Title: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Crown Publishers 2012

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 419

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: T4MC - F Author; Sub-genre - Horror, Psychological; Women Authors; TBR Pile; Blogger Recommendation

How I Got It: Borrowed from a friend (for informal book club selection)

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?

There are no supernatural elements to this story, but I feel like it should be reclassified as a horror.  There is something truly wrong with the characters inhabiting the book.  But I must admit that it made for an engaging read.  I love how the reader gets one story for the first half of the book and then everything gets turned upside down for the second half.  It kept me guessing as to the outcome.  The characters are engaging and likable (at least for awhile).  They seem real, until they aren't.  Flynn's style is flawless.  The contrasting chapters from Nick and from Amy each have their own voice.  It really feels as if those two characters are sharing their story with us.  I loved the seamless transitions.  The other book club members have read this and really want to discuss it, but I hadn't read it yet.  So this is our informal book club selection for February.  I can't wait to see what they each thought of it. Great read!

Awesome playlist from Book Riot!