MUMBAI: This review is the second of the 10-part series by Indiantelevision.com on the books that are being adapted into Hollywood movies in the year 2014.

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Having spent eight weeks on The New York Times Bestsellers List at number 1, Gone Girl's principal suspense comes from an uncertainty about the main character, Nick Dunne, and whether he killed his wife, Amy Dunne when the latter goes missing on the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary.

The book has a 3.93 rating based on 441, 306 ratings on Goodreads. The book is a “pathological, twisted freak-show of a relationship so demented that it leaves wanting for more”!

Hairspray screenwriter Leslie Dixon read the manuscript of the novel in 2011 and brought it to the attention of Reese Witherspoon in December of that year. Soon after, Oscar winning actress Reese Witherspoon swopped in and bought the rights to the film adaptation of the blockbuster hit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Witherspoon was drawn to the script because of its strong female character and its use of multiple perspectives and non-linear structure.

In January of 2013, it was announced that Witherspoon will only be producing, and will not be starring in the film. By May, Golden Globe Award winning director David Fincher (The Social Network) was attached to the project with another Oscar winner Ben Affleck soon joining the project as the lead, Nick Dunne along with Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice, Die Another Day) as his missing wife, Amy.

In several interviews, Flynn has said she was interested in exploring the psychology and dynamics of a long-term relationship. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where Flynn worked as a television critic before bursting out as an author, she hinted that the film will have a different design than her twisty novel.

The director, David Fincher himself designed the cover for the 17 January, 2014 edition of Entertainment Weekly. It can be seen below.

(Watch out for the next one to add to your booklist…!)