Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn 
Publication Date: May 24, 2012
Source: Purchased
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Summary from Goodreads: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

This book had a somewhat slow start and the timeline was a bit confusing. There were alternating points of view; Nick in the present and Amy via diary entries starting years ago. Each character has a unique voice, so the characters felt well done.

At about the halfway point, the story got going and there were some major plot twists. The story was intensely suspenseful and kept my brain spinning. The main characters became unreliable, but in an interesting way. The author clearly understands the thinking of a sociopath. I felt sucked into the story, especially as the plot began to move at a more steady pace. However, I was let down by the ending, it felt like an obvious ploy to write a sequel. I'm not sure that I would read a sequel because things just felt too crazy to me.