started this book, I thought I'd found that rare domestic thriller that would grab me. And the initial setup was amazing. But once we got past that and are into the main part of the story, I started losing interest. Nothing in here really surprised me, and the characters all acted against their self-interest. Honestly, I was bored out of my mind, and I'm happy to be done.
Rating: really liked it
***NOW AVAILABLE***
I don’t know what or who is more twisted, this novel or the characters in it !! This is definitely one of those thrillers that is best read when you have a long chunk of time to settle into it. I personally found at least the first third of the book to be quite confusing. Without giving anything away I will just say that there are multiple characters, multiple identities of these characters and we are moving from past to present. Picking it up and putting it down definitely won’t work for this one!!!
You know from the blurb that there are two women who meet on a train, the 7:45, and divulge secrets to each other. The novel is told from each of their points of view.
Selena has a troubled marriage. She is now the sole support for the family and she is angered with her husband, Graham’s, lack of job hunting. She loves her job but misses being at home with her boys, Oliver and Stephen. When she catches Graham cheating again, visibly seeing him on a nanny cam, that’s the last straw.
What ensues is really a story within a story. We will learn about how Selena and Martha, the woman she meets on the train, are connected and what will come of their meeting and shared secrets..
The nanny, Geneva, goes missing shortly after the encounter on the train. Does this have something to do with Martha? Is Graham or someone else in her life manipulating her and her choices? Selena’s ex, Will, seems the only one she can trust, or is he hiding secrets too? Oh boy, so many questions, so much going on.
As this mystery plays out we will learn more about Martha, who she really is, how and why she is determined to be a part of Selena’s life. Geneva is the really hard one to figure out. Selena had not checked her references before hiring her, big mistake!!!!!!!!!!
There is little I can say without spoilers except that I really enjoyed this thriller. It can really be called a psychological thriller because it includes several chilling characters with psychopathic tendencies. Don’t trust anyone!! This is a puzzle of a thriller that I think lovers of the genre will devour.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
Rating: really liked it
I liked this one well enough. The author has great control over her writing craft. Her characters are well drawn and three dimensional, one of the more difficult aspects of writing. This book is only three stars out of five for me I almost put down several times but hung on. For me there were too many points of view that caused the story’s wheels to spin in place. For example, the Hunter character his entire chapter came down to one paragraph needed to advance the book’s plot, the rest could’ve been cut, and book would’ve stood on its own. There are several other points of view that are the similar in construct. Pearl’s point of view didn’t have a logical thread to the story, (at least for me--maybe I missed it) until page 150 when I realized who Pearl became later on. Too much backstory slowed the forward motion as well. When the story was dealing with Ann and Serena I was right there fully invested. Overall, I think what happened was that the author mixed a thriller structure with a mystery structure and it didn’t work for me.
And there was the plotline; a well-used trope (most recently seen in the book Last Flight by Clark) that mirrors the great Hitchcock movie (Hitchcock took it from Patricia Highsmith’s book) Strangers on a Train. I have no problem with author using old plots and breathing fresh air into them as Unger did here. She took the plot and made it her own. Cut away all the unrelated machinations in this one and it would be a killer book. Unger writes at a master’s level and I will be reading more of her books. This was my first.
Rating: really liked it
“It’s Martha, by the way. From the train.” 3.5 stars
Confessions on the 7:45 is a fast-paced thriller about a nanny gone missing. Late on her home from work one night, Selena confides to a stranger on a train that her husband has been having an affair with their nanny. A few days later, the nanny has disappeared without a trace, and the stranger begins texting Selena some jarring messages. With her marriage under a microscope, Selena comes to recognize that her picture-perfect life is crumbling at the seams. Did her confession to the stranger lead to murder?
Primarily told from Selena and Pearl’s perspective, the narrative alternates between multiple characters (at least 6 that I can remember).
