Book Review: 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?

I could hardly put this book down. I loved all of the twists and turns, along with how warped and flawed the characters are. Flynn's writing is engaging and fast paced -- she did an amazing job of making the reader simultaneously love and hate the totally dysfunctional characters. Their psychoses were brought to life in an engaging and realistic way. And the ending, it was great. As I got closer to the end, I started to worry that it would spoil the book, but it didn't, it perfectly topped off a great mystery.