'What are you thinking, Amy? The question I've asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?' Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what did really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? And what was left in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war...
Gone Girl
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Review
Flynn, an extraordinarily good writer, plays her readers with the finesse and delicacy of an expert angler. She wields her unreliable narrators to stunning effect, baffling, disturbing and delighting in turn, practically guaranteeing an immediate reread once her terrifying, wonderful conclusion is reached... an early contender for thriller of the year, and an absolute must-read. (Alison Flood THE OBSERVER 20120520)
These voices are wonderfully authentic, to the point where the reader becomes a gawker at the full-spectrum of marital dysfunction. Excellent. (John O'Connor THE GUARDIAN 20120512)
Gone Girl is superbly constructed, ingeniously paced and absolutely terrifying... a Five-star suspense mystery. (An Wilson READERS' DIGEST 20120501)
in this riveting noirish thriller and intense dissection of a marriage, nothing is as it seems. (WOMAN AND HOME 20120503)
Flynn keeps the accelerator firmly to the floor, ratcheting up the tension with wildly unexpected plot twists, contradictory stories and the tantalising feeling that nothing is as it seems. Deviously good. (MARIE CLAIRE 20120503)
Read it and stay single. (FINANCIAL TIMES 20120505)
funny, cunning thriller... the tale takes some stomach-churning turns, right to its chilling conclusion (PSYCHOLOGIES 20120501)
A chilling, stylish read about another unknowable woman (ELLE 20120502)
Flynn has created a gripping tale and a page-turner. (LITERARY REVIEW 20120501)
Immensely dark and deeply intelligent, Gone Girl is a book about how well one person can truly know another (METRO 20120523)
Flynn is a brilliantly accomplished psychological crime writer and this latest book is so dark, so twisted and so utterly compelling that it actually messes with your mind (Carla McKay DAILY MAIL 20120525)
You think you're reading a good, conventional thriller and then it grows into a fascinating portrait of one averagely mismatched relationship...Nothing's as it seems - Flynn is a fabulous plotter, and a very sharp observer of modern life in the aftermath of the credit crunch (Kate Saunders THE TIMES 20120526)
Flynn's portrait of a woman trying to please an impossible husband is subtly drawn, but there are hints that all is not as it seems. One version of events hides another in a novel that cleverly manipulates the reader (Joan Smith SUNDAY TIMES 20120527)
definitely a contender for thriller of the year... Flynn is, without a doubt, at the front of the pack of American thriller writers. (Doug Johnstone THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 20120603)
In what is so much more than a straightforward crime novel (with a mid-story twist so shocking you'll drop the book), Flynn unpicks the minutiae of the couple's personalities and relationship (EASY LIVING 20120601)
A chilling tale of a hip, New York couple's failing marriage: smart, suspenseful and brilliantly written, Gone Girl is a class act (THE INDEPENDENT 20120609)
a terrifically intelligent thriller with a gasp-inducing twist (GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 20120601)
she skillfully manages to sustain tension and uncertainty to the end, as well as presenting a beautiful portrait of marriage disintegration (Marcel Berlins THE TIMES 20120609)
This is Flynn's third novel and she's more than found her voice, creating taut, thrilling, deeply intense narratives about characters very much on the edge (Henry Sutton DAILY MIRROR 20120608)
a near-masterpiece. Flynn is an extraordinary writer who, with every sentence, makes words do things that other writers merely dream of" (Sophie Hannah SUNDAY EXPRESS 20120617)
Ms Flynn's latest novel of psychological suspense will confound anyone trying to keep up with her quicksilver mind and diabolical rules of play (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE 20120616)
Just about everyone I meet, and everyone on Twitter, is telling me it's brilliant, so I can't wait to see what the fuss is all about. (S.J. Watson SUNDAY EXPRESS 20120708)
Gripping thriller: Nick's wife, Amy, is missing and he's a suspect. The story is told by Nick, then Amy, but who's telling the truth? (ESSENTIALS 20120801)
A brilliant switchback ride, you'll beg others to read it so you can discuss it with them (John Williams IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAY 20120715)
Gone Girl confirms that Gillian Flynn is the smartest new crime writer for years. (John Williams MAIL ON SUNDAY 20120729)
Toxic marriage simmers in this thriller with a gasp-inducing twist. (GRAZIA 20120813)
The set-up is simple: girl goes missing, husband looks increasingly suspect. But there's much more going on beneath the surface of this fiendishly clever thriller" (VOGUE 20121101)
Single-handedly defines a genre of Media Gothic (Brooke Magnanti TATLER 20121101)
Exhilarating and creepy, it has sent me rushing off to her other novels. (Tracey Thorn NEW STATESMAN 20121123)
a brilliant, darkly comic tale (Laura Wilson THE GUARDIAN 20121201)
