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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: Whodunit Whizzes—A Shortlist of the Best Mystery Authors


Who doesn't love a good mystery? Listening to mystery audiobooks is a great way to feel some semblance of order in an often chaotic world. The clues are there for you to solve along, and by the end, it will all come together in an incredibly satisfying manner. There’s a formula to the genre, sure, but the best mysteries still surprise you and often subvert expectations. These mystery writers take the genre to a new level. Here's our pick of their best listens.

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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Great book.. you dont know "who did it"

Great, Great book. I usually figure out what will happen with each character upon their early introduction. Not with this book, it took me a while. Great twist!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Delicious, demented, couldn't put it down!

I couldn't help but wonder what transformed a beautiful, intelligent girl into such a monstrous psychopath. Narcissism at its worst.




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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hmm, believe the hype. This is a good trashy story

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

Among the top 25 of mysteries and thrillers. This story is not for the "faint of heart".

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

This book is in a class all of its own among the books that I have read.

Which scene was your favorite?

I could not get enough and it was difficult to stop listening to the story. I had to back track and re-listen if I drifted off and missed a part of the story. There was not one favorite scene--all were equally interesting. The language is rich and can be very graphic at times.

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

Disgust is my reaction to the book. It is possible that we know people similar to the characters in this story. It was a good story but nothing "good" was happening to the characters if it makes sense to say that. This was a hard story to put down because it held my interest and my need to know what will happen next. There really was not one character, with the exception of Mo, that I cared about. Mo was the only normal person-character. She did not have some sinister intent or participate in immoral behavior. Without committing a serious story spoiler--Mo is truly the only good person in the story. I could not stand Amy's voice or words. She sounded like one of those "valley girls" all grown up. Her voice in the beginning of the story was irritiating, shrill and immature. As the story progressed, it was toned down a bit. Perhaps it was the intent of the narrator who did a great job. Nick's voice was more calm and easier to listen to. Also, the last few chapters seemed to drag to the end. The end was unsatisfying to me. Tragic. I needed more to feel good at the end.

Any additional comments?

I agree with most posts that the writing was spectacular. Great twists and turns in the plot. The ability to be "inside the heads" of the two main characters and to learn of the other characters through the perceptions of the main characters was great. I have to comment that all of the charcters have flaws and are unlikeable for one reason or more. However, I did not like the way the story ended. This would be an excellent book to discuss with a group.

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Good from the beginning to the end!!

Haven't seen the movie, hopefully it's as good as this book. The narrators were excellent!

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a great mystery read

I could not stop listening to this book the characters draw you in almost immediately. can't wait to see the movie.

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Excellent narration

In this book, I enjoyed the narration of Julia Whelan, the voice of Amy.
The story was entertaining, but the characters were not really likable at all. Some of the scenes and settings were quite gripping. However, I felt like there was no resolution to the story. I did not enjoy the ending. Also the author uses a lot of profanity.

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Damm that was a good ending

Really, interesting and keeps you on your toes. I did have to increase the speed of the reading bc they do speak a little slow. Other than that loved it

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yep

Pretty damn good. . . . . . . . . . . . . .c X z

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Dark and crazy

What a wild ride. The narrator gave me chills when she read Amy. Not the same old thriller... definitely original.

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I could not stop listening to the book!

the story is unfolded extraordinarily well and it is easy to relate to some situations described.

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