Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This last year I caught all the buzz about Gillian Flynn's latest novel, Gone Girl.  I'm not much of a "thriller" reader, but I was intrigued by the review I read, so I gave it a try.  Admittedly, I got sucked into the story, because this really is a highly emotional story of possible murder and intrigue.  However, a good read doesn't mean I liked it, and it's that part of my own response that almost prevented me from posting my thoughts.  People online really came down on me pretty hard for DARING to admit that I didn't end up liking the book.  Somehow that made me less of a reader from the hard core fans of the novel.  Listen, I still think the book is really well written, but have every right to say that this was just "not my cup of tea."  Why don't I brave the criticism and share my reasons, in the hope that I don't give the story away...

Synopsis:  From Goodreads, "Marriage can be a real killer.

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?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. 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?" 

Review:  The basic premise for the novel is the disappearance of the wife, Amy Dunne.  As is the case in most crimes, the police look close to home for the answers in her disappearance.  Was her marriage happy?  Did she and her husband have a fight?  Does the spouse show signs of distress or displeasure in their marriage or partner?  The questions abound in a case like this.  Flynn then takes the story line and bounces from chapter to chapter, between the present and the past.   We see how Amy felt and the development and then slow decline of her marriage to Nick.  Like and innocent lamb, we're led to believe and trust in the plot points we've been given, until WE are the slaughtered victim in the reading! 

Things take a dramatic shift part way through the novel.  You learn things about both Amy and Nick that make your head spin.  As with all crime stories, is Nick completely at fault?  Was there any outside involvement in her disappearance?  Was Amy innocent in the story?  All of these questions seem to go from a few predicted ideas to sometimes the opposite of what you expected.  In that way, this story is masterfully crafted to send your head spinning!  The story never feels predictable, and the characters are anything but cookie cutter.  For that, I give Gillian Flynn high kudos, because I never knew what to expect or where we were going next.

Although the story is exciting and well-written, I found myself absolutely hating these characters.  I know.  I get it--willing suspension of belief.  Listen, I don't need to see myself in every story that I read or expect characters to act of behave how I would, but these two were just not likable!  I wanted to get why they did what they did, where the passion and anger came from, but I couldn't.  I felt a little set up to hate Nick, and I definitely did.  For me, there was no turning back there.  In Amy's case, she just felt so completely unreliable as a character, that I started to not care about anything she did or if she was alive or dead.  In short, these two crazies meant very little to me and I couldn't escape my own judgment of them; I hated them both, and I hated the way they treated one another (and others).  So, by the end of the novel, my exclamations of, "What the...," were so often and frequent, that when it ended, I felt relief!

In some ways, I'm speechless where this novel is concerned.  Great thriller and unpredictable read, but one that made me realize that you don't have to like them all.  I definitely get the buzz and why people love it.  This was not a predictable novel, and it is shocking and fascinating on so many levels; however, just from my own perspective, I really hated these two and their crazy choices.  Plenty of you will disagree with me whole-heartedly, and I get that.  Can we just agree to disagree?  I get why you like it, and I agree that the story is good.  I didn't like it, because I didn't like the characters.  Enough said.  If you haven't read it, you'll have to be the judge!  And I promise that I won't judge your reaction to it!

Review: Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

I've had a bit of a struggle this summer to do any "escape" reading, so Making Waves by Tawna Fenske did a great job of helping me wrap up my summer vacation!  Granted, I now would like to hop a boat to some remote, tropical island with crystal blue waters, but it was a nice get away.

Synopsis:  From Goodreads, "When Alex Bradshaw's unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb after 20 faithful years as an executive with the world's largest shipping company, he sets out to reclaim his dignity and his pension. Assembling a team of fellow corporate castoffs, he sails to the Caribbean to intercept an illegal diamond shipment. None of them counted on quirky blond stowaway Juli Flynn, who has a perplexing array of talents, a few big secrets, and an intoxicating romantic chemistry with Alex..."

