The Girl on the Train

As the book is set in 2012 and 2013, characters appropriately communicate by digital means such as email and text messaging. However, digital communication is important as a theme since it affects the ways in which people can communicate. For example, the paper trail left behind by digital communication leads to Rachel discovering Tom's affair with Anna and Anna getting wind of his relationship with Megan and involvement in her death. The communal sharing of information on the internet and on social media allows Rachel to find Tom's happy posts on Facebook and to contact Scott by looking up his personal website. Furthermore, the ease of digital communication enables Rachel to make poor decisions when drunk and then realize these mistakes the next morning.