One of the most popular thrillers of the year is also one of the smartest... Flynn's book cleverly outpaces its neo-noir trappings and consistently surprises the reader. (FINANCIAL TIMES 20121201)
A completely gripping account of a dysfunctional (is there any other sort?) marriage. (Rachel Johnson METRO 20121108)
Read Gone Girl: The Thriller of 2012... Flynn relentlessly plays with her reader, dangling hints and hushing up truths through two narrators who become more and more unreliable as the plot unravels. (Jessica Whiteley STYLIST 20121204)
A stunning psychological thriller to send a chill through the heart of every married couple... Read it now, it is that good. (Geoffrey Wansell DAILY MAIL 20121207)
These voices are wonderfully authentic, to the point where the reader becomes a gawker at the full-spectrum of marital dysfunction. Excellent. (John O'Connor THE GUARDIAN 20120512)
Gone Girl is superbly constructed, ingeniously paced and absolutely terrifying... a Five-star suspense mystery. (An Wilson READERS' DIGEST 20120501)
in this riveting noirish thriller and intense dissection of a marriage, nothing is as it seems. (WOMAN AND HOME 20120503)
Flynn keeps the accelerator firmly to the floor, ratcheting up the tension with wildly unexpected plot twists, contradictory stories and the tantalising feeling that nothing is as it seems. Deviously good. (MARIE CLAIRE 20120503)
Read it and stay single. (FINANCIAL TIMES 20120505)
funny, cunning thriller... the tale takes some stomach-churning turns, right to its chilling conclusion (PSYCHOLOGIES 20120501)
A chilling, stylish read about another unknowable woman (ELLE 20120502)
Flynn has created a gripping tale and a page-turner. (LITERARY REVIEW 20120501)
Immensely dark and deeply intelligent, Gone Girl is a book about how well one person can truly know another (METRO 20120523)
Flynn is a brilliantly accomplished psychological crime writer and this latest book is so dark, so twisted and so utterly compelling that it actually messes with your mind (Carla McKay DAILY MAIL 20120525)
You think you're reading a good, conventional thriller and then it grows into a fascinating portrait of one averagely mismatched relationship...Nothing's as it seems - Flynn is a fabulous plotter, and a very sharp observer of modern life in the aftermath of the credit crunch (Kate Saunders THE TIMES 20120526)
Flynn's portrait of a woman trying to please an impossible husband is subtly drawn, but there are hints that all is not as it seems. One version of events hides another in a novel that cleverly manipulates the reader (Joan Smith SUNDAY TIMES 20120527)
definitely a contender for thriller of the year... Flynn is, without a doubt, at the front of the pack of American thriller writers. (Doug Johnstone THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 20120603)
In what is so much more than a straightforward crime novel (with a mid-story twist so shocking you'll drop the book), Flynn unpicks the minutiae of the couple's personalities and relationship (EASY LIVING 20120601)
A chilling tale of a hip, New York couple's failing marriage: smart, suspenseful and brilliantly written, Gone Girl is a class act (THE INDEPENDENT 20120609)
a terrifically intelligent thriller with a gasp-inducing twist (GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 20120601)
she skillfully manages to sustain tension and uncertainty to the end, as well as presenting a beautiful portrait of marriage disintegration (Marcel Berlins THE TIMES 20120609)
This is Flynn's third novel and she's more than found her voice, creating taut, thrilling, deeply intense narratives about characters very much on the edge (Henry Sutton DAILY MIRROR 20120608)
a near-masterpiece. Flynn is an extraordinary writer who, with every sentence, makes words do things that other writers merely dream of" (Sophie Hannah SUNDAY EXPRESS 20120617)
Ms Flynn's latest novel of psychological suspense will confound anyone trying to keep up with her quicksilver mind and diabolical rules of play (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE 20120616)
Just about everyone I meet, and everyone on Twitter, is telling me it's brilliant, so I can't wait to see what the fuss is all about. (S.J. Watson SUNDAY EXPRESS 20120708)
Gripping thriller: Nick's wife, Amy, is missing and he's a suspect. The story is told by Nick, then Amy, but who's telling the truth? (ESSENTIALS 20120801)
A brilliant switchback ride, you'll beg others to read it so you can discuss it with them (John Williams IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAY 20120715)
Gone Girl confirms that Gillian Flynn is the smartest new crime writer for years. (John Williams MAIL ON SUNDAY 20120729)
Toxic marriage simmers in this thriller with a gasp-inducing twist. (GRAZIA 20120813)
The set-up is simple: girl goes missing, husband looks increasingly suspect. But there's much more going on beneath the surface of this fiendishly clever thriller" (VOGUE 20121101)
Single-handedly defines a genre of Media Gothic (Brooke Magnanti TATLER 20121101)
Exhilarating and creepy, it has sent me rushing off to her other novels. (Tracey Thorn NEW STATESMAN 20121123)
a brilliant, darkly comic tale (Laura Wilson THE GUARDIAN 20121201)
One of the most popular thrillers of the year is also one of the smartest... Flynn's book cleverly outpaces its neo-noir trappings and consistently surprises the reader. (FINANCIAL TIMES 20121201)
A completely gripping account of a dysfunctional (is there any other sort?) marriage. (Rachel Johnson METRO 20121108)
