Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Why did I read this book?

This is the last book from Gillian Flynn. I really enjoyed her other 2 books, Sharp Objects and Dark Places, and I heard great things about this last book, so I was very excited to finally read it.

What's the book about?

The book is the story of a marriage...not a happy marriage mind you. The story is told in 2 voices, that of Amy, the wife and that of Nick the husband. Amy has disappeared and all the clues seem to point to a murder and what is more, Nick gets more and more incriminated as we advance in the book, although he will insist on his innocence. We learn about their relationship and the story behind Amy's weird disappearance. 

What was the thing I liked the most? 

If you haven't grown to like Flynn's books don't come near this book. This is the epitome of unlikeable characters, twisted relationships and f*&^%$ up psyches. Interestingly enough that's what I enjoyed the most, the characters. I know I just said they are not likeable but the way they are written keeps pushing you to want to know more about them even though you grow disgusted of their behaviour.

What about the main character?

There are 2 main characters as I mentioned, Amy, a very smart woman, single child...a bit used on getting her way. On the other hand we have Nick, a twin, but the younger one and hence, he is used for people to run for him (this is the book talking, not me). They met in New York, both of them writers, both of them smart. But faith had it that Nick's mom fell sick and he had to go back to his hometown in Missouri. This scenario change will make things harder on their already not so perfect marriage. But as we dig deeper and deeper in their relationship we find more and more eery things about this "picture perfect" couple.

Final thoughts

It was very hard to write this review without giving away the punch. But look, there is always a thing that comes to my head when I finish Flynn's book: I don't know what exactly happened in her life to make her able to write such characters...but I do NOT want to know.  Flynn somehow manages to build this very sick, very damaged characters, everyone more broken than the other, and yet...and yet you want more of them. You don't want to change them; you just want to know more about them. You certainly hope not to find anyone during your life remotely similar to them, but man are they involving when you read them.  

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

What's the book about?

About 20 years ago, Libby Day lost all of her family in a mass murder event. She was the only survivor. That is if you don't count her brother who was accused of committing the murders and her father that was never really there. Libby has not cope well and as it turns out she has pretty much isolated herself from the world. This changes when she learns that the money she has been living with is almost gone and she meets "The Kill Club", a group of people obsessed with her family murders and convinced that her brother did not do it. Libby will talk to the people involved, something she has been avoiding all of her life, for a price. But as she digs in the mystery surrounding the murders all of what she believed might change.

What was the thing I liked the most? 

Flynn is very talented at telling a story. In this particular book, she decided to go with a double time line which allows us to see what's happening to Libby right now and then see what was going on with her brother and mother on the day of the murders. This was the part I enjoyed the most of the book, since it kept me going through the pages wanting to know what happen next.

What about the main character?

As was the case with Sharp Objects, the main character has serious issues that she has decided to live with. She knows she is messed up but does nothing to change this. She is not likable and she knows it, but she uses this to remain on herself. She will guide you, reluctantly, through her life and will be very protective of what she feels is her story and no one else's.

Final thoughts

I really liked Sharp Objects. As you advanced in it, the characters seemed more and more messed up but that made them more interesting. Unfortunately, the characters in Dark Places were not surprising. From the beginning they had issues, yet it didn't grow, it was always the same character. Although I wouldn't call the end predictable, it did not surprise me as it did on Sharp Objects. That said, it was a good book, just not an outstanding one. I already have Gone Girl and I'm hoping Flynn got her eeriness back on full mode!.

Sharp Object by Gillian Flynn

What's the book about?

Camille Preaker is a journalist living in Chicago. When a second girl is murder in her hometown, Wind Gap Missouri, her editor prompts her to go back to cover the story thinking this might be a big break for the paper. Camille isn't really looking forward it. A bad relationship with her mother, a bunch of memories that she has spent a lifetime trying to forget and a town to small to let her completely succeed at it. While trying to unveil the mystery a lot of the pain she left behind comes back to haunt her.  

What was the thing I liked the most? 

I love a good thriller. I just love it. It's been almost 6 months since I read The Ice princess which I loved and this one hit right on the same spot.  The characters built up smoothly but intriguingly enough to keep me interested. I have to tell you at a certain point I was sure I would give a 4 for this book and then it had a twist I did not see coming, which is way it gained its final star. 

What about the main character?

Camille is not a hero that is for sure. She is the protagonist but she is broken in so many pieces is impossible to count. Funny enough she is stable enough to guide us through the story. She can talk about herself and her past as if she was talking about someone else, with such detachment that I needed her to say that she was talking about herself before I realized it was the case. She has the worst relationship with her mother you can imagine and its from this ill relationship that all her issues come from. 

The 10% moment

Camille has left Chicago and although she could’ve arrived immediately to Wind Gap she stays in a motel to get “ one more night”  before facing her mother. The next day, she even does an interview before going to her mother’s place. Then and only then she will notify her mother that she is planning to stay with them. It is pretty obvious that they are not in the best terms possible. Some clues as to what the abductions of the girls were like are given, but a sense of mystery hangs in the air. 

Final thoughts

Wow, just wow. I had 50 pages to go and I realized it was midnight between Sunday and Monday. I knew I had to go to sleep but I just couldn't help myself I wanted to know what happened at the end. At the same time I was afraid of continuing because I kept telling myself this cannot get more twisted right, and then off course it did. I confirmed it was a good book when the next day the first thing that came into my head was the book. Everyone is full of issues in the book, but you keep saying it can't be that bad...oh but it is!. It was a great debut novel if you ask me, and I'm already in queue for the author's second book Dark Places