Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

Oh, my gawd, Gillian Flynn can WRITE. I am not kidding. When Sharp Objects came out, I read it in a day on a business trip and was freaked out. How can a person write about the dark side of people so realistically and not be sitting in a mental institution? (I mean that in a very complimentary way, of course.)

This was undeniably one of the best books I've read in a while, and I usually get nervous to pronounce this, but not this time. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is, without question, going to end up on my "Best Books Read in 2012" list.

Amy and Nick are the quintessential perfect couple, and while they've had their ups and downs, they're now at their five-year anniversary and it's time to celebrate. Every year, Amy creates a treasure hunt for Nick to track down each gift, and pick up another clue to the next stop, and this year will be like every other. What Nick doesn't realize is that before the day is over, his wife will disappear. Before a few days go by, he becomes the best suspect that the cops in his small town in Missouri can find for Amy's disappearance. The national news picks it up and Nick is vilified, tried and found guilty in the court of public opinion within a couple of weeks.

In a shocking and chilling tale of the insane way our society jumps on cases of pretty women gone missing, Gillian Flynn delivers the personal tale of Nick and Amy, the love they found with each other when they first met in New York and the decline of their relationship as they move back to Nick's home town to take care of his ailing parents, each chapter switching from Nick's current reflections to Amy's diary. But as with any Flynn novel, there are so many more layers to the story than what I just described above. This is an incredible story and I could NOT put this down. I dare you to try to read it and not get so swept up in the personalities for both Nick and Amy, Nick's twin sister Margo (known as 'Go'), Amy's back story of being the inspiration for her parents' successful children's book series called Amazing Amy. It will be a marathon attempt to determine which character you feel the most comfortable with, but at the same time try to swallow that not every person is innocent and instead accept that all are potentially very, very corrupted. You'll take a break from reading the book and realize that an entire evening has passed by.

Sharp Objects powerfully delivered Gillian Flynn's talent so shockingly, even Stephen King was wowed. While Stephen King might be best known for horror (in my recent studies, however, I've come to the realization that he is SO much more than that), it's important to be aware that he is instead more recognizable as a magnificent storyteller. So for King to laud Flynn might initially identify her as a horror writer, let me be clear: Gillian Flynn writes about the dark side of people, the sick and twisted sociopathic ways people control others. It is gritty and uncomfortable, but I think truthful and honest are much more accurate descriptions of how she brings her characters to life. She can tap into the miserable side of human beings, and in a really unnerving way, as a reader, you devour the story and enjoy every single page.

Gillian Flynn can build tension and clearly describe a scene so believably and effectively that you are left reeling; you can smell the stale smoke in a bar, you can taste each scene as though you are living it at that exact moment in time and Gone Girl is just another example of this brilliance in writing. It is every bit as absorbing and compelling, reminding the reader that there are some messed up people in the world. This is a knock out novel of the underside of human nature. The scary thing is that you're going to enjoy it. You want to read more about each of these characters and their tangled, desperate (or perhaps brilliant?) choices they make.

I LOVED this book. LOVED it. You should read it. Ooh, and if this was a book club pick? I would so want to be a fly on the wall for those discussions.

For those attending BEA, Gillian Flynn is scheduled to be there, so make sure you stop by to meet her.

Others said:
Red Headed Book Child

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Release Date: 6/5/2012 (available for pre-order now)
Pages: 432

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.

About the Author

Gillian Flynn started out as a Human Resources writer for a trade magazine, and then moved on to Entertainment Weekly in New York City for ten years, writing about movies and visiting film sets internationally, including New Zealand for The Lord of the Rings, and to Prague for The Brothers Grimm. Her 2006 debut novel Sharp Objects was an Edgar Awards finalist, and the winner of two of Britain's Dagger awards, the first book ever to win multiple Daggers in one year. It has been published in more than 20 countries. She is currently writing the screenplay adaptation. Her second novel is Dark Places, and her third novel, Gone Girl, will be released in June 2012.

Flynn lives in Chicago with her husband and a giant black cat named Roy.

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