Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is pre-approved. Lauded and recommended highly by virtually everyone whose bookish opinion I respect (including Alexandra Heminsley/@Hemmo who I think must be my book twin as her taste is identical to mine), it would be tough for any book to live up to the expectations I had for this novel.
I'm pleased to say I loved it. Otherwise my book-faith might have been seriously dented. But there's another problem. How to review a book that's had acres of coverage, and a thriller at that - one with a fiendishly well worked-out plot that I would hate to spoil for any reader?
As I'm sure you know, Gone Girl follows the characters of Nick and Amy Dunne. One day, Nick awakes to find his perfect wife...gone. As the novel progresses, we learnt that both Nick and Amy are not what we first took them for.
Gone Girl is truly original. I can't even begin to imagine how Gillian Flynn was able to create this perfect riddle of a book. It's so well worked out that thinking about it too much might make your head swim. It's also marvelously quirky, both in style (Flynn creates absolutely authentic and very different voices for her two characters) and in subject matter. There are so many layers of detail that build up to create a compelling portrait of a very strange marriage.
Suffice to say you should read it, if you've not already succumbed to the hype. In this case, it's truly justified.
You'll like this if you enjoy: anything by Laura Lippman
What to read next: Sharp Objects also by Gillian Flynn, Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
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