3.25 stars 
 I thought this book was very intelligent and cleverly crafted. I admire Flynn's effortless ability to create solid, realistic, even relatable characters, and then within a matter of pages, completely change your perspective of them. I loved the complexity and ingenuity of one character in particular (if you've read the story, you know exactly who I'm talking about). Even though this individual committed unthinkable acts, I found myself fascinated and slightly terrified of how "normal" this person acted around others...that I easily could be friends with a person like this and never know it. 
 I also thought this book was a great exploration of marriage. Not an ideal marriage, of course, but the idea of putting your best self forward and tricking your spouse into falling in love with someone who you are not. I liked how Flynn tied this concept into society's unrealistic views of gender roles and marriage. Both Amy and Nick grow frustrated that they don't fit into the cookie-cutter shape of what they should be as husband and wife, and then they resent each other for falling short of their crushing expectations. This quote says it all: 
 "I am supposed to love Nick despite all his shortcomings. And Nick is supposed to love me despite my quirks. But clearly, neither of us does. It makes me think that everyone is very wrong, that love should have many conditions. Love should require both partners to be their very best at all times." 
 This book obviously covers a lot more than this, along with several other deeper issues, but those were ones that stuck out to me and influenced me the most. 
 With all that to say, this book wasn't a favorite of mine. I had some issues with its pacing. For a thriller, I expected things to move along at a much quicker pace, but the first half was heavily weighed down with drawn-out descriptions, police interviews, and general conversations. I didn't find myself fully engaged until about two-hundred pages in. Now that I've finished the story, I can see the purpose behind why Flynn did this: to establish a foundation for the reader and to allow readers to form their own opinions about Nick and Amy. 
 The characters also felt unoriginal in the first half of the novel. I remembered feeling disappointed because they reminded me of several other angsty, bitter, pessimistic characters I come across so often in YA and adult novels now. BUT, I will say that once I got about half way through, my opinions about them completely changed. I really enjoyed reading about them for the rest of the novel, and I found them to be exceptionally twisted and flawed. But my dislike of them in the first half will probably prevent me from rereading the story in the future. 
 Overall, this book didn't change my life or affect me greatly like other books have, but I appreciated its originality and the very unsettling ending.