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Gone Girl  By  cover art

Gone Girl

By: Gillian Flynn
Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
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Editorial review


By Mysia Haight, Audible Editor

PSYCH OUT—THE JAW-DROPPING GENIUS OF GONE GIRL

Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is among the all-time best crafted stories told by unreliable narrators—two of them, the perfect couple—and a gripping thriller filled with jaw-dropping twists. This dark mystery novel also shines a critical light on the media-fueled public rush to judge people suspected of crimes who, regardless of the evidence, simply look guilty—an unsettling trend that has only escalated in the decade since the book’s release. Along with its critique of media exploitation, the novel has been widely embraced—and hotly debated—as a manifesto of modern feminism.

Ten years ago, I was approaching that dreaded life stage—middle age. After years of doing my best to be a good wife, mother, aunt, sister, daughter, and friend; a good worker, mentor, and role model; and a good listener, problem solver, and crisis manager, I was feeling taken for granted and restless. What if I did something unexpected, something out of character—something bad?

Happily, I satisfied my yearnings by becoming immersed in the brilliant mind and devious machinations of Amy Elliott Dunne, the hero (or, depending on your perspective, villain) of Gone Girl. When it was published in 2012, Gillian Flynn’s ingenious novel about a missing wife and the husband increasingly implicated in her ominous disappearance stirred up a lot of buzz. As an avid fan of psychological thrillers, unreliable narrators, and contemporary fiction driven by strong, complicated women, I couldn’t wait to read it. And I was blown away! In spite of her questionable (to put it extremely mildly) actions, I found Amy, an amazing woman who was taken for granted—first by her parents and then by her husband—relatable and, yes, sympathetic. I kept rooting for her to get the life she wanted, even when I was appalled by what she did and who she hurt to make that happen.

Has Gone Girl changed my life? Well, it didn’t motivate me to change for the badder—old good habits die hard. Yet, thanks in part to Amy and other remarkable women characters like her, I’ve gradually become better at speaking up for myself and getting heard.

Years after first reading Gone Girl, I haven't forgotten Amy. I love the way Rosamund Pike brought her to life in the 2014 film adaptation, which I've watched in its entirety three times with three different women—my sister, my niece, and my daughter. So when I discovered that one of my favorite narrators, the remarkable Julia Whelan, voices Amy in the audiobook, I just had to go back and listen. Her performance is brilliant—so believable, it's chilling—and even though I know every twist in her twisted story, Amy continues to amaze me!

Continue reading Mysia's review >

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 TimesPeopleEntertainment WeeklyO: The Oprah MagazineSlateKansas City StarUSA TodayChristian 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 ChronicleSt. Louis Post-DispatchThe Chicago TribuneHuffPostNewsday

©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

Featured Article: Whodunit Whizzes—A Shortlist of the Best Mystery Authors


Who doesn't love a good mystery? Listening to mystery audiobooks is a great way to feel some semblance of order in an often chaotic world. The clues are there for you to solve along, and by the end, it will all come together in an incredibly satisfying manner. There’s a formula to the genre, sure, but the best mysteries still surprise you and often subvert expectations. These mystery writers take the genre to a new level. Here's our pick of their best listens.

Editor's Pick: Best of the Decade

Get to the gone
"I’m a sucker for great story structure, and Gone Girl uses every inch of its narrative to subvert expectations in ways that shock and amuse. The perfectly utilized diary entries fold into a legendary mid-book reveal. The face-turn-heel of a seemingly perfect victim who revels in the way they’ve expertly managed your expectations. The unreliable narrators who reveal so much about themselves by what they don’t say—or how they shape emotional states into origami. And it all feels fair; while most twist-filled stories tend to seem rather flimsy under a microscope, the closer you look at Gillian Flynn’s masterpiece, the more you notice the sheer togetherness of it all, each part working in concert with another, coalescing to form a story that has one finger firmly on the pulse of popular culture, and one on the carotid of a serial killer."—Sean T., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Gone Girl

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

very good read

very easy read but so much content. left my jaw hanging many times. i went in knowing nothing about the book which made it even more exciting

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • K.
  • 09-17-22

Riveting - A Great Listen From Start to Finish

I enjoyed this audio performance of “Gone Girl.” The voice acting was well done. However, I do wish Nick's voice actor had a deeper voice. Amy's voice actor was excellent. She captured the privileged coldness that I expected from Amy. The build up and climax of the story was intriguing, however, I was not satisfied with the ending. I felt like I saw that ending coming. I wish it were more surprising.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book!

This book leaves you excited to see what happens next! It is worth every minute of the 19 hours!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wish there were more stars to give!!!

I love this book, and mostly because of the great, creative, clever, funny, sarcastic writing, but also because of the readers, who were great! It was such a good idea to have both female and male... it really added to the realism of the book. My emotions were all over the place, team him, team her, team them. Love this author, and I really hope you keep it up!!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Engrossing

This is a long story that totally hooked me. Started off slow, but got better and more captivating as it continued. Loved both narrators. Highly recommend!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Intense

Intense psychological drama. Terribly broken flawed selfish characters. A picture of how not to run a marriage written compellingly.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Started being REALLY nice to my wife after reading

Would you listen to Gone Girl again? Why?

Maybe. I don't often listen to books more than once, but this one is certainly entertaining.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too long for that, but I'll admit that I listened more frequently than normal to find out what happened next.

Any additional comments?

I discouraged my wife from reading this. No point in giving her ideas!

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makes you think beginning to end

Loved the ending. Don't wanna give it away so I will keep my mouth shut

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Decent except the final part of the story.

Spoiler Obviously.

But I really enjoyed the story until the lukewarm final moments, Nick gets no closure (and neither Desi). That’s probably was the authors intent, but would’ve been more satisfying if Amy got what she deserved. But overall pretty good.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Must be ok with not ok

To say the end was a disappointment is an understatement. Parts of the book were riveting but overall it was just meh.

The characters lack any redeeming qualities so it was hard to connect with them. The writing was good and the story was interesting—until it wasn’t. It just went so far that nothing was believable and it just turned meh.

The narrators were great. They weren’t my problem with this story.

I wanted so badly to like this book but I just don’t.

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