Chilling

I don't want to give anything away, so I won't say a lot. If you enjoy a good mystery, this book is for you. Some parts made my stomach lurch and skin crawl, but in a good way...
It takes a few chapters to get into so give it a chance,, you won't be disappointed.

13 people found this helpful

Overall great

Good author, good narrator, good story. Well written and kept me interested the whole time!

12 people found this helpful

Ann Marie Lee Should Narrate My Funeral

This story was brilliant and its led me down the rabbit hole of Gillian Flynn's works, but Ann Marie Lee has now soared to the top as my favourite narrator. Her voice and acting is riveting from the moment she opens her mouth. She sold this story to me by the end of her first sentence. I'm in love with a voice??? I just. I'm so glad I tried this audiobook. The most emotionally charged scenes in this book were still comforting because of how well she voiced them. That's unbelievable to me. I normally have to walk away at any sort of emotional abuse and nope. She took my hand, led me through it, and I finished 90% of this book in a single day - no regrets.

9 people found this helpful

Meh - did not meet expectations

I was expecting a lot more from this story based off previous reviews.

The narration made it hard to follow along and stay engaged. When not switching voice for other characters, the narrator was quite monotone and dry. This actually made me become quite annoyed with the main character.

The plot was far too stretched out - like get on with it already. The amount of characters was a bit too much as well. There were several parts of the story that felt disjointed, as if the author needed to fill in a few more pages for word count or something.

I’ve read other novels from this author that were good and engaging, but this one totally flops.

2 people found this helpful

Intriguing

This was my first Gillian Flynn read but certainly won’t be the last. It gets you hooked from the start. Suspenseful, mysterious, dark and unpredictable. Recommend.

2 people found this helpful

Twists and turns, and then twists again

I'm a big fan of books following murder investigations, and while this one at first didn't seem to be too special, the writing was vivid and beautiful and there were other aspects to the story that kept me interested while the main drama slowly sank its teeth in. Before too long, and without realizing it, I was hooked.
I've read a lot of true crime and mystery before, so I felt like I had an edge over the twists and turns of this story; I was wrong. Without getting too into spoilers, part of the excitement of this book is figuring out what has happened before Camille does, and then still watching it all unravel in ways you do not expect. Loose ends and things you'd half forgotten about come back to make sense in horrifying and fascinating ways, and in general the conclusion leaves you feeling a bit exposed, but satisfied. I only gave the story four stars because I did find it to meander a bit more than I would have liked, but really I think the last few chapters of the book are breathtaking.
I also can't say enough about the excellent narration. The different tones and "voices" used are exceptional, making it easy to differentiate characters and even get a sense for who they are at what they're like beyond just the words. The narration is so good, honestly, that seeing another book narrated by Ann Marie Lee might be enough to convince me to listen to it.

1 person found this helpful

Disturbing, but riveting

A deeply disturbing look at cutting, promiscuity, and the devastating multigenerational effect of abusive parenting and bullying. A worthwhile, captivating tale told by a plausible, honest voice.

not my favourite

The story was solid, although predictable, but I couldn't enjoy the writing style. The overly cynical tone comes off as adolescent. I can't recommend the book.

Disturbing (in a bad way)

I can’t fault the writing in the book or the voice acting. The prose was vivid and rich and the book had some interesting things to say about the exploitation and sexualization of women, the nature of truth etc.

I absolutely hated the story though. It was dark and disturbing, bleak without any spec of hope. Almost every exchange was grotesque - from Alan’s various disgusting meals to constant visits to a hog slaughterhouse (animal lovers beware) to visceral descriptions of abuse, rape, mutilation, sickness, self-harm and murder. Many passages were so disturbing I had to fast forward past them.

The surprise ending was not surprising at all - I saw it coming from almost the beginning of the book and wanted to scream at the protagonist for going back to the murderer’s den.

I hated every character. The mother and Emma were particularly difficult to endure, but Camille was no picnic either.

Love it or hate it, this is a book you will not forget. I know I’ll be having nightmares tonight.

Disappointed

I was very disappointed in the story more stay because of the teenage sex, drugs and drinking to say the least. If that’s what the author thinks of kids today we are in big trouble. Sorry I wasted my money and time. I literally skipped chapters only read the ending to see who did it