Thank you Netgalley, MA Hunter and Netgalley for the eArc of The Women on Platform 8 .

I've read a few of M A Hunter's books and have really enjoyed the psychological side of her writing. Her style of writing builds with some great foreshadowing and The Women on Platform 8 has all these elements and more. M A Hunters character building feels realistic and her characters evoke different emotions which I like. Within this book, we have Jenna who as an autistic women who thrives on routine and takes pity on a women who is really upset on the train. This sets off a series of events that really get you guessing on what direction this book is going to go in. I particularly liked how his author portrayed her autistic character. ( I have a family member with autism ) and really bonded with Jenna. I think that it made the story more compelling in a psychological sense as the social communication most some take for granted, makes life very difficult for neurodiverse people. I also feel that Hunter wrote this character with dignity and grace.

Overall, the pacing of the book was smooth and consistent , building up to the finale and definitely kept me invested . I also had the pleasure of listening to some of this as an audio book. Claire Storey narrated this book and she added continuity to both the characters and the tone of the book itself. Wonderful!

4 stars

I enjoyed the premise of this book. I appreciated the forward by the author to explain the main character. It helped to see things from her perspective and allowed for me to believe some of the plot twists and why she did the things she did more clearly. This was a new author to me but I will be going back to read her other published works. I will be recommending this to my reading group and on my social media.

I loved the premise of this book, as someone who used to commute to work and regularly see the same faces, wondering what some of their backstories were.

I didn’t like how trusting Jenna was of Allie, I found it a bit frustrating. But she is neuro-divergent which I guess could explain a different thought/decision making process.

I read the book in one sitting, very easy read.

4.5*

Jenna is doing her best. She’s a working mum (aka superhero) with a kind of stay at home husband who is a writer as well. Two kids and on top she’s neurodivergent. She’s got alot to handle in my mind. Then life throws a curveball in the shape of Allie and Jenna’s life becomes less organised and routine as Jenna needs it.

Spending time in Jenna’s head, I got on board with her quirks, her need for order in life – I’ll admit, I need a little of that. I can be a little scatty so Jenna’s organisation is something to aspire to.

But as life around her changed, the more erratic her narrative became. Was she becoming an unreliable narrator? Could I trust her mental state? I fully get being in that state of mind when the world around you is too much – I’ve been there without a neurodivergent condition and paranoia is a biatch.

Hunter has written another brilliant thriller that made me question my narrator and those around her. I wasn’t sure who to believe but that climax made it perfectly clear before the knife was twisted at the end.

Thank you M A Hunter and Boldwood Books to allow me to read this ARC via NetGalley.

📍 England
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Vibes: 🚆😵‍💫👨🏻‍👩🏻‍👧🏼‍👦🏼💻🔪😈
Rating: 3.25 ⭐
Tropes: autistic fmc / stranger with a secret / blurred reality / gaslighting and manipulation

Started off reading thinking one thing about the main characters, and as the plot progressed, I thought I would able to predict what was going to happen but definitely was a wild ride.
Hard for me to really get my thoughts together for a review. This one really messed with my brain.

I appreciated the forward by the author but the book as a whole didn’t work for me. It seemed I was re reading other books where a good deed goes very wrong. and the whole plot relied on a very unrealistic premise of how a person would behave.

2.5 stars.

This story has an interesting premise. But I think the whole random woman shows up and inserts herself in someone’s life then takes over is an over done plot line.

Also, the character is autistic which the author mentions constantly. However, her behavior seems very counter to what you would expect. The author wanted to write a neurodivergent character which they expressly stated bud for me it just did not work. You can write about it without having to point it out constantly.

I disliked the ending greatly. If left way too many unanswered questions. It was done for shock value - which it was that but it did not match with the story or tie things in.

It was also a similar ending to the first book I read by this author so I’m thinking it’s maybe time for a different focus from him.

I’ve read 3 books by this author. The first one I thought was awesome, second one “meh” and this one was painful. I do not think I would read additional stuff from him at this point.

How many women would welcome a complete stranger into their home with their husband and children? That’s exactly what Jenna does when she meets Allie, a complete stranger, and decides to take her in. Jenna approached Allie with great concern for her well-being and safety. Not only did Allie appear injured, but her story also stirred up protective instincts in Jenna.

