Gone Girl

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around

If I were forced to use one word to describe my initial reaction to Gone Girl, it'd be aJHSLJKHADSKJFASD. If that word could somehow be an emotion, I felt it. Hard. 

This book was blowing up all summer with everyone and their mother talking about it, and I'm not even exaggerating about the "mother" part. In addition to critical acclaim (not to mention a seven-figure movie deal from Reese Witherspoon's company), it's become a very popular book club pick.

And oh boy, does this book live up to the hype.

Flynn is one of the first authors I've encountered that tackles dual perspectives successfully. Like, really successfully. The story is told in alternating chapters by Nick, husband and suspected murderer, and Amy, the missing wife herself, through diary excerpts. Each character is fully fleshed out and--get this--distinct. So often, dual perspectives fail in novels because there's barely a distinction between characters, but not here. Oh, no.

Not just that, but Flynn has this incredible ability to make me both adore and despise her characters. I fluctuated in my suspicions of Amy's disappearance to the point where I was ready to bust out the Clue moves on this one: It was _____ in the kitchen with the candlestick! 

Of course, I was dead wrong. So, so, so wrong. I never saw the plot twist (or should I say twists) in this book coming. Not for a mile. 

For the sake of keeping this spoiler-free, I'm going to stay away from major plot points, but let me give you this: everything that happens in this book. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. I remember reading Great Expectations my senior year of high school and just being amazed when every thread somehow reconnected in the end, and Gone Girl manages to do the same thing. Just with more sex scenes. 

It's rare that a book can do just about everything write--characters, plot, writing style (oh, Lord, I wish I could write like Gillian Flynn...)--but Gone Girl manages. 

I'm not sure this is a book everyone could love, though. Besides "perfect" and "deeply unsettling," the next word I'd use to describe it is "frustrating." But with thrillers, I think that's a wonderful book trait. Not everyone does.  

But if it even seems mildly interesting, read it. Read it read it read it. Then report back to me because UGH THE ENDING IS SO GOOD AND I NEED EVERYONE TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH.

THE VERDICT? 

(As if this'll come as a surprise....)