I haven’t stayed up late to finish a book in a long time, but this one really hooked me. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn starts out as the story of a Manhattanite couple who lose their jobs and relocate to the husband’s home town in Missouri to care for his ailing, aging parents. He gets a call the day of their 5th anniversary that there’s something wrong at home, and comes home to find his wife missing and signs of a struggle. The rest of this thrilling read takes you through diary entries from the missing wife and the day-by-day events after she disappears. Nothing is what it seems. This book is chilling, thrilling, and psychologically complex. It’s not your typical whodunit and you absolutely must keep reading through the first few chapters to get to where things start to become dramatically more interesting. This one kept me guessing, right down to the last page. I would love to discuss what happens with you, but you’ll thank me for not ruining any of it. Suffice it to say, the author will take you on a fascinating journey that may be hard to believe, but is still going to keep you turning pages.

You’ll identify with different characters at different times and your loyalties will swing in the wind. The book is delicious and bone-chilling, exactly what you need for a hot week at the beach. It was so good that when I finished it, I was a little bereft feeling.