Gone Girl

When Gone Girl came out, there was a ton of buzz around it, most centered on the shocking twist. It was like The Sixth Sense all over again, with everyone swearing you had to read it but refusing to tell you anything about it. Sometimes stories can rely on these twists to much, making that the only worthwhile thing about them. And they end up falling apart once you know the secret.

But Gone Girl holds up incredibly well. Even knowing what Amy's plotting from the beginning, it remains gripping and thrilling. Gillian Flynn populates the novel with some truly horrible, selfish, twisted people, and it's so much fun to watch them play games with each other and see how Amy comes out on top of everyone. It helps that she's the most ruthless and least moral. She'll literally do whatever it takes to get what she wants, including killing a (mostly) innocent guy. (Seriously, though, Desi was just as bad as the rest of them.)

I really enjoyed my re-read of this book. Knowing the twist that comes halfway through makes the first half that much more interesting. When you know what's going to happen but you still can't look away, that's the mark of a great story.

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