My Never Ending List

I kept looking at the title and the author of this book to make sure I was reading it correctly.  Everyone kept telling me that this book had them up all night as it was fantastic but I was just wasn’t seeing it. I myself had just finished reading Sharp Objects and I was totally blown away by the raw and gripping language and here I was reading Gone Girl and I was taking a walk in the park, wondering if someone was playing a trick on me. To me, the author totally toned down her intensity and her use of language in this book and for that, it was a total disappointment for me.  The story itself in Gone Girl was amazing and the tension and the suspense reminded me of a bit like a movie I enjoy.  Amy and Nick were meant for each other and perhaps it was too much like a storybook romance. Everything was peachy, their expectation of each other was whatever the other partner wanted to give, and it just seemed too good to be true. They both were writers, both living their dream in New York and then down came the hatchet.  They both lost their jobs and they only had each other to cling to.  Go, Nick’s sister calls and informs him that their parent’s health is failing and that she has moved home to take care of them.  With nothing keeping them in N.Y., Nick makes this life-changing decision and Amy and Nick are headed to Missouri to settle down and help out.  It does not take long for Nick to find his groove but Amy is not accepting Missouri very well and she starts to notice that Nick is changing.  All around, the Dunne’s household starts to take on some significant changes as the individuals learn to adapt to their new environment.  Just as Nick thinks his life is back on track, he returns home one morning to attend to their cat and he finds the house has been trampled, screaming for his wife, he finds she is gone.  Abducted? Missing? Or did she just runaway? Occurring on their fifth anniversary, as Nick comes to grips with his wives disappearance he must also start the yearly treasure hunt Amy painfully makes him go through to receive his yearly present as he feels the tradition might also help him decipher the mystery behind his wives departure.

I was so excited to read this book that I waited till I had the whole weekend to wrap myself around this book and as I read it, I kept thinking I seriously waited for this. Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent mystery and strange book but it is nothing like Gillian’s others books so I was so taken back by the words as I was reading them.  Nick had his head in the sand, only coming up for air when something bonked him and woke him up and his wife Amy didn’t even know what was going on, they are so perfect for each other.   I enjoyed reading the alternating chapters between the daily lives of Nick and Amy’s life and I think that helped us as readers understand the personalities of the characters and added mystery and suspense to the book.   I did enjoy the book but it was not what I was expecting and the ending, crazy!  People are crazy!!