I’ve been wanting to read Gone Girl for quite sometime. It was one of the best-selling books of 2012 and several people I know read it and loved it. Being a fan of thrillers, I expected this novel to be fantastic. Boy, was I disappointed. It took 140 pages for anything vaguely unpredictable or interesting to happen in Gone Girl. And the first 140 pages made me happy the girl was gone. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a ton of free time. I’m used to excellent thrillers by authors like Harlan Coben that grab me from the first page and never let go. I’m also used to reading about characters I can relate to and therefore care about. This book failed miserably on both counts. While the last third of it was mildly compelling, it didn’t make up for the first two thirds being mediocre. And as many people have pointed out, the ending was unsatisfactory and lacked closure. While I’m glad I finished Gone Girl, I don’t plan on reading anymore novels by this author. This book, just like the girl, are better off gone.
Synopsis
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick Dunne’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick Dunne isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but hearing from Amy through flashbacks in her diary reveal the perky 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? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister Margo at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was left in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
