The Woman on the Train

Love and War Series #4

by Rupert Colley

"She once saved my life. She now wants to destroy it." Summer 1942, Nazi-occupied France. A young and frightened resistance fighter sits on a train. Opposite him, a middle-aged woman. During the course of the next hour, this woman will save the young man’s life.Paris, 1968, that young man is now France’s most famous music conductor, adored and feted wherever he goes. And he’s fallen in love. He is happy.But he never forgets the woman on the train. So when, unexpectedly, he receives a desperate letter from her, begging him to come to her aid, he gladly offers to return the favour.But the woman hides a dark and terrible secret, which, if exposed, threatens to destroy them both. Torn between the woman he loves and the woman who saved his life, France watches as his life and reputation are placed on the line. Why did the Woman on the Train help him all those years ago, and who, exactly, is she? Historical fiction with heart and drama. Part of The Love and War Series, novels set during the 20th century's darkest years.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Historical, Thriller, Holocaust, Mystery

153 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 19, 2014

About the author

Founder, writer and Series Editor of History In An Hour (http://historyinanhour.com), owned by HarperCollins UK, and now author of two novels.

The first, "My Brother the Enemy", a novella, is set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

The second, "This Time Tomorrow", set during and following World War One, is a compelling story of war, brotherly love, passion and betrayal.

My third novel, "The Black Maria", is set in Moscow in 1935, the height of Stalin's reign, about love crushed by the machine.

Reviews

[Motherbeaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh....not that great. I was glad to be finished so I can read something else. Unlikable, unsympathetic characters.

[Caprice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Read

As a person with a lifelong interest in history, I found this story very interesting. We are shown that even people who worked for Nazi Germany and were brutal to the people in concentration camps were capable of doing a good deed. However the consequences of that single good deed are far reaching and devastating.

Mr. Colley has written a book that brings the truth of one of the Nazi concentration camps to light in a way that, surrounded by a fictional story, makes it easier to read while still being able to shock and horrify readers who may not be able to read straight nonfiction accounts of the torture millions of people suffered during World War 2.

[Kay Nesbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different

Having read so many books on the war I found this to be so different and so interesting. Thank you

[Vickie L Weeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spooky

[Cammie Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting.

I have a feeling I'll be thinking about this story for many months. I like the "psychology" of the characters of this book. How we "judge" people by a certain act or belief to do/have, but yet we never really have the full picture. Can a "bad" person have a little "good" in them? Can a basically "good" person have some very "bad" qualities? Like life, nothing is actually black or white. I guess that is why I "felt" this story so much.

The underlying subject of this book is very disturbing - the abuse of the Jews in the 1940's and concentration camps. It was interesting to see how the characters "justified" their opinions throughout the story.

I don't quite know what to think about the very ending of the story - but it was hard to put this book down (I read it in one afternoon). I highly recommend this haunting read.

[Avalon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's WWII in France and a young man is on a train carrying a message to a woman at the station for the Resistance. If caught he will be tortured and executed. There is another person in his carriage. An older woman who asks what he wants to do when the war is over and he replied that he wanted to become a conducter. The Nazi ask him for his papers and the woman intervenes speaking to them in German. They leave but harass him at the station and again she comes to his rescue thereby saving his life and he becomes famous but his past will catch up with him and they will meet again. How far do you go to thank a person for saving your life when it may cost you so much. Enjoyable read

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

In midst of Nazi occupied France, a young man working for the French resistance is stopped on a train by German soldiers. Just as he begins to fear the worst, a mysterious lady seated opposite him steps in and saves him.

Years later, she reaches out in desperation to ask that he returns the favour, but he comes to realise that what she is asking of him will plunge him into a terrible crisis of morality and honour.

~

I very much enjoyed this short novella and read it over a couple of hours. The plot and narrative is very clear and easy to read. I especially enjoyed the complex and flawed characters. I would have happily awarded 4 stars if not for a point near right the end where I felt that the main characters motivations were not clearly explained as in depth as I would have liked.

All in all, it’s well worth a read and I enjoyed it. I would happily read more by the same author.

