Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Gone Girl

Gone Girl
Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
reviewed on + 289 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


Gone Girl is a captivating mix of mystery/thriller and relationship autopsy. To care for his ailing parents, laid-off journalist Nick Dunne moves back from New York to his hometown of Carthage, Missouri with his beautiful, clever, and also laid-off wife Amy, the namesake of the best-selling Amazing Amy series by her parents. On the fifth anniversary of their marriage with its ups but more frequent downs of late, Amy disappears with signs of foul play. Nick becomes the prime suspect in this story which alternates between their points of view. I can see how some people are turned off by the characters and the ending, but I thought Gillian Flynn gave the couple fully developed and distinct voices and psyches. Although it wasn't satisfying, the ending made sense to me. I was more drawn to reading this book than my other ongoing reads. It strikes me the type of book a Jonathan Franzen fan might enjoy as light beach entertainment.