I was most interested in the character of Pearl and found her voice enthralling. I would have preferred this to be a dueling narrative vs. having the additional points of view woven in. The others detracted from the intrigue of the cat and mouse game between Selena and Pearl.
I enjoyed Confessions On the 7:45, but it didn’t live up to the hype. I was expecting something amazing, and I got a good, juicy thriller but nothing that blew my mind. The twists were rather obvious, and there were few surprises. However, I found this book entertaining, and Pearl’s character elevated this story to another level.
Rating: really liked it
Well I must admit this is my first Lisa Unger book I have read...and it did not disappoint! A twisted little thriller that drew me in from the very first chapter!
You are late for your train, good thing there is another at 7:45. You board and it is crowded, but you are able to slip into the seat next to a friendly looking face that slides over for you. Then for some unknown reason the friendly face starts sharing her secrets with you. Then you tell her something that has been weighing on your mind. You leave the train and then...you start feeling sick that you shared..why did you do that? You start freaking out and wish you could take it back, again, why did you do that? Oh Selena...SAME GIRL, SAME...this is why I don't go out to girls night anymore. Sharing is caring but oversharing...well that will leave you FREAKING OUT the next day!
Of course you usually move on and nothing becomes of your oversharing. PING...then Selena gets a text...from the stranger on the train...wait...she doesn't remember giving this woman Martha her phone number. Let the games begin!
Let me tell you, there is a whole bunch of games wrapped up in this book. Multiple POV's and several twists kept me on my toes and flipping these pages late into the night.
Thank you so much to HarperCollins for allowing me an early ride on the 7:45! In other words, thank you for this amazing ARC. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Rating: really liked it
Wow! Heart throbbing, agitated story makes you jump on your couch and keep you in toes, biting rest of your pillows, spitting out the feathers!
Two stranger women on a train share their most intimate secrets: one of them is cheated by her husband as the other one is having an affair with a married man. They share vodka, a few laughs, their resentments, regrets and they say their goodbyes. As of them thinks their paths will never be crossed, the other one already starts planning their next encounter.
Selena catches her husband Graham in the act, -actually their nanny in the act, jumping up and down on her naked cheater husband ( thanks to the security cams she got inserted to follow her two sons’ moves when she works late at office but she accidentally caught wrong boy’s misdemeanors! )
And Anna lets her boss takes advantage of her, having a forbidden relationship till she gets caught by bossy wife. But that’s okay! Anna is a con artist, directed by her Pop, changing her appearance, name, lifestyle like a chameleon but this time she has no intention to let her new friend out of her life. She introduced herself as Martha from train. She keeps sending her text messages even though Selena rejects answering back!
She secretly proposed her during their 7:45 train journey: “ don’t you ever wish your problems would take of themselves? Maybe her nanny will disappear!”
Yes: as like she mentioned: Selena’s wish came true: Geneva, their devoted nanny never returned back. She vanished. Her husband pleads her forgiveness but what if this is just the beginning of most tremendous problem she get to solve! What if this change could destroy her life, her family forever!
Secrets, twists, mind blowing revelations ! Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead! So who will die? Who will survive?
I don’t want to give more spoilers about this multi POVed, action packed, surprising page turner ( I stopped to count the narrators after one of the children’s POV and I found unnecessary the old officer’s narration who still digs out the cold case.) But thankfully we didn’t read POVs of scumbag cheating husband Graham and devoted, controlling ex lover Will or most naive and sweet man Ben!
Overall: I loved the characters, intriguing pacing, exciting story development. I found some revelations are foreseeable and there were too much narration which was overwhelming. I just wished to read only Anna, Selena’s POVs. They’re the ones share the secrets and start this play!
So I’m cutting some points for those reasons and rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 unputdownable, nail biting, extremely frustrating, it’s Martha by the way, from the train stars!
Rating: really liked it
Whoa....
this was quite the runaway train..... This is definitely my favorite Lisa Unger novel. I was captivated from the beginning and the train encounters had me on the edge of my seat!
