Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Contemporary

Maturity Rating: 17+
Initial Rating: 5/5
Technical Rating: 5/5

My Quickie Synopsis: Nick Dunne finds himself in a whirlwind of trouble when his wife, Amy, goes missing from their quiet town. Although they played the picture perfect couple, Nick quickly arouses the suspicion of both local authority and former friends alike. But he stands by his innocence, even as his world is crumbling around him, and his daydreams turn slightly psychotic. What happened to the beautiful Amy Dunne, and who is to blame?

My Initial Response: Gone Girl is one of those polarizing books. You'll either love it, or you'll hate it. Do you remember when I reviewed Avoiding Commitment by K.A. Linde? Well, this story is somewhat like that in the sense that the concepts that Ms. Flynn writes about aren't the normal, fluffy, light crap. Which is understandable for a Mystery/Thriller. But the main reason why I compare the two is because the main comment against the books are their gross levels of wrongness. The difference for me, however, is that the level of wrongness in Gone Girl feels undeniably right for the story.

My dual reactions upon figuring it out

I don't want to get into too many specifics; with any mystery review, I feel you run the risk of spoiling the plot. That being said, once you figure out what's going on, be prepared to feel at least a tiny twinge of "What the hell?!" That's a sort of hallmark for a good mystery book, don't you think? I feel at odds for enjoying this book though. It's so dark and depraved, that you begin to wonder about the state of your own mind when you can be entertained by such things. There's a saying for that; "I looked into the abyss, and the abyss looked back." That's probably a bastardization of the actual quote, but you get what I mean. On to the technical side!

Character Building: 1/1
All of these characters are incredibly flawed. Every. Single. One. And yet, Ms. Flynn somehow miraculously makes it all work and makes it so the reader understands these flaws with what seems like little effort. The characters in Gone Girl are not the kind that you actively want to feel a connection to, but you can't help it. It's the same idea of not being able to pull away from some horrifically terrible scene unfolding. The level of magnetism that these characters have is outstanding, and I have to applaud Ms. Flynn for her terrific character building.

Plot Strength: 1/1
Any mystery or thriller is made or broken by the strength of its plot. Too much information too early, and readers already know what's going to happen and are more likely to become bored. Too little information too late, and readers can't even begin to understand what happened or why. Gone Girl finds the happy medium, and as a reader, you can follow right along, gobbling it all up. Granted, I know a few people who figured it all out a little sooner than maybe Ms. Flynn would have liked, but that happens. You can't fool them all!

Sincerity: 1/1
Ms. Flynn creates a very believable story-line. Is it crazy? Absolutely! Does it work? You betcha! The truth of the matter is that we all know people that are just like the main characters to varying degrees. It's not a stretch that such events could happen. I mean, turn on your local news, or simply peruse the bizarre stories posted to online newspapers. Stranger things have happened!

Editing: 1/1
No complaints here. The language is a little rough sometimes, but it goes with the story, so it's more than acceptable.

Pacing: 1/1
I think that the pacing here is just right. It can be frustrating at times though when you want Ms. Flynn to reveal everything, but patience is a virtue. The build-up is for a reason, and it's worthwhile in the end.

My Icing on Top:
I haven't been into mystery books really since my days of reading Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and The Boxcar Children. That was quite some time ago! But Ms. Flynn here may have thrust me back into the genre full force. This isn't quite the sleuth-tale that I was used to, but it really worked for me. And beyond that, it must have worked for quite a few people since a movie is currently in the works. I'm not entirely sure how they'll nail down the feel for the book since a great deal of it is internal storytelling, but I look forward to seeing it, nonetheless. I would suggest this book if you're in for a new mystery/suspense book to read; just be warned that it isn't going to be a smooth ride getting to the conclusion!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K