Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
It is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary, but Nick’s beautiful wife, Amy has gone missing. Nick’s lies and odd behaviour has everyone questioning whether he had killed his wife…
This really is an addictive novel as I was taken with the story from the start. I couldn’t put it down. The novel makes use of a dual-narrative structure as Nick narrates the story from the day that Amy goes missing. Amy tells her story through a series of diary entries dated from the day she first met Nick.
The characters in Gone Girl are interesting and complex. I switched constantly between liking and sympathising with Nick, to really questioning his behaviour. The novel starts off by Nick describing the back of his wife’s head and you’re immediately hooked. I mean he has to be the killer, right? Who thinks about the back of their wife’s head in such detail?
The novel, however, keeps you guessing. In one of the first few chapters Nick states that it was the 11th time that he had lied to the police that day. It made me go back to see what he could have lied about. As the novel progresses, however, you feel more sympathy for Nick.
SPOILER ALERT
Especially when Diary Amy becomes Real Amy. It was such a surprising plot twist. I enjoyed every minute. Amy has to be one of the scariest villains out there. I mean who plans their husband’s demise in such absolute detail? I felt so sorry for Nick. He was trapped.
The ending also made me (a claustrophobe) feel trapped and hopeless. Amy had planned it all so well that there was no way for Nick to escape. I didn’t like how the novel ended. I wanted Nick to outsmart Amy and expose her. With that said I really enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend it.
I also enjoyed the book and was intrigued by the plot!