"It's Martha , by the way. From the train."I found the story line quite addictive and oh dear, Martha, what is it about you? Selena wonders if she shared too much with a complete stranger. What in the world compelled her?
Let the games begin! Selena gets a text and the crazy train starts to derail just a little at a time until there is NO turning back.
Unputdownable and suspenseful. This would be a fun buddy read because I had so many theories and suspected a few different characters. I really wanted to talk about my suspicions!!
Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy! This one already published and is now available.
Rating: really liked it
⭐ 4 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙪𝙣 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙛 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙬𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 ⭐
For a thriller, I didn't find this book especially thrilling. The plot is definitely twisty but it's easy to see what's coming. Sadly there was no 𝙖-𝙝𝙖!! moment.
Where this book shines is in it's characters. I loved how honest and raw and logical they were.
Selena was so well fleshed out that I could feel all the emotions she was feeling and she made my heart 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 at the ending.
Also fantastic was the way this book explores the good and bad in everyone.
Everyone had flaws and strengths, nothing was black and white, and even the evilest characters had positive traits.
On a PERSONAL NOTE - I found this quote in this book and I'm not sure if I've ever related to something more than I do to this 😉🍟🍪🍿
' 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺. '
Rating: really liked it
I have been dying to hear the confessions that were made on the 7:45.
And, it was well worth the wait!
The train comes to a stop on the tracks...it’s going to be awhile...
The beautiful woman sitting with you, strikes up a conversation.
She confesses that she has been sleeping with her boss, a married man.
Her name is Martha.
Selena feels like she should reciprocate.
What harm could come out of sharing a secret with a stranger?
She admits that she thinks that her husband is sleeping with their nanny.
When they finally reach the station, they part..and go their separate ways.
Presumably, never to meet again.
Then her nanny doesn’t show up for work one morning.
A text arrives:
“Maybe, we should meet for a drink? I’m eager to continue our conversation.
Then, another ping.
“It’s Martha, by the way. From the train.”
For the first third of the book, the story seems more like Contemporary Fiction, but Lisa Unger’s keen observations on human behavior, life and love so resonate with me, that I was enthralled by every word.
I got my first chill, at the end of chapter 10, when the story becomes more suspenseful.
Then the story takes a turn in a direction, I wasn’t expecting and by 50%, I had formed a theory that was mostly right, though it did not detract from my enjoyment as I continued reading to see if I would be correct.
I now know why NOT ONE SINGLE FRIEND of mine, has rated this under 4 ⭐️ On Goodreads!
Available now!
Rating: really liked it
4+ stars!
A fast paced, gripping and suspenseful domestic thriller!
Selena starts chatting with the woman seated next to her on the train ride home from work one night. They chat with ease and gain comfort from one another as they share their personal stresses and struggles. Selena confides in the woman that she suspects her husband is sleeping with their nanny. Days later, Selena’s nanny doesn’t show up for work. She has disappeared and Selena’s conversation with the woman on the train weighs heavy on her mind. Could there be a connection?
I love this author’s writing! It drew me in from page one and didn’t let go until the twisty ending. I was glued to the pages of this mysterious story that had me guessing at various outcomes along the way. The characters were real — relatable and well developed. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives which provided several layers to this brilliantly plotted thriller. I did guess one of the twists but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.
The end had a lot going on and felt somewhat overdone, but it fit well with the story and left me satisfied and eager to read whatever this author comes out with next!
Thank you to Edelweiss for my review copy!
Rating: really liked it
DNF at 25%. Just not for me. I knew it wouldn’t be anything more than a 3 star read for me so I called it quits.
Too many changing POV. Too much whining from women about how terrible men are while the women are making terrible choices for their lives.
Rating: really liked it
I’ve been a long time fan of Lisa Unger, I think I’ve read every book she has released. And I have to say this might be her best to date!
