Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith is a mystery thriller about murder. It follows two leads, Guy and Bruno, who meet on a train and have an uncomfortable encounter. Bruno, who abhors his father, tries to convince Guy, who hates his ex-wife, to kill the other for each other. Immediately, Guy wants no part of Bruno’s twisted plan, but he becomes entrapped in his scheme after Bruno follows through on killing Guy’s ex-wife. What follows is a complex psychological look into both characters’ minds throughout the aftermath of the murders.
The novel is a suspenseful thriller that focuses more on both characters as they try to navigate their way to their own end goals. Bruno wants Guy to follow through on this scheme, and Guy wants nothing to do with it. The novel repeatedly and successfully switches between both perspectives to immerse you in the minds of each character. You follow Guy and Bruno meeting on a train by random happenstance and watch as the narrative unfolds. Bruno’s main philosophy is that “anyone is capable of murder,” and you watch as Guy reacts and disagrees with that sentiment.
While the plot itself is very intriguing, the most interesting part of the novel is the two perspectives. At times their minds are conflicting, and at others they are aligned. Highsmith skillfully manipulates the reader in the same way the characters themselves are being exploited. She is highly adept at constructing complex and thoughtful characters, which further enhances the plot. Why would you care about a relatively simple plot like this if the character work is not as intricate as it needs to be to make it work?
Sometimes, psychological thrillers can come off bland or uninteresting, but Strangers on a Train avoids that pitfall by creating a situation that is complicated and introducing two different men whose lines of thinking are just as complex. The story is also easy to follow, which is important as the minds of the characters heavily inform the plot. The novel itself is fairly short, too, so it manages to do a lot with only a little bit of room.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants a quick but thought-provoking read into the intricacies of the human mind. By giving you two characters to think about, you are able to see how a situation like this can unfold, and how guilt and grief break a person to make them do unthinkable things. The character work in Strangers on a Train is fantastic, and a lesser writer would most likely cheapen the intricacies of their characters to serve the plot, but Highsmith does not do that. She lets the characters speak for themselves and their actions as well. This is a great book to read when you are in the mood for a suspenseful novel with relatively high stakes, but it will leave you thinking about the intricacies of the human mind and what someone will do when they are pushed to their breaking point.
