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

Excellent Thriller!

Wow! Just finished the book but couldn't stop myself from listening EVERYWHERE I could! This was an audio "page turner". The male and female voices really helped make the story and the twists and turns never ended! I found myself trading sides back and forth trying to determine who was guilty and who was innocent! Very impressed with the story and reading, can't wait to read another Gillian Flynn novel! James Patterson... move over!

Very unlikeable characters

Its hard to like a book when there isnt a single character you can root for. By the time I was just over halfway through I was ready to stop. Only the need to finish each book I start kept me going but I wont listen to it again and I'm glad I didnt buy the hard copy. Narrators are great, the story would be great but the writer doesnt give the reader a character we can sympathize with or feel empathy for.

Gripping Story Well Told, But.....

Nothing I can say will add anything new to such a popular and reviewed title. Forgive my lateness, but I was seemingly one of the dwindling few who had never experienced the book or movie. The book is engrossing. I couldn't wait for my listening opportunities to roll around so I could resubmerge into this bleak, confusing, confounding, enraging landscape. That ending though! Had I known that was how it ended I very likely would not have began.

Could not put it down

Would you consider the audio edition of Gone Girl to be better than the print version?

Yes , i love listening , its more like a radio movie

What did you like best about this story?

the way it keeps me guessing, i dont know what to expect

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

they act out the book ...they are great

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

yes....i was mad when i had to put it away

So disappointed in the ending....

Loved, loved, loved this story. The first I've listened in quite awhile that had me listening every spare moment I could and would go get on the treadmill just so I could hear more. Storyline was fantastic, characters complex though dark, loved the twists and turns, couldn't wait to get to the end. The ending for me was SO DISAPPOINTING, which is why I gave it one star less. I was hoping for something big and not where it went. It just fizzled out and I was hoping for something good, a gotcha of sorts.
The narrators were both engrossing to listen to and really made the story.

Excellent Story Telling

When a book ends and I find myself wishing it hadn't, then I know it did its job. This story was completely engrossing. The actors did a great job. I found myself going back and forth between rooting for the bad guy, the bad girl, the couple, the rednecks...everyone had me and lost me more than once. Quite well done. At first I was wishing the story had ended differently, the way I wanted it to end. But after a little pondering I realized that the end of the book did just that, encouraged pondering. I like that.

Well done. Much better than Dark Places. Even though on the subject matter alone I fully expected to enjoy Dark Places more than this one. Goes to show that a well told story can make marriage and middle age more interesting than mass murder....

Sometimes difficult, but worth the read

I admit, I struggled with this one for a bit. I didn't like listening to 2 different narrators. I didn't like the writing, it seemed awfully simplistic. I didn't even like either of the main characters. But I stuck it out, and I am glad I did. It becomes clear that the simplistic writing style serves a purpose, and it really HAS to be told by 2 different narrators; and while I still can't say I like either character, I loved the story they had to tell. The plot twists and turns, and at the end I was left almost breathless. Great suspenseful story!

Wow

Would you listen to Gone Girl again? Why?

Yes, to catch any details I missed the 1st time.

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

I've listened to KH before. They both did a fantastic job as their own character. Not so great when they narrated a character of the opposite sex.

Any additional comments?

Completely gripping.

Gripping story, full of twists and turns

I have read Flynn's previous novels but downloaded this one to listen to while I work out. Very much enjoyed the plot twists and the alternating creepy vs. romantic vibe. The story is told from the viewpoints of Amy and Nick, a married couple set to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary when Amy goes missing. Not only does each chapter alternate from Amy and Nick's viewpoint, but they also alternate present time, beginning on the morning that Amy goes missing (Nick's POV) and flashbacks to when they first met and their romance developed (Amy's POV). Definitely a story that keeps you guessing and involved. The overarching question throughout the book - was Nick involved in Amy's disappearance? I'm only sad that there are no other Flynn novels to read or listen to.

As far as the actual performance, I found the narrators to be quite good with the exception of voicing a hispanic female cop that interacts with Nick.

Depressing

Any additional comments?

I found that I could not like any of the key characters in this book. They were both self centered egotist. You usually want someone to come out ahead when you read or listen to a book...needless to say I found the ending somewhat of a downer.