I have been reading a lot over the past years so I figured that I can start a new blog spot comparing two books that I have read that are similar.  The first two victims are Gone Girl and The Cuckoo’s Calling.  Both of these books are mysteries about a girl’s questionable death which makes them easy to compare.  While one put me to sleep, the other left me on the edge of my seat.  The winner and loser is revealed below.  You can read them both for your self to judge or you can trust my opinion.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn *****

I simply could not put this book down.  The first part of the book is from Nick Dunne’s perspective.  I felt like I was looking in on his life.  Nick Dunne is a character for which you feel sympathy.   He returns to his house only to discover that his wife is missing.  The book is a detailed description of the events that unfold the truths of her mysterious vanishing.  The author changes it up when she gives us a new perspective.  You will just have to read the book to experience the tantalizing events on your own.  I would also like to note that Ben Affleck is making a movie out of this titillating tale.  Isn’t that just another enticing reason to read this book?

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith **

At the time of it’s publication, no one knew that Robert Galbraith was the pseudonym of JK Rowling.  Some refer to this book as a brilliant mystery, however, I would say it is nothing of the sort.  Unlike Gone Girl, you are not sympathetic to any of the characters.  Though JK Rowling tries to lure you in by using a war vet with a prosthetic leg, Detective Cormoran Strike’s character does not lend himself to any emotional attachment for the reader.  As we follow the detective’s investigation of the suicide of supermodel Lula Landry, we are not drawn in to the story.  The reader is bombarded with a series of interviews that will eventually have a decently dramatic ending.  The last chapter was the most riveting part of the entire book.  I was bored not even halfway through the book, at which point I should have turned to read the final pages and called it a day.  I would suggest leaving this book on the shelf at your local library.  There are too many other great books to read.  Perhaps start the Harry Potter series instead.  If you’re reading this JK Rowling, stick to the children’s fantasy novel because it’s what you’re good at.