go o d re a d s
by Sheila DeChantal
I photos by Joey Halvorson
Reviewer Sheila DeChantal registers a range of emotions as she reads one of this year’s hot crime thrillers, “Gone Girl.”
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WINTER 2012 | her voice
Gone Girl
It’s the cold season in Minnesota, the time of year you look for books that keep you riveted to the pages and warm and cozy under a blanket. “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn is just the page-turner you may be looking for… Nick and Amy’s marriage started out just as you would hope, two people deeply in love. Nick was handsome and carefree, Amy beautiful and the “Amy” behind her parents “Amazing Amy” book series, which left her quite a little nest egg…but things are not always as they seem. As years go by, things change for the happy couple. Amy gives the majority of her money back to her parents when they hit financial difficulties, then both she and Nick lose their jobs in New York. Nick’s mom is sick and his dad has Alzheimer’s so the couple moves back to Missouri to be close to his parents and start over. Amy uses the last large chunk of her inheritance to help Nick and his twin sister, Margo, purchase a bar. Now, on their five-year anniversary a very different couple has emerged from where Nick and Amy started. They cannot seem to connect anymore. That morning Nick leaves for his bar, only to receive a call shortly after from a neighbor saying something seems wrong at Nick’s home. The door is wide open; the cat that is never allowed outside is on the front step. Nick comes back to find the living room torn apart, the iron left on and Amy missing. With the help of clues that Amy left for Nick, as she does every year to find his anniversary present, Nick soon becomes the prime suspect. Having his own secrets, Nick works with his sister trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Amy. But things are not always as they seem. As the story unfolds there is more than meets the eye and a very twisted tale unfolds which really shows that you never know what goes on behind white picket fences and closed doors. “Gone Girl” is a mystery. No scratch that… it is a thriller. But not your run-ofthe mill thriller. Add psychological thriller to the mix. Yep… it is a little wacky, a whole lot thrilling and oh so good!
This is one of those books that are hard to review because it is so masterfully put together I do not want to give anything away that is best for the reader (you) to discover on your own. What you think you know… you don’t. What you are sure will happen… will not. When you think you have it all figured out (like I thought I did by page 111), you don’t. You are not even close to the crazy that is happening. When I told a friend how much I loved the book, she asked, “Are you on part two yet?” And I responded, “There’s a part two?” I flipped ahead about 10 pages and sure enough, the book has a part two and as long as I am sharing, also a part three. “Gone Girl” is one of those books you do not want to put down. It’s filled with so many twists and turns that I don’t want to give any of the greatness of this book away. As I read it, my thoughts went something like this: “WHAT?” “Noooooo….” “That can’t be, rig… oh. It is.” “NO WAY!” “That’s crazy!” “That’s brilliant!” “Oh no, he didn’t!” “Oh no, she didn’t!” “Gone Girl” is perhaps the best book I have read in 2012 — so far. It is different than anything I have read before. Let’s just say from this review forward, Gillian Flynn will be known to me as “The Great and Wonderful Gillian Flynn.” Note: There is occasional crude language. Nothing over the top (I hate that), but it is there and I want you to be aware.
HV
Sheila DeChantal
Sheila DeChantal has lived all her life in the Brainerd lakes area. She reviews books of many genres at http://bookjourney.wordpress.com. Besides being a lifelong, crazy, book addict, she also enjoys biking events, roller blading, hiking, traveling and other adventures!
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