Read Gone Girl: The Thriller of 2012... Flynn relentlessly plays with her reader, dangling hints and hushing up truths through two narrators who become more and more unreliable as the plot unravels. (Jessica Whiteley STYLIST 20121204)
A stunning psychological thriller to send a chill through the heart of every married couple... Read it now, it is that good. (Geoffrey Wansell DAILY MAIL 20121207)
Book Description
The art of marriage truly is the art of war in the new novel from the CWA award-winning author of SHARP OBJECTS and DARK PLACES.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
79 of 87 people found the following review helpful
By K. Brooks
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found Gone Girl an OK read on the plus side I liked the overall premise of a story being told from two perspectives and I didn't work out the whole plot immediately so it held some intrigue. But I found the style of writing to be a bit too glossy magazine for my taste and the characters rather 2 dimensional. Not only did I find them unbelievable but I found myself not really caring what happened to them the further I read on. I won't say I totally disliked the book but also found it undeserving of the rave reviews, in the end my overall feeling was of indifference.
148 of 167 people found the following review helpful
By Georgiana89
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm not really into crime novels/mysteries, which this book generally seems to be billed as, so despite having heard a lot of hype, I wouldn't have bothered reading it were it not for one thing - a list of quotations from the book I found on Goodreads.
There were a couple of quotes , for example one about the dangers of being a cool girl and one about meeting someone who gets you, that really resonated with me and left me unable to resist giving the book a go. Added to this, several reviews mentioned that there was a big twist that they genuinely hadn't seen coming, and I can never resist a good, well-handled twist.
The first thing I'd say is that I'm glad I took a chance on the book. It was difficult to put down; I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next, and I think parts of it will stick in my mind for a long time. So in short, I'd definitely recommend.
It's hopefully not too spoiler-ish to say that the first half of the book is basically mediations on a relationship combined with a mystery: a woman has disappeared - where has she gone? The second half then becomes much more like a psychological crime thriller.
In the first half, there are two voices. Chapters alternate between Nick's (the husband) narration, starting with the day of his wife's disappearance, and Amy's (the wife) diary entries, dating back from the day the two first met years before, and gradually working up to a few days before her mysterious disappearance.
Browsing through some of the reviews on here, I was struck by how many people have commented that they found the first half hard going and a bit irritating, but loved the second half.
Interestingly, I almost entirely disagree. Perhaps it's because I'm in a similar socio-economic group to the protagonists and have recently got engaged, but I found the story of the wonderful blossoming of their relationship and its horrible slow decline utterly fascinating. Yes, there was undoubtedly a touch of "first world problems," about it, but falling in and out of love is a fundamental human issue and no more or less exciting and painful just because you happen to be a trust-funded New Yorker. I thought the writing in this part was exceptional. The quotations I'd identified weren't isolated bursts of brilliance, but representative of the whole thing. It genuinely gave me a new perspective on my relationship.
I'm a big fan of unconventional narratives and I thought that the past diary entries versus present narration worked really well. The two storylines didn't quite mesh, showing what a different perspective two people can have on the same event and keeping me guessing about what was really going on in the main characters' relationship and what had happened on the day of Amy's disappearance.
This went on for chapter after chapter (Whilst I burnt through the book, I definitely think it could have been quite a bit shorter without really losing anything), and then came the much vaunted twist. All I can say was that I wasn't disappointed. I hadn't seen it coming and it was incredibly well done. Unfortunately, although I thought that post mid-way twist, the book went rapidly downhill and became, in parts, frankly silly. I actually hated the ended.
Nonetheless, I'd give this book four stars, for the overall brilliant execution and for the fact that to me, parts of the first half were some of the best things I've read in years. My suggestion - search for some of the quotes. If you enjoy them, I think you'll love the book. If they irritate or don't affect you at all, it's probably not for you.
There were a couple of quotes , for example one about the dangers of being a cool girl and one about meeting someone who gets you, that really resonated with me and left me unable to resist giving the book a go. Added to this, several reviews mentioned that there was a big twist that they genuinely hadn't seen coming, and I can never resist a good, well-handled twist.