Review:  Sometimes there's nothing better than a fun, thriller to take your mind off of things.  Making Waves had all the components of a fun get away, complete with crime, mystery, romance, and plenty of humor.  Honestly, there's nothing that serious in the story that you can't sit back and enjoy the ride.  Alex is the hot protagonist in the story who needs to get even with a crooked boss.  He's thrown caution to the wind and has partnered up with all of his closest coworkers/friends to get the job done.  In walks quirky, mysterious Juli Flynn, who says she's just there to scatter the ashes of her recently deceased uncle.  But who in the world is this girl and how did she end up mixed up with Alex's plans?

The chemistry between Alex and Juli is there from the beginning, but in some funny PG-13ish sort of moments that have you laughing.  Juli is just so quirky that it's no wonder poor Alex has been sidetracked from his mission into trying to figure her out!  If you've ever seen the movie Romancing the Stone, I couldn't help but feel like I was reading a novel version of that type of a story.

I really enjoyed Making Waves.  Yes, it's a romance and has some pretty racy scenes, but the context of the story around it is funny and unpredictable in many ways, so you keep reading.  Personally, I found the writing to be engaging and well done.  You knew everything would work out, but not how things would come together.  I sometimes felt lost with all the other minor characters in the beginning, but it always circled back around to Alex and Juli's relationship amidst all the chaos and undisclosed information.  In the end, I just wish I could sit on a boat in a gorgeous, tropical location to read this book!  Now that would be a perfect combination!

*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based off an Advanced Review Copy provided by Sourcebooks.

Review: My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart

What an exciting little book! I finished this book several days ago, but haven't posted yet because I was digging through my pictures from my trip to Greece to see if I had a picture of Delphi that I could put up. Well, the one disc that held my Delphi pictures read as "empty" and needs to be taken in ASAP! I do have pictures though of the famous "Charioteer," one of the most famous existing bronze statues, that is featured in the museum there and is mentioned in the novel. I will say, that he is an amazing thing to behold. He not only has these amazing little curls on his head, but has glass eyes and eyelashes! Okay, enough about the "details" featured in the book, and on to the book itself.

Synopsis: One morning as Camilla sits in a coffee shop in Athens, Greece, an unknown man approaches her with a set of car keys and an order to get the car sitting outside to "Simon," as it is a life and death situation. Camilla realizes she has been mistaken for someone else, but now has this car to deliver, and heads out towards Delphi to find this Simon character. From there, she does meet a man by the name of Simon, who saves her from the windy, narrow roads of Greece to help her take the car on to its journey's end. We're left unsure if this Simon is the one spoken of earlier, but this man with her is as much a mystery as what has been left her. We find that he had a brother named Michael who died in Delphi years earlier, and from there, you are rewarded with constant glimpses of a mystery and sweet romance that unfolds a chapter at a time.

Review: As I have mentioned before, I am not one who usually enjoys mystery, but this book feels more like some sort of thriller to me. Maybe it was the fact that the first half of the book, Stewart spends her time describing Greece, its people and food, and wonderful antiquities that had me (since I honestly want to spend my dying days on a Greek island), but I thought that the story sold itself more as an intriguing thriller that led you to want to know more about who gave Camilla this car, who is Simon, how did Simon's brother Michael die, what role does the ancient city of Delphi have to do with it all?

(Stadium at Delphi, and top of the city.)

I will be honest in saying that because I've been to Delphi, I struggled to picture some of the landscapes Stewart describes. For instance, the place that Simon stays is supposedly a jaunt (of sorts) over the ruins to where Camilla is staying in a hotel at the foot of the hill. I'll say from experience, that Delphi is no little hill! We had to hike up to the highest spot of Delphi, which was a city that switchbacks up the side of a veritable mountain/cliff, looking down on a beautiful valley below. By the time you climb to the stadium track at the top, you're pretty much looking up a cliff of sorts. Maybe down on one end there are more trails that weren't included in our climb, but I was amazed at how simply Stewart kept sending her main heroine home over the ruins of Delphi to her hotel! And at night, no less! Wow...that was one brave chick!

Altogether, I found Stewart's novel a fantastic read! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thriller, sprinkled with a little underlying romance. This is a clean novel, with plenty of excitement to leave you tearing through the last 150-200 pages in one sitting! It also looks like the publishers are re-releasing this novel in November with a new, revamped looking cover! If you want a nice thriller for the summer, look no further.

For more information, see: My Brother Michael