I’ve really been struggling with how to review Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl without spoiling it. It’s complex and intense and engaging and I don’t want to do anything to ruin it for you. So I think this review will be really short.

Read the book.

Ok, not that short.

“Marriage can be a real killer.
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
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?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.”

The summary leads you to believe you’ll read something along the lines of a CNN crime headline or a Lifetime movie.  Thankfully, you’re in for something much more compelling.    I can’t recall reading two characters that disgusted me more than Nick and Amy, yet still drew me into their story and kept me turning pages.  That’s a terrific talent on Flynn’s part, drawing despicable characters but still making the story so engrossing that you simply cannot turn away from it.

Really, all the stuff I want to rave about would come dangerously close to giving away an excellent plot that I delighted in discovering, and I don’t want to do that to you.

But suffice it to say: Read This Book.