Strangers on a Train
- 272
- Pages
- about 5 h
- Reading time
- Film 1951 +2
- On screen
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Our view
“Strangers on a Train” is a psychological thriller whose real subject is what a proposed exchange of murders does to Guy. Readers often report stretches of brooding where the story marks time, and some find it melodramatic. Highsmith draws both men, Guy and Bruno, with precision, and she can still raise the tension sharply when it counts.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Strangers on a Train (1950) is a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith about two men whose lives become entangled after one of them proposes they "trade" murders.
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen 3 times — from 1951 to 1996.
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.2 across 106 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 42% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Thriller average of 7.6. That is how 7.4 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.4 | 7 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 7.1 | 99 | 93% |
Frequently asked
How long is Strangers on a Train?
It has 272 pages — shorter than 97% of the ranked books in Thriller.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Thriller — with scores between 7.3 and 7.4, closest to this book.
