52 pages 1 hour read

Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012

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Part One: Pages 172–216Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Nick Dunne: Five Days Gone (Pages 172–183 Summary)

Detectives Boney and Gilpin tell Nick that they want to talk to him at his house at 4 p.m. They explain that Desi Collings is simply not a suspect. Thanks to forensic evidence, they know that the home invasion was faked and that traces of Amy’s blood have been found in the kitchen. They explain that the amount of blood originally spilled there would have been from a significant, perhaps fatal, injury.

Furthermore, the police have interviewed the Dunnes’ neighbor, Noelle, who claims that Amy was afraid of Nick and worried that he only married her for her money. Nick continues to insist that Amy barely knew Noelle, but the detectives have photos of Amy with Noelle that prove that they spent time together. Finally, they have proof that Amy’s life insurance was increased just before her disappearance. Nick’s protestations that Amy did that herself sound lame, even to himself.

Nick is clearly the only suspect. Nick asks for a lawyer.

Amy Elliott Dunne: October 21, 2011 (Pages 184–188 Summary)

Nick’s mother dies. “Angry Nick” is back, and Amy fears for her marriage again, particularly now that she believes that she is too old for him. Amy is four years older than Nick. She reveals that Nick only wants to have sex with her on his terms, usually quickly and without affection.