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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: Hang On to Every Last Word of These Romantic Suspense Listens


Who says romance has to be all sweet and cuddly? Mystery and suspense romance books force the protagonists to wade through personal trials, physical dangers, and all manner of other terrors to earn their happily ever after. We've gathered a list of pause-resistant listens where the romance is exciting and the suspense is intimate. Each of these suspenseful romances make for the perfect escape whenever and wherever your life needs a little extra spice.

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

Wife of the year award

Once again, Gillian Flynn has lived up to her specialty of creating the most unpleasant characters ever. That's a compliment. She does it so well. I mean, I wanted to kill one of her two main characters myself. I think my face has frozen into a scrunched up "ewwwwwww" face.
The only thing I have to say is, if I ever hate a husband that much, I will just divorce him. Not much of a book in that, though.
I'm glad I read it, as Ms. Flynn does excellent character development and tells a wicked tale. She's the master.

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

Phenomenal Reading From Start to Finish

Any additional comments?

Great narrators. You'll love and hate the characters as they drag you step-by-step through the maze of psychological torment and despair. The way the author pulled the pieces together for the final reveal in the last hour was wonderful.

Gillian Flynn; you've gained a new fan!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Gone Girl plot & twist

Good storyline with a real twist that left me surprised as the ending wound down. I admit I had a different closure in mind. I really wish the characters in the book had a cleaner vocabulary; that much vulgarity is a definite detraction for me.

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

Only 40% of the way through & can't set it down.

What did you love best about Gone Girl?

I literally cannot see where this is going to go... is she dead? Did she leave him? Could she just leave everyone behind? Do her parents have something to do with it? Did she kill herself? Is the trail all going to lead to her with divorce papers? Man I just can't tell. But the way the chapters chop between Amy's chronological diary entries from the moment she met Nick forward, to the next chapter where it is real time and from Nick's perspective looking for Amy. You really can't tell if he is the culprit, confused as much as you are, an evil psychopath, or and oblivious husband who had no idea he was being a terrible husband to begin with... or is it all just a dream? I will update this review when I finish, but it is a MUST read for anyone who has been in a relationship that has went sour... the perspective of Amy is just oddly accurate to the way your brain starts to work when in an abusive relationship, isolated from your loved ones, for far too long (no matter how independent and successful the woman, or man in few cases, may be).

Who was your favorite character and why?

I will have to wait til I finish before I answer, I can't tell who I hate yet, or who is truthful... the protagonist has not yet been revealed. But maybe this is a story that makes you not like anyone in the end, maybe it just reveals the evil in the world for what it is, evil, awful... but unfortunately inevitable.

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

I started out the book by reading a hard copy, just started listening in Chapter 17 on the audible book. I will revisit this answer once I finish the book.

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

I will revisit this answer once I finish the book.

Any additional comments?

I will revisit this answer once I finish the book.

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

Excellent! Couldn't stop listening.

Quite the intellectual thriller. Lots of wists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyed this. First audiobook in a while that I just couldn't stop listening to!

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Amazing Perfromace by the Narrators!!!

This book was so entertaining. The story was well told and written, I will not spoil anything but I would have imagined a different ending. The twist and turns we fantastic. I can not say enough how much I enjoyed the narration both Julia and Kirby are superb!

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Very Entertaining!

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

I had to take a 13 hour drive and needed something to keep me going. This did!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

There was never a time on my long journey where I felt like I needed a listening break. I was so caught up in this book with it's twisted plot, I felt sad when my GPS told me I only had one more hour to go. By the time I reached my destination (2:20am) I thought, " How can I stop and get out of my car." I was so curious as to what was going to happen next, I sat there in my car to listen just a little more, just a little more, no really just a little more!

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

I've never listened to Julia Whelan or Kirby Heyborne, but they did an excellent job. A reader can really make or break a book for me.

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

The point is that for 13 hours I didn't need any coffee or an energy drink. This book had all the energy I needed to keep me awake!

Any additional comments?

Read it! You won't be disappointed! That I know fro sure.

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

Excellent story

Where does Gone Girl rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is up there with some of the best audiobooks I have listened to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked both the characters of Amy Dunne and Nick Dunne. The manner in which the story was told was quite compelling.

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

No

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Could not stop listening!!

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

Intense, Disturbing, Clever

Who was your favorite character and why?

Amy was the clear winner; brilliant and diabolical.

Any additional comments?

I could not stop talking about this book! It helped me to reach my running goals each week as I would become so engrossed in the story, I would run further than I had intended! Loved it! Need something similar to keep up my pace! Any suggestions?

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

I ended up hating both of them

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It is not one I'd listen to again. I found the storyline started out great but then took a right turn into freakytown and never came back.

What did you like best about this story?

I really liked the narration.

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

I liked the Nick character. Kirby did good vocalisations although I thought Julia had a real talent for interesting female voices.

Did Gone Girl inspire you to do anything?

Not buy another of Gillian's books?

Any additional comments?

A case of taking things too far so I lost sympathy for the characters.

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