Passengers boarding the 10.35 train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston have no idea that their journey is about to be brutally curtailed.

Holly has just landed her dream job, and Jeff is heading for an interview after months of unemployment. They end up sitting next to each other. Onboard customer service assistant Naz dreams of better things. And among the others travelling are Nick with his young family; pensioner Meg and her partner, setting off on a walking holiday; Caroline, run ragged by the competing demands of her stroppy teenage children and her demented mother; and Rhona, desperate to get home to her daughter.

And in the middle of the carriage sits Saheel, carrying a deadly rucksack....

While this is a fictional account of a suicide bombing, it's a truly sad fact of life that these terrible events do happen.

The tragic situation in this case occurs on a train from Manchester to Euston that has a variety of travellers on board: a young guy off for his first job interview, a young family going to a family wedding, two pensioners setting off on their hols, to name a few, & each & everyone of them was a credible character. You may only get short snippets about their lives & loves but its enough for you to feel you know these characters & the fact that you know what is about to befall them makes the story even more harrowing & compelling. The one that stood out for me was little Kulsoom & I thought the fact that author showed the impact that the actions of a suicide bomber has on their own family was interesting point- no thought is given to how they cope in the aftermath of such a tragedy.

For such an emotive subject it's quite an easy read but I mean that in the terms of the writing style rather than the subject matter. The author doesn't pepper the storyline with unnecessary detail & dialogue. In simple yet effective wording she just gets on with creating a storyline that racks the tension up incredibly. I would say that I couldn't put this book down but that wouldn't be strictly true. Once the event had happened on three different occassions, I had to close the book - I honestly felt I could sob my heart out! A deep breath or two though & I was back reading again....be prepared to be up all night with this one!

Heartwrenching & harrowing but so compelling it's an excellent read that made me quite emotional at times. A book that I won't forget in a hurry ..if ever...

Added to Flutterbie9's random Bookbox - looking forward to someone else's thoughts on it

Taken out of the the Random bookbox to pass on to HistoryBee2020 when I see her on Monday.