crystalline: I am in complete agreement with Cattleman and his response. If you didn't like the movie, I doubt you would like the book. I didn't think much of the book, and I don't expect much from the movie, but I have a technical interest in seeing how they handle the plotline with the camera. glad to know there's a new release from T. Jefferson Parker; REALLY like that writer.

I received "Gone Girl" as a gift from a friend. I admired the story in general, as stories go, I can't complain because I have read worse. I agree with Geo, technically its an elaborate story setup which is good but as Cattleman and Crystalline have written, the characters are unlikely and unlikeable.
The story is a misanthropic spectacle, as pleasures go, I'd prefer the stink of over-cooked corned beef hash.
The police are the only sympathetic characters, and that sympathy only really came about after the realization of "Amy's" fraud, A fraud they are unable and/or unwilling to thoroughly investigate because of a lack of substantial enough evidence. The story just peters out and all that's left for this reader was hate.
Flynn offers insight into characters that industrial strength cleaners would fail to cleanse from the minds of an unsuspecting consumer. That these characters linger in memory for now should be an indication of the strength of "Gone Girls" plot.