Gone Girl characters

Appears from the start

A former New York magazine writer who lost his job in the media downturn and moved with his wife back to his Missouri hometown, where he runs a bar with his twin sister. On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary he comes home to find signs of a struggle and his wife gone. As the police and public scrutinize him, his evasions, awkward public manner, and buried secrets quickly make him the prime suspect in her disappearance.

Also known as Amy Elliott, Amazing Amy

Appears from the start

Nick's beautiful, brilliant wife, a New Yorker and former quiz writer whose childhood was the basis for her parents' bestselling Amazing Amy children's books. Her side of the story is told through diary entries that trace the couple's romance, marriage, and slide into money troubles and unhappiness after the move to Missouri. She vanishes from their home on their anniversary, leaving behind unsettling clues and a portrait of a marriage far more troubled than it seemed.

Also known as Go

Appears from the start

Nick's twin sister and closest confidante, who co-owns the bar with him. Blunt, loyal, and clear-eyed, she is the one person Nick trusts completely, and she stands by him as suspicion mounts, even as his secrets test her faith in him.

Appears from the start

The lead detective on the case of Amy's disappearance. Shrewd, patient, and observant, she conducts the investigation with a low-key persistence, noticing the details of the crime scene and Nick's behavior that do not add up and steadily building a case.

Appears from the start

A local police detective who works the investigation alongside Rhonda Boney. More openly skeptical of Nick than his partner, he presses the theory that the husband is responsible.

Appears from the start

Amy's father, one half of the couple who wrote the famous Amazing Amy books loosely inspired by their daughter. Warm and publicly composed, he and his wife come to town during the search and become a visible, emotional presence in the media coverage of Amy's disappearance.

Appears from the start

Amy's mother and co-author of the Amazing Amy series. Devoted to her daughter and initially fond of Nick, she joins the search and watches the investigation with growing worry as questions about Nick multiply.

Appears from the start

A wealthy former boyfriend from Amy's youth, described in her account as an intense, possessive figure who never fully let go of her. His name surfaces as part of Amy's past, a man whose long fixation on her makes him a lingering shadow over the story.