Do you believe in coincidences?A chance meeting in a train. Selena sits down next to a stranger. Soon she finds herself telling this unknown woman her darkest secrets. I mean it couldn’t do any harm right....? Wouldn’t you?
Did Selena just open Pandora’s box? Now she keeps receiving texts from this woman. Did she give out her phone number? 🤷🏻♀️ She doesn’t remember doing that.🤔 Yet the texts continue to arrive.
“It’s Martha, by the way. From the train ...”What a fabulous twisty tale Ms. Unger wove bringing all the pieces together ending in a perfectly completed puzzle.
Highly recommend!
A buddy read with Susanne that we both devoured in only a few sittings.
Thank you to Edelweiss and HaperCollins Park Row.
Rating: really liked it
A dark and unsettling thriller with multiple characters, which pulls you in immediately, and doesn't let up until the end!When Selena meets a stranger on the 7:45 train home from work, she's already having a bad day! She finds herself confessing her suspicions about her husband having an affair with the nanny, after the stranger reveals that she's sleeping with her married boss. When the nanny then goes missing, Selena's seemingly insta-perfect life starts to unravel... 
This book started off so strong! It was dark, intriguing and sucked me in right away! The characters were so well written, so fleshed out, complex and flawed. I think Lisa Unger does that really well in all the books I've read by her. I liked Selena, but I really liked Pearl, and I'm not sure what that says about me?!
Confessions on the 7:45 was full of strong women, and unlikeable men! I found it a little sad how the women in this book viewed men, and love, but you could see why they felt this way, as their experiences with the opposite sex were less than stellar!
The writing was wonderful, descriptive and filled the story with atmosphere and suspense! I could visualise the family house and the woods. The commentary on social media was spot on. I'm not sure why some people feel the need to pretend on social media that their life is perfect, when its really far from it? I much prefer the people who are real!
Lies, secrets and manipulation were all big themes in Confessions on the 7:45, as a large cast of characters told the story. Yes there were a lot of characters, but I thought the story was easy enough to follow.
I do disagree with many reviewers, who thought this was full of shocks and twists, and found the plot fairly easy to predict! I saw nearly all of the twists coming, but almost felt like Lisa Unger wanted me to figure it out and connect the dots? However, the book was engaging, and I enjoyed seeing how it all came together for a satisfying ending.
Although I enjoyed this fast paced, and fun book, I did prefer this author's two short stories, which I recently read, Let Her Be and The Sleep Tight Motel. If you're in the mood for a suspenseful, dark story though, and have ever shared more than you should with a stranger (hello drunken me), then give this one a go!
Many thanks to Edelweiss+ and HarperCollins for my DRC, in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: really liked it
If you haven't read this one, you need to hop on this fast track full of lies and deceit. This is one well-crafted entertaining story with exciting twists and turns.
After reading and loving Stranger Inside, I had some high expectations that I tried to leave behind before boarding this train of deceit. Well, not only were those expectations met, they were exceeded!
Confessions on the 7:45 is a clever, compelling, suspenseful story that explores the complexities of marriage while representing the gender roles women and men play well. I was a bit worried about the direction the story was going, and at first, I felt I was on the wrong track going nowhere I wanted to go. What I first thought was another cheating story with toxic male characters and manipulating women playing those expected gender roles in thrillers turned into not what I expect at all.
Lisa Unger hit the mark on what I love about unlikeable characters giving them an unexpected twist that made them very likable to me. Not only are their actions questionable and intriguing, but the turns their characters take are exciting and surprising. She creates strong, well-crafted female characters here that drive the story forward, and while the men do play a bit into those expected gender roles, there is some well-layered depth to them that added tension to the story.
Once I hit the climax to the story, it was full steam ahead for me, and I was pleasantly surprised by how Lisa Unger examined those gender roles of men and women with marriage making this one what I call better reading. I highly recommend it.
I received a copy from the pulisher for a blog tour
