51 pages 1 hour read

Paula Hawkins

The Girl On The Train

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015

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Chapters 7-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 7 Summary: “Rachel”

Picking up where Rachel’s last chapter left off, this chapter covers three days: July 16-18, broken into morning and evening sections. On July 16, Rachel reads the news and learns some information about Megan, including that she is unemployed and has lost both her parents. Rachel also learns some information about Scott, including that he has a job in IT and that he and Megan had an argument before she disappeared. While riding the train to Witney, Rachel writes a list of possibilities, such as Megan running away with her lover (who Rachel is calling B), or different people hurting Megan. However, Rachel doesn’t believe Scott has hurt Megan.

That evening, Rachel gets a voicemail from Cathy saying she doesn’t have to move out so soon. On the train, Rachel recalls what happened at Witney. When she looked into the dark entrance to the underpass, she remembered being injured inside of it. Rachel also remembers a man from the train with reddish hair being nice to her. Cathy calls again, telling Rachel that the police are at the apartment looking for her.

On the morning of July 17, Rachel recalls how she lied to the police. She does not remember what happened on the night of July 13 and thinks about alcohol blackouts.