5.0

***Possibility of some spoilers

You know that phrase "They had me at 'Hello'"? Well, this was so true about Gone Girl for me.

'When I think of my wife, I always think of her head'

That is so wrong, so creepy and immediately I was sold. Flynn also went on to make me enjoy a book with multiple-character narrative - something I had previously hated in every instance. Because this book is so psychologically twisted that the insight into both Nick and Amy's mind is fascinating. I could literally feel my alliances oscillating with each new chapter and each new perspective, truly a mark of excellent writing and an author who understands characterisation incredibly well.

And then there's part two.

Part one I was enjoying, it was a good book, but then the beginning of part two hit me like a train. The unravelling of the mystery was so intricate and well-planned that I didn't want to put this book down, because I was so eager to see what happened on the next page. Everything that takes place in the beginning of the novel is detailed to the degree that I wouldn't even want to hunt for plot holes. All I wanted to do is soak up the sheer brilliance of Flynn's writing and never have to leave.

Sometimes, I rate a book five stars because I enjoy it. Because I race through it and love it and don't want it to end at all. This is a different type of five stars. This is five stars because it was so incredibly intelligent and well written that I wanted to spend as long as possible basking in how perfect it is. I rarely read crime fiction, but this alongside The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo most certainly give the genre a good name in my eyes simply because of their psychological brilliance. READ IT.