Cait’s Review of “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn

By: Cait Marie

I was very late to the Gone Girl train. The book was released in 2012 and the movie was released in 2014. I never saw the movie because I wanted to read the book first. Well, for four years I managed to avoid spoilers of the ending! I’m very proud of that.

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Gone Girl is a mystery/thriller, which is a genre I don’t usually read. It was also not YA! That being said, I really enjoyed this book. I went back and forth between the paperback and audiobook because I was actually reading it for my literature class and needed to get through it quicker. By the way, totally need to remind myself not to read/listen to these types of books right before falling asleep. Creepy dreams with killers chasing me always follows.

Gone Girl is about Nick and his wife, Amy, the latter of whom goes missing on their five year anniversary. The story is told through both perspectives: Nick’s in the present as the case is investigated, and Amy’s through past journal entries that lead up to the day of the disappearance.

This book is chock-full of secrets and twists. Just when you think you’ve figured out what is going on, something changes. It’s intense, without being too intense, if that makes any sense. It’s suspenseful, but not scary or creepy. I feel like it was just the right level to bring me into the genre, given that I usually read YA books about magic or princesses and happy endings. It was a nice change, although it did not sway me into reading less of my YA fantasy.

If you haven’t already read this, and you like suspenseful mysteries, I would recommend this one. I don’t have a lot to compare it to in terms of books, but, ironically, I do love thriller movies like this and I think this book is a good one. I still have yet to see the movie. I know there were a lot of changes, so I’m giving it a little time so everything isn’t super fresh in my memory.

This isn’t necessarily a book I would read again, but I am glad I read it. I would also consider reading Flynn’s other novels now too.

*SPOILERS**SPOILERS**SPOILERS*

Holy. Cow. This book! I honestly did not see half of that coming. I don’t even know where to start. Yes, I knew there were a lot of secrets, but I truly did not expect the whole thing to have been orchestrated by Amy. There was a moment where I thought maybe she wasn’t actually missing, but nothing of that extreme crossed my mind. I am so glad I was able to avoid spoilers.

I actually didn’t like the very end much. I thought it was kind of anticlimactic. There was so much build up, the reveal, and then nothing really happened. It did surprise me again, but I feel like something should have happened more. It was weird that he ended up staying with her after everything. I mean, I understand why he did, but it still felt like an odd ending to me. Maybe it’s because I am not used to reading these type of books. Overall, I still loved it, though.