Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn · first published 2011 · ISBN 9780297859390
Nick Dunne wakes up on his wedding anniversary to find his wife Amy missing. Police and media swirl around him, and through diary entries, we learn Amy was no angel either. This dual-perspective narrative tears apart the myth of the perfect marriage by revealing exactly how much poison can live in a comfortable home.
On our lists
The Best Psychological Thrillers
Flynn pioneered the domestic thriller for a generation and proved that the unreliable narrator trick still worked when done with precision. Neither Nick nor Amy is likable, yet the book is impossible to put down. It's a master class in plotting that rewards close reading because almost nothing is what it first appears to be.