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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: Audible Essentials—The Top 100 Screen Adaptations of All Time


As the category of great page-to-screen storytelling continues to grow, we scoured our libraries, grilled audiophiles and cinephiles, and vetted the entire Audible catalog for the 100 greatest screen adaptations for watchers and listeners alike. These are the stories that inspired some of the greatest on-screen stories of all time, from Academy Award winners and cult classics to must-see TV. They're well worth the price of admission.

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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    4 out of 5 stars

CRAZY Good!!!

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

YES! I have already done so. It was referred to me by my daughter. All she would tell me is "just wait Mom..just keep reading".

What did you like best about this story?

It kept me going...I listened every chance I got!

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

Loved both equally! Amy is a mess!

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

It pissed me off, but in a good way!

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

Gone Girl: Buckle Up!

Any additional comments?

Somehow I had never heard of Gillian Flynn and chose Gone Girl on a whim. Wow! I was delighted with the surprise turn this novel takes. I'm not the biggest fan of unexpected plot twists--they are difficult to do well and often come across as gratuitous or desperate. I didn't see it coming and was definitely snookered, in the best way possible. Flynn weaves her narrative turn into the fabric of the story like a master and loses not a whisper of momentum as the story rushes to its intriguing conclusion.

I went on to (happily) read Flynn's other novels and am now officially a fan, waiting as patiently as I can for whatever she writes next.

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  • P
  • 09-10-12

Good book

What did you love best about Gone Girl?

Liked it twist and turns you never know what to expect

What did you like best about this story?

Mystery

Which scene was your favorite?

When u realize the bad guy isn't really bad

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

It made me think

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

not what ib expected

i was so suckered in until the end. the ending just felt wrong and incomplete.

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Very worth the time!

This book kept me hooked! I drive a lot due to my job, so audiobooks help me pass the 4 hour drives quickly...I found myself still listening after I got home, while cooking dinner, etc when usually the tv would have been on! Great suspense, keeps you guessing the whole time!!! I thought with the length it may be a long, drawn out story that would maybe get boring at times...I was totally wrong!

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A page turner! I thoroughly enjoyed every word!

I listened to the book... so there weren't any pages to turn , awesome story!

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one of the best books I've read in a long yime!!!

loved this! great narration and totally unpredictable! worth the read for sure. sad it ended!

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Great story!

I heard the movie was so good I had to listen to the book first, and I Did not want to stop listening! This is definitely a must for your wish list!

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Do I have to say it?

Well, I resisted from buying this book because of all the hype. But finally did. There is a reason that people like this book. There are so many unexpected twists and turns. Gillian Flynn did a great job (understatement). I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to be surprised by the writer.

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Lots of surprises

This book was not what I expected. Mostly that it was really different, difficult to put down. You find that who you're rooting for changes several times.

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