Review: Gone Girl by: Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by: Gillian Flynn (2012)

395 Pages

Publisher: Crown Publishers

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Adult

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: 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?

My Review

When someone asks me what I think of Gone Girl I usually just say "it was a good book," but that doesn’t even come nearly close enough to how I really feel about it. It’s just the easy answer. Lucky for me, I have a book blog where I can fully express my opinion of the book. Gone Girl is split into three parts so I thought I would go ahead and review it as such. Also, I try to stay as vague as possible so I don’t give any important plot points away.

“It was my fifth lie to the police. I was just starting.” ~ Gone Girl pg. 55

The Beginning (Part 1)

I first started reading Gone Girl and was immediately intrigued by this couple. Going in I knew there was a big omg ending, or at least one that people talked a lot about so I wanted to look for clues while I was reading. Well, that didn’t turn out so well because the first part of the novel was very generic. Nothing new was brought to the mystery/thriller genre. I was struggling with really enjoying it. All I kept thinking was that Nick, the husband, is a big crazy jerk. During most this part of the book I was bored. I just wanted the book to move it along and get to the good stuff.

The Middle (Part 2)

My initial reaction: well hello part two, thank you for reviving my faith in this book. Part two of Gone Girl blew me away. It was gripping. It also gets points for making me feel so many different crazy and sometimes very angry feels. The characters become more complex and way more interesting in the second part. The plot picks up and the secrets start to unravel, things you didn’t even know were secrets before are revealed. Although you can see how well Flynn writes in part one, she really blew me away in part two, she is a fantastic writer.

The End (Part 3)

The ending was unsatisfying and disappointing. I can see why the movie adaptation of Gone Girl has decided to change the ending. (Yes, I just said that.) I actually want to see the movie just to find out what they did with it.

If you haven’t read Gone Girl yet, although many of you probably have, I can say with confidence that it is a solid mystery/thriller, but it just didn’t necessarily live up to its hype. I am glad I read it.