Surprise, surprise,  and surprise some more.   Forget the formula suspense novels when you sit down to read this book.  Whether you like the book or not, it never fails to surprise.

On the fifth wedding anniversary of Nick and Amy Dunne, Amy disappears.  We are given only a few chapters to get to know Nick and Amy.  This, of course, is done on purpose.  The author, Gillian Flynn, doesn’t want you to know too much up front.

Amy’s parents wrote a series of books titled “Amazing Amy,” while she was growing up.  It made the family rich, and Amy enjoyed all the perks with being rich, private schools, clothes, trips, etc.    By the time of Amy’s disappearance Nick and Amy had left Amy’s beloved city and moved to Nick’s hometown in Missouri.  Amy’s parents had to borrow most of Amy’s trust fund (they were broke), and Nick used the rest to open a bar in his hometown.

All that has happened in the first few chapters, but it will gain even more momentum.  I can’t say much more about the novel without giving it away.  So, I will say that most of our book club didn’t like the ending.  But, that said, no one could put it down.   As a suspense story it gets an A.

Discussions we had at book club revolved around marriage.  Do we really know our spouse, our kids, ourselves?  We all found the ending difficult, but we have some interesting discussions, and that’s what book club is all about.

Rating: 8.0