Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This is a book that has been on my radar for a couple of months and when I moved, I got the lovely opportunity to place it on hold...and be number 300 on the hold list. But lucky, lucky me found it at the library as a "lucky day" copy, so of course I snagged it since I was so darn curious. I don't really read books like this; I think the closest is probably the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. ANYWAY, the book is set up in three parts (I won't divulge the name of the parts and ruin it for anyone), and each chapter alternates by being told from the point of view of Amy's diary or Nick, Amy's husband. The story begins on Nick and Amy's fifth anniversary. Nick is at The Bar, a bar he and his twin sister Margo ("Go") own, when a neighbor who lives across from Nick and Amy calls The Bar to let Nick know that his front door is wide open (a very unusual occurrence). Nick goes home to investigate and finds the living room upturned and Amy nowhere to be found. The police are called and they find the first clue in the treasure hunt that Amy creates for Nick every year for their anniversary. Between the clues and where they lead Nick, the unusual circumstances surrounding Amy's disappearance (such as the bump in her life insurance policy), and Nick's lack of an alibi, everyone believes he is guilty. But as the story goes on, more and more things don't add up. Where is Amy's body, if Nick really did murder her? And if she is alive, as Nick is adamant that she is, where is she? This one definitely had me going, even to the very last page.

Hooked: A Thriller About Love and Other Addictions by Matt Richtel

I remember when this book was added to the library in Kelso (way back when in like 2006), but it was my first book to check out at Fort Vancouver! The cover was always alluring...maybe you can see why. So anyway, it is about Nathaniel ("Nat," a journalist) and how a mysterious lady who looks like his dead ex-gf (Annie) from 4 years ago passes by his table at a cafe and leaves a note warning him that it will explode soon and he must leave. He is more intrigued by the woman, since Annie's body was never found after she disappeared on a boat, than by the note, and ended up leaving the cafe anyway after her. The second he stepped out of the cafe, everything went boom, and he and a waitress (Erin) are the only ones to survive. Everything is super mysterious and Nat is desperate to find Annie (if she really is alive and who he thought he saw) since he is still deeply in love with her. Things turn sour quickly when he becomes friends with Erin and she tells him about one of her friends that died and his computer addiction. One thing leads to another, and soon Nat and Erin are the number one suspects of the cafe explosion while also trying to understand what is on Erin's dead friend's computer that made him lose his mind. The entire time I read this, I knew there was something I was missing...that the author was for sure holding something back from me! And of course there was. I won't spoil it for you.

The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

I actually finished this book about three weeks ago. I think it was a great follow-up to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I super look forward to reading The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest next month.

This book is about Lisbeth and how she was framed for a triple murder. Mikael is positive of her innocence, but with her fingerprints on the weapon that was used, the police almost immediately find her guilty of the murders. Lisbeth leaves Mikael hints on why she is innocent or how to find the reason behind the murders, leaving him somewhat frustrated with her and the situation as a whole. Nevertheless, he pulls through and along the way, some jaw-dropping information of Lisbeth's past is revealed.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Oh. My. Gosh. This book was initially so slow...I almost quit after the first chapter because I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on! And then I read the second chapter and absolutely loved the character of Lisbeth. The book is a little rough going (speaking as an American) because the author is Swedish and it's set in Sweden, so is full of Swedish names and places. Characters are not referred to by the same name through the whole book--one character even had three different names! That slowed me down a little bit, but the book definitely sucked me in. It's very carefully crafted.

It's about Mikael, a journalist who works for Millennium magazine (thus why it's called the Millennium trilogy), and his story on Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. It ends up that all of the information he had gotten for the story was fake and he ends up being framed and sentenced to a three month term in jail. In the meantime, Henrik Varner has Lisbeth Salander research Mikael because he is wanting the forty year old mystery of Harriet Varner's (his niece) death solved. He ends up hiring Mikael and he stumbles into old family secrets while trying to discover Harriet's murderer. Eventually, he and Lisbeth team up together and solve it, and it is an incredible read.

Right now I am waiting for The Girl Who Played with Fire to be returned at the library so I can continue the series!