In preparation for writing this review, I downloaded a copy of Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel Gone Girl and devoured it before seeing the movie, directed by the widely admired David Fincher. A twisty thriller about a wife who goes missing and the husband who is the chief suspect in her murder, the book has many devoted fans, and the movie falls into the "most anticipated" category.Glynn, a former Entertainment Weekly reporter, is a facile, accessible writer, and the book is constructed in an interesting way, with alternating narrators, high suspense and shocking turns. It's a fast, easy read, the kind that used to be called a “page-turner” (now maybe “screen-tapper”), but would not be mistaken for great literature. The plot developments feel manufactured, inserted for shock value only.
