There's a lot that could be said about this book. It is about a man whose wife mysteriously disappears under somewhat suspicious circumstances on their fifth wedding anniversary. This man, Nick Dunne, is not a likable character. I found myself pretty quickly hating him and hoping he got arrested for his wife's possible murder even if he hadn't done it. He is a snob, a horrible husband, and a horrible man in general. And to be completely honest, I think he might've killed his wife himself if she hadn't disappeared. He's a horrible misogynist even if he claims that it's only towards his wife, which it is not. He feels an absurd amount of rage for literally any woman who does anything that upsets him. He is not a character that you want to root for.
Then there's the wife, Amy, whose perspective you also see, in the form of diary entries. I felt bad for her somewhat, but she was also pretty terrible. A snobby, conceited rich girl who thought she was better than every other woman and "not like other girls" in the worst way. I couldn't make myself hope she was okay. I kept reading about them and thinking, wow, they're horrible, they deserve bad things, do I really want to read this book?
I kept listening to the audiobook though despite thinking it was maybe awful and maybe I shouldn't read it. As awful as Nick and Amy were, I found the story interesting. The mystery was complex, Amy was incredibly smart, and I really wanted to see bad stuff happen to Nick. That's probably not the best reason to keep reading a book, but oh well. It was a long one too, the audiobook is nearly 20 hours long.
I can't go too much into detail to avoid spoiling it for those who haven't read it. It's a wild ride though. Nick is called by a neighbor and told that his front door is open on the day of his fifth wedding anniversary to Amy. When he comes home to investigate, he finds his wife gone and what looks like a crime scene in his house. The police and his inlaws and the world are originally on his side, but as more evidence appears and there seem to be no other suspects, Nick is the one to blame. While this is unfolding, Nick is going on the scavenger hunt his wife makes him every year for his anniversary and finds himself falling back in love with Amy. As the story unfolds, pieces of their relationship are revealed showing that things were not well for the Dunnes. The twists in this book are completely unexpected and fascinating.
If you're looking for a book to keep you on your toes, I highly recommend checking this one out, just be prepared to hate Nick and Amy. The narrators in the audiobook also did an excellent job. They change their voices when reading the dialogue of other characters, show the emotions of the character they are (either Nick or Amy), and really added to the story. If you like audiobooks, this would be a good one to check out.
Due to the nature of this book, there are a lot of content warnings to be aware of, some of which may be spoilers. I will list a few and point you to StoryGraph for a more robust list of warnings provided by readers. Some content warnings include murder, dementia, cancer, alcoholism, death, mentions of abuse, and more.
As always, happy reading, and I'll see you soon with more reviews.
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