[simpleazon-image align=”left” asin=”030758836X” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ePAI%2BzsmL._SL160_.jpg” width=”105″] [simpleazon-link asin=”030758836X” locale=”us”]Gone Girl: A Novel[/simpleazon-link] by Gillian Flynn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Chilling! Absolutely chilling! By the time I picked this book up to read, I had heard all the hype. I knew it was one of the most popular books of 2012, so I expected it to be good. Even so, I only expected a basic murder mystery, albeit a well-written one. I was completely unprepared for the depths of psychopathy explored in this novel. The book is immediately creepy: “I’d know her head anywhere” (p. 3). The superb quality of the writing is also apparent from page one and remains consistent throughout. I loved the similes (i.e. “her body slouched over like an old pillow” or “they ride through life like conjoined jellyfish”). The vocabulary was both challenging and interesting with Flynn’s word choices being very deliberate. Words like fuggy, propitious, quinoa, wastrel. I devoured them. The twists and turns in this story were beyond surprising and were often disturbing. I’ve read true crime novels that were less sinister. The author delves subtly and superbly into the minds of the two main characters and draws the reader into the complex web that she is weaving until the reader is hopelessly caught. Many books that I read I soon forget. This one I will always remember. But be forewarned, this book is not for the faint of heart. It is violent and unsettling, contains foul language and is sexually explicit. For these reasons, I am surprised that I liked it so much. But, there is simply no denying the ingenuity, the complexity, and the way the novel grabbed me and refused to let go. I was left with a chill that went straight to my bones and will likely remain there for quite some time. Brrrrr…..

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Author’s website: http://gillian-flynn.com/

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