Gone Girl

Gone Girl is a 2012 best-selling mystery novel by Gillian Flynn. from Flynn's web site:

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

Employing her trademark razor-sharp writing and assured 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.

Ah, the unreliable narrator. Not a favorite style for me. Not at all. By the end of page 30 I was thoroughly disgusted with both main characters, and the book is 415 pages long. I've heard people say it's a page-turner, and I wonder if that's code for can't-wait-til-it's-over. The writing is good, it's not that; I just don't like it in spite of the good writing, which is unusual for me. I will say I liked it better in the 3rd Act, which seems to be going against the grain. Most folks seem to like the earlier part of the book more.

a quote that struck me:

There's something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.

I quit marking anything by page 30, though, so that's all I've got. One of the secondary characters is from Memphis. I have 2 other books by her, and -since I enjoyed her writing style- I'm looking forward to them.

Reviews are positive, and there's a film nearing release. I just don't like it. It is just me. I own that.

NPR has an interview with the author, in which she says,

To me, marriage is the ultimate mystery. You know, there's that phrase: No one knows what goes on in anyone's marriage. And I guess the bottom line of this book is no one knows what's going on in [their] own marriage, a little bit, because we can't entirely know each other..

The Telegraph reviewer says, "it’s the best thing I’ve read in years, with a cleverly woven plot, toxic characters and twists as jagged as barbed wire." Kirkus Reviews says, "It’s a smart book. I mean, vile and delicious, yes, but also incredibly savvy about the media saturated world that we live in".