Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very different and it asked to be read quickly and with enthusiasm.
The characters were very good and really created a feeling of empathy. It was a while into the story before you realised what exactly was going on, but once established the “whys” and “wherefores” we’re slowly revealed. What a great book.
I will enjoy reading more by this author

Comes with a major CN for intimate partner violence & coercive control. The optimistic note to the ending was very welcome after what for me was a tough read. It’s beautifully written and grapples with some important stuff, as her previous books have also done, but I would avoid if you find these themes triggering.

I was initially a little put off by the narrator being dead, but it was actually a very effective device, and I thought the sense of place Doughty created in Peterborough train station was excellent. Although it was tense and pacy, it was so much more layered then a straight-forward thriller, giving the reader so much to think about and with some real moments of poignancy. Very good.

I was very excited to read a new novel by Louise Doughty, the author of the "Apple Tree Yard", which was one of my favourite psychological thrillers. In her newest novel, a man dies on platform seven at Peterborough Railway Station - his death observed by a ghost of a woman who also died in the same spot. Are these deaths connected? Who is Lisa and why is she here? Despite this unusual setting, the actual story is quite domestic - it concerns an abusive relationship, gaslighting and coercion, the way in which someone's confidence, freedom and self-worth can be taken away bit by bit. That part of the book is the most chilling, disturbing and moving - missing all the warning signs, so visible in retrospect. But I was not so sure about other parts of the book - other characters and their stories, all connected wit the station in their own ways. Lisa the Ghost is like an omnipotent narrator, gliding over her own past, as well as other people's present, past and future. But to be honest, I would be happy just with her story.

Platform Seven is a beautifully written novel with an unusual structure and narrator. The story is set in and around Peterborough Train Station introducing us to the anonymous staff there and taking us behind suburban front doors. Distinctly unglamorous yet ‘all human life is here’ thanks to Louise Doughty’s skill at fleshing out even her smallest characters.

The tale is essentially a sad one but the reader is drawn in both by the uncommon narrative and sweetly haunting prose. I appreciated the fact that the author has portrayed a convincing example of Coercive Control; a form of domestic abuse which is now rightly recognised as such by UK law.

The ghostly element and the ordinary yet sinister feeling of every day life returning in the aftermath of a suicide at the railway station was brilliantly done. The second part of the story then becomes a more typical domestic noir. The relationship spiralling into a controlling and psychologically abusive one was minutely described and well observed, but it didn't feel like anything new. I wonder if the author was told to rein in the more fantastic elements and bring it back firmly to psychological thriller territory. Bit of a shame, as it could have been more experimental and all the better for it.

Incredibly moving portrayal of domestic abuse. I liked the framing of the story and the use of the ghost, but the novel's real strength lies in its depiction of Matty and his manipulation.

For me, this was a book of two halves. First off, you begin with an unnamed character detailing the suicide of a man on platform seven of Peterborough Railway Station. As the story continues, the narrator introduces you to different people within the station, mainly the staff and police officers dealing with the tragedy. You soon learn the narrator also died at platform seven, but you won't find out how or why for a long time. As you spend more time in this unnamed characters head, you learn what they know about themselves, or rather, what they don't know. Eventually they relearn their own name. They remember their family. They remember their story.

This is where it becomes almost a separate story. Jumping right off the trail of the ghost loitering around the station, you dive into Lisa Evans' past, and the sequence of events that lead to her death. At first, I wasn't drawn into this new way of writing and turn of events - I was desperate to get back to the ghost Lisa and follow her journey. But it soon became clear that what old Lisa was telling you was important. 

However, this is why it took me quite a while to read this book. Lisa's past deals with manipulative behaviour, gaslighting, and emotional and mental abuse from a partner, and the way Doughty writes about it is so skin crawlingly realistic that I had to keep putting the book down. Inevitably I would pick it up again, because it was such a gripping story, but the feeling of being in her shoes and experiencing her emotions was at times too much. However, I have rarely read manipulation that good in fiction, and for that I think she needs serious praise. So after a slow start, Platform Seven turned into much more than I hoped for, and I'm really looking forward to checking out some of Doughty's other works. 4 out of 5 stars.

