Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn [Review]

4 out of 5 Robots!

   

Gillian Flynn by Gillian Flynn

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Release: June 5, 2012

Hardcover: 412 Pages

Publisher: Crown Publishing

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

 Book Summary:

One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.

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?(Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  is a lit powder keg.  Flynn writes a tight plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  Just when you start to think you know what really happened to Amy, it all changes on you.  After Amy disappears, we get two conflicting accounts of Nick and Amy's marriage.  The narration switches between Nick’s inner monologue and Amy’s diary.  Nick proclaims his innocence even as the evidence starts to stack up against him.  And Amy's diary entries may prove to be the most damning of it all.  But everything is not always what it seems and Flynn twists and turns the plot until the very end.

However, I didn’t LOVE this book as much as the rest of the world.  I always find it hard to really enjoy a book with no sympathetic characters.  Everyone is guilty of something.  But I can’t deny that it is an exciting read and I was constantly surprised by the turn of events.  Especially the “Holy Crap!” part half way through the novel.  I was fully engaged in the story all the way through. But I found the ending to be a little weak (especially compared the earlier parts of the book).  And weirdly, I found it to be the most psychologically disturbing part of the book.

Fair warning, also, that there is a lot of swearing and some vulgarity.  I’m not usually that offended by that kind of stuff, but some of it is ugly enough to bother me.