Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

"When Amy, Nick's wife of five years, disappears on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick is horrified, shocked, confused and worst of all, the prime suspect. Flynn does an incredible job of piecing the bits of the story together, just enough and at a good enough pace that you keep reading and the characters, Amy especially are truly unforgettable."

5 Stars.

Spoiler Alert.

Pros: Amy is a truly sociopathic, megalomaniacal, narcissitic b**itch and though I loathed her, I was mesmerized by the sheer depths she would sink to.

Cons: At the last part of the book, when Amy is explaining how she "escaped", the abuse she put her body through would have been obvious to her captor, but apparently not.

Full Review: Nick knows that he hasn't been the best husband, he's known that for awhile now. But he knows that the fault isn't entirely his own. His wife Amy is now saint. So on the morning of their fifth year anniversary, Nick decides it's time to confront his wife and ask for a divorce. She's changed, over the years she's become impossible to please, demanding, condescending and Nick can't take it anymore.

When he pulls into work that morning, he soon gets a phone call from his neighbor, saying that the front door to Nick's place is wide open. Nick returns home and finds it to be true, and the living room is in ruins. There's an obvious sign of a struggle and Nick is frantic, having no idea what could have happened to his wife.

An investigation begins and since Nick is the husband, he's the prime suspect. The book dives deep into the relationship between Nick and Amy, their faults and flaws, the good times, the bad times and all the in between. It explores the relationship Nick has with his ailing father, his twin sister etc. And it also explores Amy Elliot Dunne, the beautiful and intelligent "Gone Girl."

When it comes to stringing you along and making you finish just one more chapter in hopes of clues, answers, anything, Flynn is a master. I don't often read mysteries or thrillers, often finding the protagonists to be completely oblivious and ridiculous, as they try to piece together the crime. But Flynn has created an intricately detailed story, with complex characters and a plot that leaves you shocked until the very end. This was a great, suspenseful, entertaining read. Now I'll have to watch the movie and see how it compares.

Comments

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