I didn't dislike this book. I just didn't love it. I didn't realise the narrator was a ghost and I think in the first instance that put me off the book.

I’m still not really sure what to make of this book. This is a book about suicide and mental illness. I didn’t realise when starting this book that it was going to be narrated by a ‘ghost’. Lisa is the narrator and since her death on platform seven at Peterborough station she remains stuck there. She witnesses a man committing suicide on the same spot. She then manages to free herself from the station and begins to piece together her past. These were the chapters I enjoyed that took place before her death, the other parts I found rather slow. Sadly it wasn’t the book for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A man walks through Peterborough Railway Station at night. It is quiet & he is far from the skeleton staff that are on duty. Is he about to become the second person in 18 months to commit suicide here? Lisa Evans tries to stop him. She knows how he feels………..after all she was the first.

I love the idea of this book but wasn’t so keen on the execution. This isn’t the first book to be written from the point of view of a dead person but it is unusual and I very much liked this idea. The book started well & we really got to know the characters around the railway station.

However I felt that the book started to move away from being original to becoming quite ordinary. I really don’t think the author allowed Lisa Evans and her narrative to reach its full potential. Quite early on in the book some ground rules are set for Lisa as a ghost. I liked this & felt that this was entirely appropriate. However as the story progressed the author changed the rules leaving the ghost with limitless movement and an ability to make suggestions to the characters. I really felt that this took away from the unusual aspects of the story and became just one more thriller. This really disappointed me.

As books go it was an okay thriller but I do feel that the author could have made this so much better.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

A really unusual, dark, atmospheric and slightly disturbing read.

I cant say I liked it but I cant say I disliked it either!

A real slow burner that has you wondering what tye hell is going on but it does slowly piece itself together bit by bit.

It wasnt what I was expecting at all. Being billed as a psychological thriller didnt help in my mind, it's more of a character study to be honest, told from the POV of the main character Lisa, a ghost.

In all honesty this left me feeling quite uncomfortable at times. I dont feel that the author wrote sympathetically enough regarding the issues of suicide and the people affected but maybe I'm just thinking too much, who knows?

I found there was way too much attention paid to real minor details and too many back stories on the background characters that were pretty much irrelevant.

Not one I'll be recommending on but I'm glad I got the chance to read it!

1.5*

Thanks to netgalley and Faber & Faber Ltd for the ARC.

I found this to be a slightly unsettling read, as while its focus is on Lisa and her thoughts, she is actually a ghost. She had died on Platform 7.

She watches a man do the same and it’s so tense as she knows what he’s about to do, but can do nothing to help. She knows how he’s thinking, as she had been in the same situation.

I like the way it tells of the effects of these suicides by train have on the people who work on the stations and the poor sods of the British Transport Police (although from personal experience, I know it’s actually a lot worse and lasts for years).

We learn of Lisa’s life and the controlling people she was involved with and it is quite a bleak subject at times, but is written in such an emotional way it offers hope.

A compelling and thought provoking read.

Thank you to The publishers, the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for free. This is my honest and unbiased review.

This book was a slow burner and for a while I couldn't really see where it was going. A ghost? A spectre? A haunting? I wasn't sure. Slowly the back story emerged and the parts of the puzzle formed the larger picture. Quite a disturbing story when you think about all the lost souls.

I loved Apple tree Yard but the sign of quality in a writer is his or her ability to evolve and adapt and Ms Doughty has entered new and fertile terrtoroty with this combination of thriller/ghost story and tale from the supernatural.

It grabbed me from the beginning and never let go. exciting, chilling and memorable. An exceptional book.

Highly recommended.

