Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Gone Girl  By  cover art

Gone Girl

By: Gillian Flynn
Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.57

Buy for $20.57

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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: The 20 Best Thriller Audiobooks to Get Your Heart Racing


Few stories lend themselves to audio better than thrillers. Listening gives you time to play detective and figure out the mysteries with the characters. There’s no way to quickly flip through the tense, nerve-wracking parts—and that’s what makes hearing them so much more exciting. Whether you enjoy classic detective thrillers, or something more sinister, there are endless stories to choose from. Here are the 20 best thriller audiobooks to get you started.

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

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34,612
  • 4 Stars
    15,987
  • 3 Stars
    5,268
  • 2 Stars
    1,814
  • 1 Stars
    1,494
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35,208
  • 4 Stars
    12,102
  • 3 Stars
    3,416
  • 2 Stars
    924
  • 1 Stars
    742
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30,678
  • 4 Stars
    13,370
  • 3 Stars
    4,957
  • 2 Stars
    1,874
  • 1 Stars
    1,580

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Sick, Demented and Pointless

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I am not bothered that the story in this book is sick. What bothered me was the tediousness of it all. About half way through I found myself wanting a terrorist to appear and blow up the entire town. It was difficult to like any of the characters and I would have loved a War of the Roses ending for Nick and Amy. But I stuck with it just to see how it ended and was met with disappointment. Glad to put this one behind me.

Would you ever listen to anything by Gillian Flynn again?

Probably not.

Have you listened to any of Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not but both were excellent narrators. They made the story bearable.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Kept me guessing

If you could sum up Gone Girl in three words, what would they be?

Kept me guessing

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nick. I'm a sucker for the good guy even if he could be a complete idiot.

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

Absolutely

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun and shocking...but Fun!

Would you listen to Gone Girl again? Why?

Absolutely. I'm sure there are details I missed because I didn't know which direction it was going....a good thing!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gone Girl?

The surprising twists. You think you know one thing...then the next chapter you realize you're totally wrong.

Any additional comments?

Entertaining and enjoyable. The actor/actress that did the voice were FABULOUS! What talent!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend to a friend. It was such a psychologically disturbing story that I can't quit thinking about it.

Which character ??? as performed by Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne ??? was your favorite?

I pretty much hated all of the characters in the book, but the performances of Whelan and Heyborne were excellent.

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

I did have an extreme reaction to the book. Early in the book, I was appalled by the behavior of everyone involved. It was like that train wreck that you just can't turn away from. You don't want to see the horrible thing that is happening, but you can't stand not knowing, either. It didn't make me laugh or cry, but I was so tense the entire time I listened that it made me very tired.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing (Amy, lol)

One of the best books I've "read". Good choices for the voices too.
Overall amazing. Wish I could hear
It again for the first time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I liked the design of how the story was told

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

Everything

Have you listened to any of Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I loved them. I usually dont like female voices, but Julia was great.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Better than any Hitchcock film you have every watched!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Flynn's best book yet!

What a great thriller! I did not want it to end. The performers were excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Didn't see that one comin'

Any additional comments?

Not my genre, one day I'll get around to listening to it, they are making it in to a movie - what ever excuses you've had not to listen to this title (well, the excuses I used not to read it ) I advise you throw them out the window ... this was a damn good book! ... I really didn't see the story line comin' and it was a wicked good surprise ... I very much enjoyed the male/female story perspective and narration ... pony up a credit here folks - well worth a listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best book read in a long time!

Would you listen to Gone Girl again? Why?

Yes! The Narration was right on target. The story line wasn't predictable and the genius of the way the story was developed kept my attention. I have listened to audio books for years on my commute to work. This was the first book that I listened to anytime I get a chance.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved everything!

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

The narration brings the story to life.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Hmmm…what would the tag line be if I made this book into a film. I don't have an answer. Gone Girl is a great title….

Any additional comments?

You won't be disappointed!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

So many twists and turns...

What did you love best about Gone Girl?

Just when you think you have the story figured out it completely changes.

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

They do a great job of bringing the characters to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful