Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet? With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

Stories of total rupture are utterly irresistible to me. One moment a character is humming along, not trying to draw too much attention to themselves or rock any boats and then suddenly another straw lands on their back. And all hell breaks loose. Gone Girl—Gillian Flynn’s breakout hit—centers on just such a story. It gripped me from page one the first time I read it and every time since. There are few books possessed of the kind of propulsive energy and unnerving psychological insight it possesses.

When we first meet Nick and Amy Dunne, they seem the embodiment of a modern American marriage. Nick is a small business owner and professor at the local university; Amy a seemingly lab-designed housewife, keeping an immaculate suburban home. But beneath the veneer, tension and anger lurk barely contained. The Dunnes have been lying to each other and the world for a long time. Perhaps since they left New York City for a quiet Michigan town to support Nick’s mother who contracted cancer. However, that all changes when Amy goes missing . . . suddenly all eyes are on Nick. Who is he really? What is he capable of? Now everyone sees blood on the white picket fence.

Gone Girl is a book about expectations. How they force us into performing for ourselves and others. How they test our boundaries and place great weight on our most important relationships. How, if we let them fester, they might even break us. It also features an astonishingly compelling female lead, who when she decides to throw off ALL expectations, unleashes a fury that sucks in a whole nation. Pick this book up and buckle up, this rabbit hole goes to deeper and darker places than you could ever imagine, and it stays entertaining to the very end.