I'm afraid I didn't like this book at all. I think it was because I was expecting the billed Psychological thriller and that this is more a character study and various insights into regret, suicide and the line between life and death.

I liked the idea and premise for a ghost of a girl stuck in a place and thinking back to what brought her here. A girl who was also able to watch people in that same place that no one else could - at least not in the same way. There were just too many subplots and detail which distracted from the main narrative of the book. I remember one character's obsession with rice for example and there were other small details that dragged on when the real story of suicide and death faded away.

The issue of suicide is a sad one in many ways but this novel didn't seem all that sympathetic to it. Was that just me? It was examined through many pairs of eyes but I was left feeling uncomfortable on more than one occasion.

Not for me.

Unusual storyline told from the point of view of someone who has died in Peterborough station.
Would just mention that some of the scenes are a bit upsetting and potential readers should check on the subject matter before choosing this book.
Having said that, I loved the idea of using this lady as the storyteller and enjoyed finding out more about her and her boyfriend with her back story

I absolutely loved this book, everything about it. I started reading a short while ago and felt I;d reached a bit of a slow area so left it for a few days and then when I went back I couldn't put it down, everything else took second place. I realise that there have been some lesser reviews about it but I honestly believe it was an amazing read and extremely clever. I loved the way that everything fell into place near the end and that Matthew did get all he deserved. It would have been easy to remain in that situation with a gorgeous boyfriend who was a doctor, trying not to upset or anger him, putting his mood swings down to his stressful job juggling life and death. Lisa was a strong girl who wanted more and thought too highly of herself to accept second best. The way that Louise gave us insight into the lives of the assorted station staff from PC Lockhart to lonely Dalmar was fabulous and totally brilliant. The chapters exploring Matthew and Lisa's life together were hard to rush through although you wanted to know more all the time. Who knew that Peterborough Station could be the setting of an amazing book. Very clever also to keep it factual to the station itself and the surrounding area, apart from platform 7 that is.

This is not a bad book but the marketing, the cover and even the title are so incredibly psychological thriller-y, and not only is this book very much not a psychological thriller, I think readers' expectations of a fast-moving plot and sharp twists are going to affect their enjoyment of what is actually a very nuanced and moving portrayal of an abusive relationship. For me, the opening chapters dragged, and it wasn't until Lisa's flashback started that I really got into Platform Seven.

Matty's gaslighting was written very well, and if I hadn't just finished Jenny Downham's indescribably brilliant Furious Thing, which deals with the same subject, I'd be giving that section alone five stars. It absolutely flew by, and despite being set over several months and depicting insidious behaviour, actually felt a lot tighter than the rest of the book.

However, outside the flashback, there was way too much focus on minor details, like all the different types of rice Lisa despairs of in the supermarket, and all the backstories of the periphery characters that we just didn't need. The ending seemed to drag on forever, with every single tiny loose end tied up. Were the security guard or the man who bought a ukulele without his wife knowing really worth all those pages? Perhaps if it had been billed as a slice-of-life (/death) character study I'd be more forgiving

Apple Tree Yard was the last book written by Louise Doughty that I read. Though it was a pretty good read, Platform Seven was so much better! I really warmed to Lisa, the story of her life and her observations of the Peterborough Railway Station staff, too. Her reflections on the events that led to her death showed her to be a smart and capable woman who found herself in a bad situation. Her plight is one many women likely share, sadly. A sympathetic character, she tells her tale with a certain detachment that makes it feel more impactful than if she was highly emotional.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed her story, it was the supporting cast that she keeps an eye on that wins the prize here. PC Lockhart, Dalmar, Tom, 'Caleb' and even the girls working in the Pumpkin Cafe offer a slice of their private lives, without knowing it, adding more depth to this novel. The intrepid PC Lockhart proves a real star in ways he will never understand but mean the world to Lisa and the reader.

Platform Seven is a solid novel mixing part ghost story with equal parts gentle thriller and human drama. A winner from beginning to end, this is a great beach read.