The first thing I'd say is that I'm glad I took a chance on the book. It was difficult to put down; I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next, and I think parts of it will stick in my mind for a long time. So in short, I'd definitely recommend.
It's hopefully not too spoiler-ish to say that the first half of the book is basically mediations on a relationship combined with a mystery: a woman has disappeared - where has she gone? The second half then becomes much more like a psychological crime thriller.
In the first half, there are two voices. Chapters alternate between Nick's (the husband) narration, starting with the day of his wife's disappearance, and Amy's (the wife) diary entries, dating back from the day the two first met years before, and gradually working up to a few days before her mysterious disappearance.
Browsing through some of the reviews on here, I was struck by how many people have commented that they found the first half hard going and a bit irritating, but loved the second half.
Interestingly, I almost entirely disagree. Perhaps it's because I'm in a similar socio-economic group to the protagonists and have recently got engaged, but I found the story of the wonderful blossoming of their relationship and its horrible slow decline utterly fascinating. Yes, there was undoubtedly a touch of "first world problems," about it, but falling in and out of love is a fundamental human issue and no more or less exciting and painful just because you happen to be a trust-funded New Yorker. I thought the writing in this part was exceptional. The quotations I'd identified weren't isolated bursts of brilliance, but representative of the whole thing. It genuinely gave me a new perspective on my relationship.
I'm a big fan of unconventional narratives and I thought that the past diary entries versus present narration worked really well. The two storylines didn't quite mesh, showing what a different perspective two people can have on the same event and keeping me guessing about what was really going on in the main characters' relationship and what had happened on the day of Amy's disappearance.
This went on for chapter after chapter (Whilst I burnt through the book, I definitely think it could have been quite a bit shorter without really losing anything), and then came the much vaunted twist. All I can say was that I wasn't disappointed. I hadn't seen it coming and it was incredibly well done. Unfortunately, although I thought that post mid-way twist, the book went rapidly downhill and became, in parts, frankly silly. I actually hated the ended.
Nonetheless, I'd give this book four stars, for the overall brilliant execution and for the fact that to me, parts of the first half were some of the best things I've read in years. My suggestion - search for some of the quotes. If you enjoy them, I think you'll love the book. If they irritate or don't affect you at all, it's probably not for you.
110 of 125 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Recently, I have found it hard to trust the book charts (50'shades anyone...) but on this occasion I took a gamble and having read no reviews or summaries, I gave Gone Girl a chance. I completely, honestly urge everyone to do the same. This book is so well written, and covers so many unique character personalities that I kept having to remind myself that this was a work of fiction. The plot unravels so majestically that I genuinely couldn't put the novel down, and the shocks in the text were exactly like- unexpected, earth-shattering shocks. If great, modern, suspenseful literature is something you crave, then you NEED to read this book.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
awful hated it
Awful book, hated it. Rubbish. Such a complete waste of time reading it . How on earth did it get all these rave reviews? Have we all lost the plot of good literature?
Published 12 hours ago by Mr. Jc Widger
5.0 out of 5 stars
so good!!
Loved this book. Couldn't put it down. Really cleverly written. To keep you hooked from start to finish. Twists and turns!
Published 13 hours ago by J. Watkins
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good page-turner
An ingenious and exciting plot and it stays just the right side of plausible.I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Published 14 hours ago by Alan Peter Budd
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much ado about f.a.
Tortuous at times but extremely well written, which kept me locked in - as did the numerous twists along the way. Read more
Published 18 hours ago by AJB
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
One of the best books Iv read in a while. It surprised me with its believably twisted characters and its discussion of the strange truths about relationships. Read more
Published 19 hours ago by Amy
1.0 out of 5 stars
disappointing
the same as other readers, this was very disapointing and did not seem to follow on from the other books.
it was a slap dash attempt to tie all the loose ends together. Read more
it was a slap dash attempt to tie all the loose ends together. Read more
Published 20 hours ago by Ms. Kathryn R. Naylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant and Clever
Loved this book - not normally a crime/thriller reader but this was a bit different. The writer was very clever with her plot and also an interesting insight into how her mind... Read more
Published 22 hours ago by MINIMABS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book.
Great book I loved the way this book was written, very different to the books I normally read..The author can really write a great plot
and the characters were awesome, I felt... Read more
and the characters were awesome, I felt... Read more
Published 23 hours ago by Sylvia Deltodesco
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant reading
i cant rate this book highly enough full of suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat but raises a lot of questions and doubts which enhanced the story i have lent it to my best... Read more
Published 23 hours ago by gloria turner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Okay so far
I'm reading this with two other books for our Book Club. I have not read enough to give a fair assessment, but it seems interesting.
Published 1 day ago by Christine
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