[Annemarie Hannaberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know that we all have our skeletons in the closets things that we are too ashamed to talk about. The conductor had no idea Hilda was a war criminal. She was a very cruel woman with no remorse for the war crimes but chose to save his life anyway. There are Nazis who did kind things to help othere while having a cruel heart on the inside. The conductor's life spun out of control because of his secrets. All he has to do is this situation is learn from it. He could give wise advice to someone who went through a similar situation like he did.

[Aurimas Seilius · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably would give more credit to this book than most of readers. For me it was interesting. The plot is easy to follow, the book is easy to read.
Yes characters might not be that strong, but the main idea and thought has nothing to do with the strength of characters. Story itself leaves lots to think about, because many small details are not mentioned, so you can interpret. First I though it's quite shallow story, but more I think of it, more it grows into me.

[Bonnie Noehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little book. The author's easy style was like sitting with a friend and hearing his story. I really enjoy historical fiction of the WW2 era and this one was quite unique. I appreciated the main character's matter of fact style, his self effacing style and the gift he was able to embrace and lose.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting, short read. It made me think a lot about what's noble, how to repay kindness, and how other people react to what they deem an injustice. The ending was kind of abrupt and awkward, and I'm left wondering what exactly the main character learned in the end, but there's enough interesting ideas to call it a decent book.

[Deseree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story. I read a lot but this was a different take on a WW2 story. The ending surprised me, which happens rarely.

I would recommend this book. The characterizations were fairly well drawn although i still did not totally understand one of the main characters- the guard. I may have to read it again.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m continuing to enjoy this author’s style. Just a note to anyone who reads this book (or the next in the series) - this was more a novella at 150ish pages. I’m borrowing via Kindle Unlimited so I don’t pay much attention to book length when I’m borrowing but I’d be more conscious of it if I was buying the book.

[Fausto Santiago Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

It has the elements of a good novel: strong characters, a good plot and a clear writing style. Yet, the novel , though entertaining fails to become a real page turner. Let’s see if that changes in future works by this author.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story

I loved the characters, the scared would be resistance worker alongside the older woman, who isn’t all she seems to be are created for us. The way the two intertwined stories come together was great. Good read.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man in the French resistance is saved from discovery by a woman he doesn't know and in fact has never seen before for no apparent reason.
Decades later she appears and asks for his help. His choice to help her changes his life forever. In the end, did it work out for him?

[Mary Sue Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Sad Story

This well written novel was not what I was expecting. It is a novel about a man who had had everything and a woman who regretted nothing she had done.
It causes the reader to examine their life.

[Marsha A. Barnum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too depressing

I'm not saying it wasn't well written. But it was too depressing To see that people are so uncaring And manipulated in the end. Without faith love and friendship life is just too sad

[Stacy B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didnt see it coming.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Woman on the Train

Interesting plot, didn't like the morality pictured tho. A quick read, I finished it quickly. New author to me, will have to read more.

[Kathy Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book

This is the third book in this series and I really enjoyed it. I couldn’t put it down. The ending was really a surprise

[Iris Beernaert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik las de originele versie. Spannend tot het eind!

[DYLAN COSPER · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a good short historical fiction. However, there is an affair in the book that seems just out of place and a bit unnecessary to the plot.

[Sarina M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, great book for historical fiction beginners.

[Vareen O’Keefe · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange and convoluted story with an even stranger ending

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good, short read. Though as others have said, none of the characters inspired particular sympathy. Not one of the best WWII books I've read.

[Vidalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy the inner self conflict... To a point. But how much self deprecation can there be. The author touched on life in a concentration camp, and tried to speak to the people who became the guards we still love to loath. But, it was brief and did not carry the story or enhance any of the character. I really did not enjoy the ending.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about a young man who meets a woman on the train, and how she changed the course of his life, all the way to his old age. I did not expect the ending. The characters aren't well developed, it's mostly him telling the story.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The author did a very good job of portraying the inner conflict of the main character. Without giving the story away, this book makes you think of what is important and what you might do in the same situation.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Woman on the Train: 20th Century Historical Fiction

I really enjoyed this book it had a great plot to it and it was the type of book that stays with you for awhile and really makes you think of what you would do in that situation. Good book, fast read....