(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Ahhh, hype.  Usually, I ignore it altogether since, in my experience, most fussed-over books don't deserve all the attention that's being heaped on them.  Sometimes, though, I do give in.  And, sometimes, I'm even glad I did.  Take Gone Girl, a new psychological thriller by Gillian Flynn, for instance.  It sat on my Kindle for quite a long time before enough of my friends raved about it for me to say, "Alright, alright, I'll give the book a try."  A (very) short while later, I read the last screen, finally let out the breath I'd been holding since the first page (that's how it seemed, anyway) and said to myself, "Whoa, that was the freakiest, twistiest, turniest mind-screw I've ever experienced."  Seriously.  Well, okay, maybe I didn't actually say that out loud, but I definitely thought it. 

If you haven't read Gone Girl yet, don't despair, because I'm not going to give anything away.  I'm not even going to give you much of a plot summary, since I don't want you to go into the novel with any preconceived notions.  Here's the official jacket copy:

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a teensy bit of Before You Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson)

Grade:  B+

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  R for strong language, sexual content, and adult subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Gone Girl from the generous folks at The Crown Publishing Group via Netgalley.  Thank you!