The question that arises is, who is the vulnerable one, Jenna or Allie? It’s not difficult to sense Jenna’s vulnerability, a woman on the autism spectrum. She misses social cues, and while some may find bells and whistles clear to recognize, Jenna does her best to navigate life, while missing crucial things. Beyond her autism, Jenna’s past is deeply sad, which undoubtedly influences her decisions.

It’s easy to feel compassion for Jenna while also criticizing Allie. Brett, Jenna’s husband, was undoubtedly a good person, but he had his flaws. If you’re looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and rooting for Jenna repeatedly, then this latest book by M. A. Hunter is the perfect choice.

Many thanks to Boldwood Books, Rachel’s Random Resources and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Jenna meets Allie on a train. Allie's distressed and tries to help her, soon learning the meaning of the saying "no good deed comes unpunished"...

This was a twisty book with lots of surprises. It was also interesting to get the story from Jenna’s point of view as a woman with autism. Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the arc.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this ARC.

A great thriller which I really enjoyed! I just wish it had tied everything up at the end.

A full review has been left on Goodreads and linked below.

Oh this was good. Dark, twisty and definitely deserved to be read in one sitting.

The author teases with a slow start, allowing the tension and uncertainties to build, and when they hit, boy did they hit hard! I didn't see that one coming, did you?

Very much a character driven read, it threw up the whole stranger danger scenario for me. I don't even like talking to strangers, let alone in inviting one into my home. Like wtaf!

A thoroughly enjoyable, intriguing read.

A good, fast and easy read. I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend as an easy read. It also had some surprises that I'd never have guessed.

As a neurodiverse woman I found this particularly interesting but incredibly frustrating where Jenna was concerned. Neurodiversity in women is all too often misdiagnosed as a mental health issue or personality disorder. Jenna's lack of support from those around her was sad particularly as nearly all were meant to be people that knew her. If you know a neurodiverse person we'll then you can see changes when they are struggling, just as Jenna's brother was able to identify shutdown in his sister, even after he'd moved away and not had as much contact.

Stereotypes say neurodiverse people aren't meant to get ahead, aren't meant to form long-term successful relationships and are unable to communicate effectively (amongst other things). I think Jenna proves the stereotypes are false but her story is a sad one and she ultimately loses a life she'd worked hard to achieve

Jenny Morgan spots a regular commuter who boards the train on platform 8 of London Waterloo and gets off at Winchester. Today this woman boards at Winchester and Jenny feels signs of distress coming from this unknown passenger. Jenny asks if this stranger is okay and so the story begins.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Woman on Platform 8, which is a dark and twisty psychological thriller. It is told in the first person and this narrative is ideal for this novel. Everything is from Jenny’s point of view and readers are told from the beginning that Jenny is “openly autistic”. It works well that this family, friends and work story is told ONLY from Jenny’s point of view. Although the author is a man, he puts the reader FULLY in the mindset of Jenny, regardless of your gender or neurology. The focus of this story is so strong and very easy to relate to, that you feel that you can “live the book”.

Doubts begin to grow in your mind as the story builds. The character development of Jenny Morgan is terrific and you get just enough from The Woman on Platform 8, Jenny’s husband, son and daughter, brother, mother, mother-in-law and workmates to fully understand Jenny’s world.

I was very impressed by the quality of writing and feel The Woman on Platform 8 is an OUTSTANDING 5 star read. The plot is very good and I did not work out what was going on in the background. I was barking up the wrong tree and the ending was a HUGE surprise, totally unexpected. The shock - no spoilers from me - is that anyone could fall victim to this scenario, which is frightening.

I will not quote from this book but health care providers generally name their buildings/trading names “kindly” - not for Jenny’s mum who is a patient in a hospital called Graveside. Sleep well everyone!

Jennifer, now Jenna, has been diagnosed with autism. She does best when her world is scheduled, organized, and routined. Last minute, or spontaneous events, can be exhausting considering her day has already planned out and she’s forced to adjust.

So life gets pretty chaotic pretty quickly when Jenna is riding the train to work. Not enjoying small talk, Jenna spends her work commute creating stories of fellow riders. When a woman she thought was beautiful and glamorous stumbles onto the train disheveled and scratched up, Jenna jumps in to help the woman.

The woman is Allie and she tells Jenna she thinks she just killed her boyfriend after he threatened her. Despite Jenna’s pleas for Allie to contact the police, Allie explains she can’t because her boyfriend works for the police and will twist events to make her look guilty.

