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

Liked her other books better - But this was good

I gave it a high review for the overall book. It had the usual weirdness I come to expect and enjoy with a book by Gillian Flynn. She wrote a great story - Though I had a little bit of a hard time listening to this one at times. I love long books - But this one could have been shortened a little. If this is your first book by her. Get this one first. The story will probably throw you for a loop. Then go back and read her other stories. You'll be floored.

Marriage murder twister who-dun-it

I enjoyed the listening to the book for these reasons: action, mystery, descriptions of relationships or people I could relate to. I didn't enjoy: the sometimes high school level of the story and descriptions, the events were sometimes predictable, and, although Kirby Heyborne is clearly a gifted reader, his voice didn't suit Nick, his character, in my opinion. I don't consider this book a sophisticated piece of literature, but enjoyable while wearing my headphones and working in the yard!

A thrill ride.

This is a spoiler free review. First of all I have to give this book its just dues based on the fact that I have listened to it non-stop with the exception of two nights of sleep and a few bouts of work. This had me hooked from the beginning, though I felt a distinct alteration in my attention based on the three parts that the book is divided into. At first I was hesitant, though hesitantly hooked, as the marriage of Nick and Amy began to slowly reveal itself through the very opposite points of view of said parties. They have a marriage much like everyone else in which no one is a saint and everyone is certainly suspect when the he-said she-said thing starts playing out. The giant mystery unfolds itself pretty early on, but those few and far between gems that suddenly drop the floor out from the story and get you chomping for the truth are sparse at first. I did think to myself at one point that I was a bit tired of hearing the run of the mill American love story gone bad, but the ever-growing divide in the alternate narrator's stories had me deeply invested. And after the true crime dramas that have played out over tabloids and news channels in the past decade I found the increasingly incriminating nature of the first part deliciously devious. Someone seriously, seriously messed up, but by now everyone had started to look guilty. Part two came with a sudden and almost violent shift of the gears. I was enthralled, I was enraged, and I was loving every moment of the reveal, but here in the book is where things got slightly out of hand and somewhat unbelievable to me. Where I had taken the characters at face value and believed the author's every word I found myself questioning the reality and suspending disbelief more than I had in part one. What kept me grounded was the other characters and the giant question of how in the world this was going to wrap up. Part three offers the final resolution to a story that has to end with the biggest possible bang ever. No matter what happened the ending had to be awesome, and no, it couldn't end in that way, the slightly disappointing way, the way that it kind of had to end, the way that seemed obvious....but it did. I wasn't angry, and I don't even think I was let down, but I had seen this ending as a possibility early on and thought, "nah, Flynn has something awesome up her sleeve!" But alas.... Besides these few minor moments of disappointment the book really did deliver a whirlwind of a story that had me possessed, and I found the narration to be superb except for the occasional weirdness that came of the female narrator' version of men's voices.

A nearly flawless psychological thriller

I loved this book - great, multi-dimensional characters, character-driven plot, clever use of point of view, unreliable facts, presented by narrators and unexpected twists. A detective thriller, this novel is elevated in its commentary on the complex relationships that exist between men and women and children and their parents. An entertaining fiction, but there are unexpectedly astute observations on these pages.
The main characters' voices are wonderfully vivid. The language is witty, figurative, and just plain fun.
The ending was a complete surprise. It was so refreshing to see that the author is confident enough not to give the readers what they want, aware, or not. The ending was a perfect fit for the twists and turns of the rest of the book.

I am a Pretzel!

I am now a "pretzel". There are so many twists and turns in this novel. Listen! Listen! to the first part of the story. Everything will make sense at the end. Speaking of the end, I was wanting more. Perhaps there will be a sequel.

Best Book of the Summer

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

The use of two narrators - both of whom did an excellent job - made the book more enjoyable.

What other book might you compare Gone Girl to and why?

I cant really compare it to any other book I have read or listened to recently. If I had to describe it I might call it a marriage version of War and Peace.

What does Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Julia and Kirby were great voices...they gave the characters personalities that were at times very identifiable and at other times totally repellant. They brought the book to life for me and I am sure all the other listeners.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book was very compelling. It kept you wanting to listen to more to see how it would all work out.

Any additional comments?

My biggest complaint about the book was its ending, which of course is the hardest part of bringing together any set of plot lines. Maybe the ending was more realistic but I would have preferred something more in keeping with the twists that constantly unraveled in the story itself.

The perfect anti-fairy tale.

It just occurred to me that this book is the quintessential anti-fairy tale with the most ironic, unhappy "happy" ending. Gillian Flynn has a good grasp of the phoniness of many relationships in our society today, and what makes things go wrong between men and women. That said, the story of Amy and Nick is so extreme that these characters have slipped from the realm of being real people to being the caricatures the author has imagined in her most twisted projection of what could happen if you paired a brilliant, mostly unhinged woman with an "ordinary"guy. It keeps you listening but strains your suspension of disbelief and the ending is a lead balloon.

The narration of the story by the alternating male and female readers was effective and convincing. Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyboure were good choices to portray the voices of Amy and Nick.

Kept Me Guessing

I was hesitant to purchase this one based on the mixed reviews but it sounded like an interesting plot so I took the plunge and I'm so glad I did. I needed a break from some of the heavier material I've been listening to lately and this fit the bill.

The plot was nothing if not unpredictable. I LOVE unpredictable. There is some subtle foreshadowing that will give a hint of things to come but you have to really pay attention and even then, some of the twists were jaw dropping. This is not a typical story and that's about as much as I can say without giving a spoiler.

I thought both narrators did a fantastic job although Amy did sound a little young but I can get past that.

If you are in the mood for a twisted suspense story, go ahead and download this.

Great book, loved the suspense

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

I loved that just when I thought I had it figured out-bam-everything changed. I just could not put it down

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

they had just the perfect voices in my mind. Nothing about the way they read annoyed me. I did think that Amy would have had a Yankee accent in reality, but that would have been annoying to listen to so glad they didn't go that way! :-)

Any additional comments?

I don't like the profanity but this book was so good, and I imagine that is true to how these people really would talk so I just cringed and kept on listening!

Should be Audio Winner-Best Performance I've Heard

Loved this performance. Like listening to a two person play. The story was also excellent. Lots of suspense, lots of twists, and neatly tied up at the end. Highly recommend.