19. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

audio read by Julia Whelan & Kirby Heyborne

15 unabridged cds

19 hours 

Random House Audio, 2012

422 pgs.

Written for adults

Finished

Genre: CRF/Mystery

Goodreads Rating: 3.96

My Rating: Liked it (3) 

Acquired: TPPL

Setting: Contemporary small-town Missouri

1^st sentence/s:  "When I think of my wife I think of her head.  The shape of it, to begin with."

My comments:  This book is about a psychopath and an idiot.  Period.  It takes a bit of reading (though not a lot, there are good clues along the way) to figure out which adjective applies to which character, but that doesn't really take long, especially if mostly all you read are mysteries. The author throws in a few u-turns, but once you get used to them you can see them coming.  The book seemed to take forever to read, the first "third"...the diary and Nick's thoughts... dragged on and on.  The second part went much faster and the last third dragged again. These two people deserve each other. It was entertaining, eye-rolling, cleverly written, and way too long.

Goodreads Review:  On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl 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 in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?