'What are you thinking, Amy? The question I've asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?'

Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true.

A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what did really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? And what was left in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war...

In an effort to prevent spoilers, I've been very careful to avoid reviews of this book & to watch/read anything to do with the film (though undoubtedly the two will have very little in common), so I started this book with no preconceptions other than expecting it to be a good read......& I'm really glad I did.

That said, it's going to be a bit hard to review without giving anything away. I don't think it spoils anything to say that the reader soon gets an idea of what's happened but the why comes a little later & the story has enough twists & turns so that you can't be 100% sure of how things will go.

There are a couple of points I'd like to make so if you want to read them highlight them - personally I'd wait till you've read the book!

Despite Amy being a psycho bitch I can't help but have some grudging admiration for her pursuit of vengeance (& I thought I could hold a grudge - wonder if she's a Scorpio too?) & the lengths she went to in order to frame Nick.

There's also some truth in how people often try to conform to the ideals of a new partner at the start of a relationship & how as time progresses, this pretense is hard to maintain. Once this façade drops & their natural personality traits come through it can cause friction & for one of them, the realisation that their "perfect" partner isn't their idea of perfection after all.

On the whole Amy's plan seemed fairly credible to me but there was one glaring flaw....with regard to her "abduction" by Desi - how come he never noticed the rope marks? (see page 435).

The end...hmmm....a tad disappointing - though to be fair I often feel like that when I've loved a book, it's just sad to get to the end - though I would have liked Nick to have the balls to call her bluff re the pregnancy. God knows what hangups that kid's going to have.......

There's a quote on the backcover from The Mail On Sunday that I whole heartedly agree with..."Gone Girl" is a book you'll be begging other people to read, just so you can discuss it with them"

Surprise! Look forward to hearing what you think of this - seems its one you either love or hate.

Received in the post today along with two other surprise wishlist books and also some Easter choc and a Marie Curie daffodil (how appropriate). Thanks so much Plum-you are very generous!

Update May 2015. I actually received two copies of this book in the post in the space of a few days so passed this copy to Mikeycat but did tell Plum-Crazy what happened. Therefore my full review of the book can be found on the other copy on my bookshelf. In a nutshell- I did enjoy the book but thought the bad language and sexual content were a little over the top and sometimes unnecessary.

just given to me by Daffodil-2

This book was given to my friend Mikeycat when she came to stay with me. I believe she has taken it back to Australia with her. A nice trip for the book! Sorry I forgot to do my release notes at the time.

To the finder:-
Welcome to bookcrossing -you have found a travelling book. Please make a journal entry now to say where you found the book in case it has been moved. Then, when you have read it, please come back and make a further entry saying whether or not you enjoyed the book and why. It is now yours to do as you like with it, pass it to a friend or just leave it somewhere different for someone else to find and help it with its' journey. Of course if you can't bear to part with it at the moment then keep it, but please let me know that you have found it. If you join bookcrossing, which is free and spam-free, you can follow the book on its' travels as you will get an email each time it changes hands, but if you prefer to remain anonymous, that's fine too. Please also say what you intend to do with the book next. Thanks for coming onto the site to let me know you have found the book.

I already have books travelling in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Croatia, the Falkland Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Indonesia, Madeira, Mauritius, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S.A, Wales and all over England.

This book was given to my friend Deidre. It's the first time she's heard of Bookcrossing, but I think she will Journal it, as she is an avid reader. She intends to pass it on to a mutual friend who may take it with her when she heads home to New Zealand for a visit. How ironic it is that it was giver to me in Englandby Daffodil-2 just before SHE headed off to New Zealand.

Having seen the film of Gone Girl, I found that the book made certain aspects of the story line a lot clearer, as is often the case with books/films. It's quite a complicated plot, and it's a little hard to believe in the characters with all the plot twists. Could real people live like that for such a length of time? And with of the two main characters being not particularly likeable, it wasn't a book I looked forward to reading each day. I know a lot of people have enjoyed it, so I'm probably just out of synch with public opinion!!! You decide for yourself after you've read it!

PS: forgot to do a journal entry before giving it to my friend...oops!