Book Review: Gone Girl.

"Go ahead, shit on me, I don't mind, I'm the cool girl."

Author: Gillian Flynn.
Release Date: June, 2012.
Description: 432 pages, Paperback.
Availability: Amazon, $12, 27.
Genre: Adult, Thriller.
Rating: 3½ stars. 

Resume: Amy and Nick Dunne are the perfect couple, or so it seems. When Amy goes missing on the couple's fifth wedding anniversary, the small town of North Carthage is rocked by the possibility of having a kidnapper or killer among them. As the search for Amy deepens, all signs seem to point towards Nick. But what really happened to all-american-girl Amy?

Review: If Gone Girl is overwhelming and surrealist at times, its an undeniable page-turner and an effective thriller. The book is divided in three parts; the first part is the investigation around Amy's disappearance. Every other chapter of the first part is extracts of Amy's personal diary. We see through her eyes, her relationship with Nick from the moment they met up until a few days before disappearing. Gillian Flynn is a good writer, if you read Sharp Objects or Dark Places, you already know that, but I feel like she definitely stepped up her game with Gone Girl. 

The main characters of the book are flawed, as they should be, but are lacking likability. Nick is portrayed as a dead-beat husband and his level is immaturity is going through the roof as the book progress. Flynn fed us the usual back story to explain his lack of commitment, which is a terrible childhood at the hands of an abusive father. His sharp tongued twin sister is irritably nicknamed Go (from Margo). So little details are given about her that Flynn makes it impossible for the readers to care for her. Amy, his gone-wife, is a goody-two-shoes with a chip on her shoulder. Neither of them could extract one once of sympathy from me, which made it hard for me to connect to the story. The thrill the book brings although, kept me from putting down Gone Girl. 

The second part of the book is unraveling what really happened to Amy. This is where you will really get into the story. There is new twists and turns waiting for you at the end of almost every chapters. Part two is brilliant and ingenious. Flynn really shows are skills as an author.

However, the third part of the novel is so unrealistic and over-the-top that it makes it hard for the readers to take the book seriously. The whole story fell apart for me at this point. 

I have mixed feelings about the ending. It felt rushed, like Flynn was in a hurry to wrap up her story. I won't get too much into it because it would involve spoilers. 

Overall, Gone Girl is a good thriller. It doesn't fail to entertain, provoke and sometimes shock its readers. It keeps your brain going from the moment you put the book down to when you pick it up again. 

Recommendations: The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty, The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood and/or The Good Girl by Mary Kubica.