*Warning: Spoilers Ahead *

You may have seen previews for the latest thriller “Gone Girl,” but what you may not know is that the film is based off of a gripping novel of the same name. “Gone Girl,” written by Gillian Flynn, is about a husband and his quest to find his missing wife.

Part 1 of the novel is told in first person through Nick, while Amy, the wife, shares some information through her diary entries. From Nick’s point of view, we learn that Amy goes missing while he is at work and comes home to find his house in disarray with blood on the floor.

As the novel continues, Nick’s personal secrets continue to damage his reputation, as it is revealed he has a mistress, which would give him a motive to kill Amy.

As Nick tries to prove his innocence, Amy’s diary entries condemn him even more. The entries start off describing the beginning of their perfect relationship, but slowly start to take a turn for the worse. Amy describes Nick as becoming distant as their marriage goes on and describes his severe mood swings. She reveals her fear of him becoming violent and even says she believes he might kill her one day.

The police find the diary and other evidence pinning Amy’s disappearance on Nick. The first half of the novel leaves Nick as the main suspect with Amy’s whereabouts still unknown.

Part 2 of the novel begins through Amy’s perspective, revealing to the reader that she is unharmed and had planned her own disappearance. As Amy shares her side of the story, the reader learns that she is manipulative and planted “evidence” to convict Nick to get revenge on him for having a mistress.

Amy describes her life in hiding, watching Nick’s life fall apart through the television. What Amy does not know is that Nick has caught on to her games and has his own way of exposing her and saving his reputation.

Flynn’s style of writing is truly rapturing. Switching back and forth between Nick and Amy’s points of view makes it difficult for the reader to decipher who is innocent and who is guilty. The reader goes from distrusting Nick and his slyness to outright despising Amy for her manipulation tactics and selfishness.

I love “Gone Girl” for many reasons, the biggest being that the characters are not cookie-cutter perfect. But that is what makes the novel so great; these unlikable characters are real. Flynn helps us see that we are not as innocent as we all pretend to be and, sometimes, our own worst enemy is ourselves.

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