Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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?

Source: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/196906/gone-girl-by-gillian-flynn/

This book exploded into the bestsellers chart earlier this year and already movie rights have been bought up by Reese Witherspoon's film company, whilst every newspaper for a while had pictures of celebrities with a copy of this book tucked under their arms.

When a book receives such endorsements it's almost unbearable not to check out whether the hype is deserved.

This is the story of Nick & Amy, a young married city couple who have moved back to Nick's small hometown in order to help care for his ill mother. One day however Amy disappears and suddenly every aspect of their marriage is under the microscope. The problem is though that Nick's view of his marriage seems to be out of synch with what the police are finding out about Amy. Suddenly Nick is suspect number 1.

I loved first half of this book, the way the chapters flit between Amy & Nick, exploring their marriage from two view points and this was intriguing. It built the suspense and a picture which promised a strong book. About half way through though it flipped on it's head and went a little crazy. I won't go into any specifics because it would ruin for those who haven't read it yet but suffice to say it made the ending less than I was expecting.

Personally I didn't find the ending credible, it left me frustrated and the character unresolved. I can see why this might translate well to the screen and I'm positive it will receive lots of attention on release. For me it wasn't the greatest book ever but it did introduce me to the author and I'd now (based on part of Gone Girl) give the other books from her a try.