Jenna ends up offering Allie a place to stay, inviting her into the home she shares with her husband and two kids.

On top of handling this massive change in her routine, Jenna is also trying to save the jobs of her graphic design team and comes up with an idea of how to expand their clientele; with Allies help.

But Allie seems to be inserting herself too much into Jenna’s life causing Jenna’s mental health to suffer.

So when her brother Tom arrives asking her to join him in a visit to their mother, who was institutionalized after her own mental health breakdown, Jenna initially declines the offer. As her thoughts and feelings make Jenna spiral further, she decides maybe it’s better to visit her mother to see if she struggled with the same issues to avoid being sectioned herself.

But what choice does her husband have when Jenna is seen waving a knife at her mother-in-law; when she wrecks havoc in front of her children at the pool; and when Allie is found bleeding and stabbed?

This was a heckuva ride and I was blown away, and quite angry, with the ending but in the most delicious way.

I’ve read several books by M.A. Hunter and he’s quickly become a “must-read author” for me!

Thank you NetGalley, M.A. Hunter, and Boldwood Books for the providing me with the ARC in exchange for a review.

Dark and intense mystery, well written gripping you from the off. If you enjoy a dark mystery this is for you. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

The Woman on Platform 8 by M. A. Hunter is a chilling and twisted psychological thriller that keeps you guessing from the first page. The story is told from the perspective of an ordinary commuter who, after spotting a mysterious woman – whom she imagines to be a glamorous catwalk model – starts to notice something isn’t quite right. As the two women cross paths on their daily commute, the glamorous woman’s behavior shifts from poised to terrified, and our protagonist finds herself compelled to help her.

As the story unravels, the commuter – who has her own secrets and insecurities – learns that the woman’s name is not Lucia, but Allie, and that she is running from something dark and dangerous. Allie confesses to doing something dreadful and desperately needs protection. What begins as an innocent attempt to help quickly spirals into a dangerous web of lies, deception, and peril, as the protagonist becomes entangled in Allie’s nightmare.

Hunter skillfully builds tension and suspense throughout the novel, with each chapter peeling back layers of mystery and psychological complexity. The unreliable narration, coupled with the protagonist’s own internal struggles and the overwhelming sense of danger, creates a sense of unease that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.

The Woman on Platform 8 is a fast-paced and unpredictable thriller, filled with twists and turns that keep the reader on edge. If you enjoy dark, atmospheric thrillers that delve into human frailty and the consequences of secrets, this book is a must-read. M. A. Hunter delivers a gripping tale of deception, making it clear that sometimes, the cost of doing a good deed can be far more than you ever imagined.

M A Hunter always manages to get me gripped right away and keep me invested in the characters! Overall this was a very intense and suspenseful read.

I probably should start by mentioning what really stands out about this book – the neurodivergent representation. An openly autistic FMC. Which, honestly, is a very rare thing in books. Yes, there are many books where the MC is supposedly on the spectrum, but usually it’s not clearly spelled out and stated for everyone to see, know, and understand. Also, I can point out how much I appreciate it being a woman who is autistic, and it’s someone who isn’t portrayed as a textbook teenage boy kind of autistic.
And now, back to the story. Oh my. I hated it how much I loved it. And I loved it how much I hated it. Most of all, I loved/hated how much the story was… about me. I grew up in a family where I was always being gaslighted and threatened to be locked away in a psych facility if I dared to be “uncomfortable” in any way. I had those loving parents who gladly told anyone and everyone how insane I was and how hard it was for them to live with someone as crazy as me – it took me forever and decades and actual distance to see it for a backup smear campaign in case I ever spoke up about what was really happening to me behind closed doors at home. Nice, isn’t it? I know. Super nice.
So, this book was kind of triggering and kind of therapeutic for me – just because of this little story from my own life.
Me and my shitty parents aside, the book was good. It was beyond good, in fact. Well-written, well-told. Fast paced.
And then, the ending. I know I have said before that I dislike happy endings. Now I know that I live for absolutely horrible endings. The worst of the worst, zero hope for anything ever. Yes, please, give me more of those. Also, unexpected. Beyond anything anyone would have ever expected. So much worse than anything even my catastrophizing mind would have ever come up with. Perfect. Chef’s kiss perfection is what it was.