4.5* 
 I just couldn't quite bring myself to give this 5 stars. I loved the format of this book in switching between telling the story of one day in from the past (24 years earlier) as well as a story from what is happening in the present - trying to really figure out what happened that day 24 years ago. Flipping between these two perspectives kept me on my toes for the most part. 
 I also didn't quite see "it" coming up til the moment was on top of me, so to speak. The way Gillian Flynn is able to create such grotesque and haunting(ly beautiful) scenes never ceases to amaze me. 
 With all this being said, there were still parts of this story that I felt myself dragging through and I just wanted Libby to "get over it" because the way she was acting after all these years seemed if not necessarily over the top, then at least like time should have numbed the pain and experience. I've never lost someone in that way, but it just felt to me like it shouldn't have lasted that long and so some parts felt both dragged out and repetitive. 
 I still lived this because Gillian Flynn is awesome, but this wasn't my favorite.