Gone Girl

A Novel

By: Gillian Flynn

Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne

Length: 19 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time)—now featuring never-before-published deleted scenes

NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY TIME AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Janet Maslin, The New York Times • People • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • Slate • Kansas City Star • USA Today • Christian Science Monitor

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. 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?

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY San Francisco Chronicle • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Chicago Tribune • HuffPost • Newsday

©2012 Gillian Flynn (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Absorbing . . . In masterly fashion, Flynn depicts the unraveling of a marriage—and of a recession-hit Midwest—by interweaving the wife’s diary entries with the husband’s first-person account.”—The New Yorker

“Ms. Flynn writes dark suspense novels that anatomize violence without splashing barrels of blood around the pages . . . Ms. Flynn has much more up her sleeve than a simple missing-person case. As Nick and Amy alternately tell their stories, marriage has never looked so menacing, narrators so unreliable.”—The Wall Street Journal

“The story unfolds in precise and riveting prose . . . even while you know you’re being manipulated, searching for the missing pieces is half the thrill of this wickedly absorbing tale.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

Riveting!

This was an incredible story and it was told so well! Could not stop listening!

Great story, lovely twists, fantastic writing

I hesitated to download in case I was accidentally buying a romance. I can assure you this is far from a romance! I am Not going to tell you anything about the plot, except to say that I was wrong..and then wrong again..and then wrong again, as to where the book was going next.

Some other reviewers said they thought the first half was slow. I disagree. I enjoyed the pace of the build, and thought the writing was superb.

The two narrators do a quality job breathing the right emotions into the words at the right times.

I definitely recommend this book

I found myself constantly telling other people about this book as I listened to it, which is always a good sign.

The characters also are well fleshed out, and by the end of the book you will find that there are no "wasted" scenes - everything is relevant and everything is important.

Enjoy!

A good read.

Loved most of the book, but was a little disappointed with the ending. Enjoyed the way each chapter was set up, as well as the character development. Performances were excellent.

A little disappointed

I really expected this book to be a lot better then it turned out. The beginning and middle was promising, but towards the end it became predictable and the ending was “just ok” for me. I was a little disappointed but I can’t say it an awful read. It was entertaining and the characterization was spot on by the author. I’m not sure how I felt about the narrators acting the part. I guess I’m just not used to it but they were pretty good. I’m really annoyed at the main characters because they really are shitty people over all buy maybe that’s what the author wants us to feel. Over all it was an ok book.

Enjoyable, not amazing

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The writing and narration were definitely good enough to keep me listening and wanting to know how the story would play out, but something about the pacing made it fairly easy to guess most of the twists and turns before they happened; so as far as suspense, this wasn't exactly edge-of-your-seat thrilling. But it's just suspenseful enough to keep you listening.

What about Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne ’s performance did you like?

The narration was great, they really captured the characters well, even when they were using different voices for other characters through the memory of the protagonists.

Any additional comments?

This was an enjoyable listen, for sure, though I was expecting more based on all the reviews. I personally did not find any of the surprises to be that shocking, in fact I found myself waiting for things that I knew would inevitably happen. Even so, I enjoyed the way the writer got into the heads of these two characters that SHOULD be hard to relate to, and yet you still get sucked into their world.

Can people really be this sick?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This was delightful and sick and unbelievable - just the way I like my characters/stories.

Was Gone Girl worth the listening time?

Yes but...I was painting my house while listening...

Wicked

A lot of twists. You definitely would hate to make this girl angry. Never mess with a scorn woman.

Riveting

What made the experience of listening to Gone Girl the most enjoyable?

I listen and walk, I walked 5 miles one day because I didn't want to stop listening !

first audible experience

My first time listening to a book and I loved it. Was excited to keep listening.

another example of a tightly spun story, almost

The author did a great job throughout the book, but seemingly lost his drive toward the end. 85% of the book was a great listen. I could've done without the last part and left it to my imagination.