BOOK REVIEW : GONE GIRL by GILLIAN FLYNN

A New York girl, Amy meets a Missouri boy, Nick-both writers( one compiles quizzes in women's magazine and the other is a journalist) -they fall in love- get married- recession hits and they both lose their jobs- they decide and return to Missouri- marriage takes a bad turn- fights, and tantrums and blame games and silent treatment- fifth anniversary day- wife disappears under mysterious circumstances- husband looks pretty indifferent, relaxed and calm for someone whose wife is missing- obviously, fingers point in his direction with pieces of evidence being found out proving him to be the prime suspect- Nick, as expected denies all charges-says he is being framed.

But the big question is whether this is the true and full story...

A BIG NOO!!

We all know that just like every coin has two sides, so does a story, even if it is what the crime shows call an "open and shut" case.

Is Amy really missing or is she hiding somewhere or if she has been kidnapped??
Or is there something much more sinister?? Is there someone trying to frame Nick in his wife's disappearance??

This is the plot of the latest thriller by Gillian Flynn.

I started the book with an inherent skepticism of one, who has read many many books, thinking that I will be able to nail the story within 100pages and yes, I even assumed to have unearthed the real story by the time I hit the 49th page. But as I reached the 100th page I realized I was very very wrong and that I could never become a good sleuth aka Sherlock Homes or closer home, a Byomkesh Bakshi or a Karamchand:-):-):-)

This thriller is addictive and makes you want to finish the story fast so you can find the ultimate end( although not an easy task as its a 400+ pages book with a small font). But it is never boring or dull. Flynn has made it interesting with lots of monologues, dialogues, witty one-liners, lots of twists and turns, lots of interesting anecdotes, and detailed character analysis.

There are all the characters, typical in a thriller, present here too :
A missing sweet wife, a husband who is a prime suspect, a very supportive sister Go, supportive but slightly wary in-laws, neighbours who do not trust Nick at all, cops who play the good cop/bad cop, media trying to mileage the maximum TRP out of it, a couple of ex's and an omnipresent social media!!

At times I felt that Flynn was dragging the story and could have made it more crisp with a few more edits but the last 50-60 odd pages make it all up leaving me with just one expression, "Neat!! "

A good thriller that makes for an interesting read and at least to me was unputdownable. So I finished it really fast ignoring my precious sleep and my favorite Pakistani dramas!!