Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

[kimbacaffeinate]

Gone Girl was in my reading pile for ages, but when you are a compulsive book buyer and blogger, well, things often get shuffled around. When Lauren @ Northern Plunder mentioned she picked up Gone Girl I immediately suggested we read it together. Our exchange of texts made me giggle as Flynn took us on one heck of a ride. Three word review: twisted, captivating, a nail-biting page turner.

The tale begins on the morning of Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth year anniversary in the sleepy town of North Carthage, Missouri. Told in dual perspectives we are quickly immersed into their lives. When Nick receives a phone call that his front door is wide up he rushes home to discovers the iron on, the tea kettle boiling, chairs overturned and that his wife is missing. Nick soon finds himself suspect number one in his wife’s disappearance. Gadzooks the journey Flynn takes us on was nail-biting, and had me questioning everything!

Nick and Amy Dunne are two of the most interesting characters I have come across in fiction. Flynn does an unbelievable job of fleshing them out, and making you questions.She takes you through a gamut of emotions from hatred to pity. Nick is shallow, self-absorbed, and is the kind of man who needs validation. He is a writer, who doesn’t write and dreams of the old days before the internet took off. Amy is complex, and wears many faces as she strives to find happiness. Her perspective was told in journal form and gave us insight. She is incredibly fleshed out and is a character you will long remember after you close the book. Side characters and Nick’s sister Go, helped to further the plot and reveal information about the protagonists.

Ladies and Gentleman please fasten your seat belts before embarking on Gone Girl! Flynn is a master storyteller and the tale that unfolds is filled with twists and cliffs that had me completely engrossed. Just when I thought I had things figured out - BAM! The author completely flipped things upside down and had my opinions changing faster than my daughter deciding what to wear for her Saturday night date. The tale is clever, and Flynn is in complete control of this ride. I loved it! She has incredible insight into the human psyche giving the tale a believability that was downright chilling. While I didn’t particularly care for either character, I felt for them on so many levels. I could see them in my mind’s eye from their quirks to their expressions and I adore when an author is able to do that. The pacing was well done with tight twists and nail-biting last sentence in each chapter that had you singing the mantra, “just one more chapter” The ending left me with my mouth hanging open and quite breathless. It is open-ended but worked and didn’t feel rushed or unfinished. Gone Girl is the type of book you will think about for years to come as the details stay fresh in your mind.