Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

October 21-November 19, 2012

I have never claimed to be a fan of mystery or suspense dramas. But the hype this book was getting intrigued me. A few chapters in and I was hooked. This isn't what I would typically expect from a mystery and I loved it.

Nick and Amy are about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. When Nick returns from the bar that he owns with his twin sister, he finds the house ransacked and his wife missing. The police begin an immediate investigation and discover that the pieces aren't quite fitting together. It's not long before Nick becomes the prime and obvious suspect; while he continuously insists that he is innocent. Each alternate chapter is told by Nick and Amy respectively. Nick comes across truly set-up and scammed, yet a crappy husband who is incapable of showing proper emotion. Amy is an insipid, spoiled sociopath who is completely unlikable from the start. I can't say much more than that without spoiling pieces of the plot.

Flynn does such a great job at keeping the reader in the dark until the very end. The twists and turns never stop. The narrators, Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne, portray Nick and Amy flawlessly. This was the kind of audiobook that I listened to long after I pulled into the garage in the evening. I would also sneak a chapter or two here and there while doing household chores. I even listened to Gone Girl while running on the treadmill! For an avid reader like me, that says a lot. This isn't the type of story I'm normally drawn to, but what a great distraction from the usual.

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