Gone Girl: Book Review

Have you ever found a book you want to like, but couldn't? Every day for weeks I walked  past a display in a booksellers window, made entirely of copies of this book. I heard reviews of it, listen to friends gush about how incredible it was and generally heard a lot of good things about this popular novel.

 

It's a fascinating idea: a crime/thriller set in the modern day US, a woman's disappearance and presumed murder by her husband. The twists and turns are really interesting - let's put it this way, I wouldn't want to annoy anyone with a mind like Gillian Flynn.

Maybe it was just too long, but the characters didn't pull me in - I did finish it, and I didn't necessarily see the twist coming, but it missed a spark for me. The characters sounded a little forced in my view, but I really enjoyed the multiple view/hall of mirrors style of narration, but for such a long book the characters were flawed and not full enough. You may be thinking that it's out of my normal genre, but I loved Before I Go To Sleep review recently and grew up on a diet of crime/thriller (Dean Koontz is one of my top 5 favourite authors) as well as my favourite fantasy and history books.

I read a lot (having a commute to fill will do this to you), and I don't often pick up books that are currently popular. Maybe it's the hippy side my Mother raised me with, but I often find that books that are over-hyped tend to be disappointing. Maybe it's the expectation setting it up for a fall, but this was the same - really interesting, clever premise and idea, but it just didn't rock my world as much as I though it would.

It was however on the New York times bestseller list last year for eight weeks and (date date of posting this) has sold over two million copies (print & e-book, according to Wikipedia). Just #keepingitreal

(Ps. just found a website for suggesting books (ahem above) when you are searching for a new one to read: Book Country)

Have you read it? Do you agree/disagree?

(Please note any links to Amazon are through my Amazon Associates account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links and it adds nothing to the price of your book. This helps support my book addiction, so if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the top link)