Tag / Gone Girl

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Prolific Authors – Four Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We continue today with the fourteen authors I’ve read two times, up four from two years ago.

Scott Adams

The now-cancelled creator of Dilbert, who can’t seem to help himself from spouting racist takes on Twitter, Adams used his famous character to write a number of humorous business books, the most recent of which I read in 2012.

Suzanne Collins

A return to the world of the Hunger Games brought Collins back to my reading list in 2024.

James Ellroy

The author of the L.A. Quartet, which I finished off with The Big Nowhere in 2014.

Gillian Flynn

The former Entertainment Weekly writer turned into one of my favorite authors, though she still hasn’t written a new full-length work since 2012’s Gone Girl.

The Book of Lost and Found – Lucy Foley

Lucy Foley

A recent favorite, Foley, a New York Times best seller, has shown up annually since 2021 until this year, although there are still five months to go.

Diana G. Gallagher

The author, who passed away in 2021, can credit the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for all four of her entries, the most recent of which I read in 2011.

Lee Goldberg

A writer for the Monk television series who went on to pen a series of tie-in novels about the show.

Megan Goldin

The former Reuters correspondent first appeared on my radar in 2021 with her debut, The Escape Room.

The Blue Hour – Paula Hawkins

Paula Hawkins

The best-selling author of The Girl on the Train, her latest novel was released last year and read in early 2025.

Greer Hendricks

After spending two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster, she has teamed up with Sarah Pekkanen for four novels, which I’ve read one annually starting in 2020 until this year.

Grady Hendrix

Winner of a 2018 Bram Stoker Award, the horror novelist debuted on my reading list with The Final Girl Support Group in 2021.

Carrie Soto Is Back – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taylor Jenkins-Reid

I first came her work thanks to her smash Daisy Jones & The Six.  Her latest is currently on my waitlist at the library, so she will continue to move up this list.

Minka Kent

Two new reads in 2024, The Stillwater Girls and Unmissing, push her up this list.

John Vornholt

Three fourths of his works that I’ve read come from the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Book 11 (of 52) – The Blue Hour

The Blue Hour – Paula Hawkins

Paula Hawkins returns with her fourth novel, The Blue Hour.  In this go around, an art museum curator heads to a remote island to retrieve the remains of a collection left to the museum by an artist near and dear to his heart.  He deals with the friend/caretaker/lover? of the artist, who is loath to release any more material than she already has but relents somewhat when she sees he is a true fan.  A discovery in one of her pieces leads to the discovery of multiple murders, with perhaps more to come.

Hawkins hit the scene in 2015 with her smash debut, The Girl on the Train, which was one of many releases at that time to be dubbed “the next Gone Girl.” While I have enjoyed parts of all four of Hawkins’ efforts, there certainly are diminishing returns, as I liked each one less than its predecessor.  This one fell apart at the end, spoiling what had been an exciting tale to that point.  I may have reached the end of my road with her work, but I’ll probably forget my growing apprehension when she puts out her next new book.

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Book 4 (of 52) – Good Me Bad Me

Good Me Bad Me – Ali Land

After turning in her mother for murdering a young boy, Mille goes to live with a therapist and his family to prepare for the trial.  The fresh start is not all it seems, as her new foster sister has made it her mission to make Millie’s life miserable.  As Millie tries to adjust to her new life, she hears her mother’s voice calling to her.  Can she make a clean break?  Or will her upbringing and training come back stronger?

A few years back, I came across an article listing a number of works by female authors that were described as descendants of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.  Ali Land’s debut, Good Me Bad Me, is the final one that I had saved to read later.  I liked most of this tale, but the end kind of fizzled out for me.  It looks like Land hasn’t published anything since this, so this may be a one and done.

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Book 14 (of 52) – Luckiest Girl Alive

Luckiest Girl Alive – Jessica Knoll

Ani FaNelli seems to have it all, a fancy Manhattan apartment, a top job in the publishing industry, and a blue-blood fiancé.  On the inside, however, she is broken, ruined by what happened to her in high school.  When she agrees to participate in a documentary looking back at what happened at her prestigious school, she finally confronts the demons that she has hidden for years and just might find the closure she has been looking for.

I first added Luckiest Girl Alive to my to-read list based on its inclusion on a list of “new” Gone Girls.  When I checked it out last week, I was unaware that 1) it was by Jessica Knoll, who I had just read for the first time less than two months ago and 2) I had seen the movie adaptation starring Mila Kunis last year.  I even mentioned both of these facts in my review of Bright Young Women and it still didn’t stick.  This was not as pleasant an experience as my previous one with Knoll’s work.  The attempt to make FaNelli a sympathetic character came way too late and was sort of forced into the last chapter or two, making the ending feel rushed.

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Prolific Authors – 4 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the ten authors I’ve read four times, an increase of four over the past two years.

Scott Adams

The now-cancelled creator of Dilbert, who can’t seem to help himself from spouting racist takes on Twitter, Adams used his famous character to write a number of humorous business books, the most recent of which I read in 2012.

The Big Nowhere – James Ellroy

James Ellroy

The author of the L.A. Quartet, which I finished off with The Big Nowhere in 2014.

