Paula Hawkins Books

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Paula Hawkins is a British-based novelist who is popularly known for her bestselling psychotic whodunit, Girl on the Train. Girl on the Train is a novel which addresses themes such as alcohol, domestic violence, and drug abuse as well. Later on, the novel was adapted into a movie, which featured Emily Blunt in the year 2015. Hawkins’s second novel was released in the year 2007 and was titled into the water. Hawkins was born in the year 1972, in Harare, Zimbabwe. Hawkins’s father was a professor of economics and also a financial journalist as well. Before relocating to London in the year 1989, Hawkins was admitted to Arundel High School. She then joined Collingham College where she studied for her A-levels.

Paula Hawkins was born in August 1972, in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, which, at the time was a British colony. In 1989, Hawkins moved to England, and ended up at the Oxford University, where she studied Economics, Philosophy and Politics. Following her time at university, Hawkins, like a lot of authors, turned her hand to the world of print journalism, where she worked for The Times as a business reporter. Her time covering the business world, as well as her studies in economics led her to write a book called The Money Goddess, which provided financial advice for women.

Although Paula Hawkins achieved success with The Girl On The Train, it was not her first foray into fiction, although it was the first under her own name. In fact, Hawkins wrote four novels under the pen name Amy Silver, the first of which was released in 2009, and which did not garner much attention in terms of success. The books were light-hearted romantic fiction, a departure from what she has become known for with The Girl On The Train.

Paul Hawkins cites Agatha Christie as being a big influence on her in her teenage years, and Christie’s stories prompted her to write several crime stories as a child. But she says that Donna Tartt’s book, The Secret History, was what really set her on the path for The Girl On The Train, as it was more a psychological thriller than a traditional whodunit, which is probably the category that suits The Girl On The Train the most, and it is a path that Hawkins seems destined to continue down as the number of books she releases under her own name continues to grow.

Upon Joining the University of Oxford, Hawkins majored in politics, philosophy, and economics. After completing her college education, Hawkins worked for the Times as a journalist, where she reported business. From there, Hawkins worked for several publications as a freelance writer. Hawkins also wrote The Money Goddess, a financial advice book for ladies. In the year 2009, Hawkins started writing romantic comedy fiction for women using the names, Amy Silver. However, the only challenge was that Hawkins was not able to attain any commercial success with any of these books. Thus, Hawkins challenged herself to begin penning darker and much serious stories. The Girl on the Train is one of the author’s best-selling novels. Currently, Hawkins resides in South Carolina.

Paula Hawkins Awards

Paula Hawkins is the recipient of two literary awards, a Goodreads Choice Award and a Glamour Award as well.

Paula Hawkins Books into Movies

Some of Paula Hawkins books have been adapted for screenplay; they include the Girl of the Train and Into the Water.

Best Paula Hawkins Books

Into the Water: This is one of Paula Hawkins best-performing books. In this book, Paula Hawkins introduces the readers to one, Nel. The book begins as Nel is found dead in one of the local rivers, several months after the death of his daughter under the same circumstances. Nel had lived by the river for the most of her life. Most of her memories revolved the exceedingly dark and forbidden river known as the Drowning Pool by the locals. The Drowning Pool was a place of secrets, witchcrafts, and mysteries as well. Nel, on the other hand, was totally obsessed with the stories about the troublesome ladies who had died in the drowning pool. One of the pool’s victims was a 14-year-old girl, who had been labeled a witch during the infamous Witchfinder trials that were conducted in the 17th century.

Nel has left behind a fifteen-year-old daughter, whom from the look of things is harboring her secrets. Lena is just one among the many residents of the small towns with her share of secrets. This tragedy, in turn, brings Jules, Nel’s sister back to the place that she had promised that she was never coming back to. Now, Jules is Nel’s only family. However, the two have never met before, and the relationship between the two is somehow strained. With that being said, this narrative is told from several viewpoints, with each of the book’s chapters being devoted to a different character. The reader is going to love how this eventually worked because it gave each of the characters depth. The great thing is that all these chapters are bite-sized making the book a quick read.

The Girl on the Train: This is another excellent read by Paula Hawkins. In Girl on the Train, the author introduces the readers to Rachel. Rachel is a lady who rides on the train each and every day, on the pretense that she is heading to work. Rachel had lost her work, many years ago after she showed up at work completely inebriated; sloppy drunk. She could not be able to point out exactly when she began drinking heavily. However, she could only figure out it was around the time when she was trying to get pregnant with Tom who is now her ex-husband. Tom went on and impregnated her mistress instead. Anna now lives with her husband and a child that was to be hers. Back in the days, Rachel was not only attractive but also curvy and exceedingly beautiful. Now, all her curves have completely disappeared while her face, on the other hand, has become puffy. She is slowly turning into someone unrecognizable.

Paula Hawkins FAQ

Q: What nationality is Paula Hawkins?

A: Paula Hawkins is British, although she was born in Zimbabwe.

Q: What is the title of Paula Hawkins’ first fiction book?

A: The first book of fiction Paula Hawkins released under her own name was The Girl On The Train. She did release a non-fiction book called The Money Goddess helping women with financial planning.

When Does The Next Paula Hawkins book come out?

Paula Hawkins doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Blue Hour and was released on October, 29th 2024.

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