Gillian Flynn

The former Entertainment Weekly writer turned in to one of my favorite authors, though she hasn’t written a new full length work since 2012’s Gone Girl.

Rebecca Forster

One of my first Kindle finds, I’ve read the first four entries in her Witness series.

Diana G. Gallagher

The author, who passed away in 2021, can credit the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for all four of her entries, the most recent of which I read in 2011.

You Are Not Alone – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Greer Hendricks

After spending two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster, she has teamed up with Sarah Pekkanen for four novels, which I’ve read one annually starting in 2020.

Grady Hendrix

Winner of a 2018 Bram Stoker Award, the horror novelist debuts thanks to the four novels I’ve read over the past three years, starting with The Final Girl Support Group in 2021.

Kimberly McCreight – Reconstructing Amelia

Kimberly McCreight

A New York Times bestselling author thanks to her debut novel, Reconstructing Amelia, she has been a steady presence since 2013.

Sarah Pekkanen

She has teamed up with Greer Hendricks for four novels, one of which I’ve read one annually since 2020.

John Vornholt

Three fourths of his works that I’ve read come from the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Book 27 (of 52) – My Lovely Wife

My Lovely Wife – Samantha Downing

A husband and wife have an odd way to keep their marriage interesting: kidnapping and murdering innocent women.  But when their latest abduction takes some unexpected turns, and starts impacting their children’s psyches, the husband starts to question if he truly knows his wife and how much of their extracurricular activities are truly down to her.

This summer will be ten years since Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl was published and took the world by storm.  In the years since, there have been many novels that have been dubbed the “next” Gone Girl, and this novel, My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing, came to my attention via an article placing it as a descendent.  There is some shared DNA, the crazed woman driven to act by their husband’s infidelity, but this entry is missing some of the, I don’t know, heart? of its predecessor?  Not that it wasn’t an enjoyable read, but it didn’t really hold up to the comparison.  Which, after ten years, maybe its time to stop looking for the next Gone Girl and instead start looking for the next Gone Girl.

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Book 53 (of 52) – A Slow Fire Burning

A Slow Fire Burning – Paula Hawkins

Paula Hawkins returns with her third novel, A Slow Fire Burning.  In this go around, the death of a young man on a houseboat is the latest connection between a group of locals, the nosy neighbor who found him, his aunt and uncle, his mom’s neighbor, and the young woman he had just slept with.  As the police focus in on one suspect, the others intersect until the truth is finally revealed.

Hawkins hit the scene in 2015 with her smash debut, The Girl on the Train, which was one of many releases to be dubbed “the next Gone Girl.”  While I have enjoyed all three of Hawkins’ efforts, there does seem to be some diminishing returns, as I liked each one less than its predecessor.  I may check out what comes next, since I’ll probably forget my growing apprehension four years from now when she puts out a new book, but, for now, I’m ready to give her work a rest for a bit.

by admin

Prolific Authors – 4 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the 6 authors I’ve read 4 times.

Scott Adams

The creator of Dilbert and all around internet crank, Adams has used his famous character to write a number of humorous business books, the most recent of which I read in 2012.

Angels & Demons – Dan Brown

Dan Brown

One of the most successful authors of all time, I’ve read four of his five Robert Langdon novels.

James Ellroy

The author of the L.A. Quartet, which I finished off with The Big Nowhere in 2014.

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn

The former Entertainment Weekly writer turned in to one of my favorite authors, though she hasn’t written a new full length work since 2012’s Gone Girl.

Diana G. Gallagher

All four of her entries are based in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

John Vornholt

Three fourths of his works that I’ve read come from the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Book 18 (of 52) – A Good Marriage

A Good Marriage – Kimberly McCreight

In the latest from Kimberly McCreight, a lawyer is forced to defend an old law school friend for the murder of his wife, while trying to figure out how (of if) her marriage can be saved.  When her old friend turns out not to be the man she remembers, she works to prove his innocence in order to save herself and to give the victim some peace.

A Good Marriage explores just the opposite, not good marriages, whether it is the superficial one between the victim, Amanda, and the accused, Zach, or the broken one between Lizzie and her alcoholic husband Sam.  When Zach uses Lizzie’s broken marriage, and the steps she has taken to hide the damage from her new bosses, to force her to defend him, she goes full force, but finds a way to save her soul as well.

McCreight has become a reliable source of entertainment since Reconstructing Amelia was released in 2013, touted as that year’s Gone Girl.  While I’m not willing to put her on Gillian Flynn’s level, at least she is still writing and releasing prose.  I look forward to whatever comes next in 2-3 years.

 

by jim

Post Mortem – The Leftovers

What happens when the rapture, or something awfully rapture-like, comes and those left behind have to pick up the pieces?  That was the initial premise behind The Leftovers, which quickly became one of the weirdest, and best, shows on television.  The third, and final, season wrapped up earlier this month, answering very little and leaving viewers scratching their heads, but in the good way.

One of the revelations of the show was co-star Carrie Coon, who I was unfamiliar with previously.  She’s since gone on to appear in Gone Girl and the latest season of Fargo.  I expect she will continue to get interesting work and I’m sure it will continue to be excellent.