Nick and Amy, the perfectly in love couple. Moved back from New York after losing their jobs in the publishing industry, they try to make a new life in Nick's childhood hometown. Then Amy goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, and questions and suspicions come to life, as their marriage isn't what anyone thought it was.

This is a crazy, schizophrenic novel, and so is this review. Bear with me, as my two-star rating may not give a clear picture of my thoughts on it. This novel operates on two levels--the fiction level, and what I believe is an unintentional, postmodern metafiction level--but it's a perfect example of a bad story and a perfect metaphor for a bad marriage.

The novel starts off like all marriages do, with a lot of hope. There's witty writing and an enjoyable narrative style, not unlike good conversation. Expectations are high and the future looks good. It gets our attention right at the outset, and we are infatuated. However, after a while, we start to see a few flaws, but we overlook them because we're still in love with the writing and possibilities. We cut the writer some slack. There is foreshadowing of the clusterfuck that is to come, but we read on in denial, hoping things will get better just around the corner. Then serious problems arise (about the halfway point). From then on, the story is either high or low for the characters, just like a bad marriage--the highs are unnaturally exhilarating because the lows are so draining. And this is taxing. It becomes almost unbearable. There is a last ditch attempt at the end to turn it around, but it doesn't undo the torment. The novel, like a bad marriage, is over.

Without any sarcasm, I actually recommend everyone read this bad novel for what it can tell us about marriage, particularly a bad marriage in decline. Some may say the mid point may negate any constructive discourse of marriage in the early parts, but I still think it's relevant in a We'll always have Paris sort of way. My recommendation is to take a break after finishing Part One (about the 50% point) and reflect on everything you've read, because the honeymoon is over. After this, it becomes a John Grisham-like structure, where everything is either going their way or everything is going against them. The intelligence and poignancy is over, and the bitterness sets in.

The main characters are mildly interesting, but there really isn't much depth, and the secondary characters are forgettable. It was hard to remember which police officer was which for the bulk of the novel, and the in-laws were a cliche. The scheme within the novel is airtight and brilliant, but the actual events of the novel are not delved into in much detail. It hardly feels like a missing-person investigation, as so many of those elements are simply not there. Even the last half glosses over the relevant necessities to make it feel real to the reader. Atmosphere definitely is not a strength of this novel, as it feels a major part of the middle--the completeness, the experience, the understanding--is missing. Nor does the author play fair within the first-person narrative, hiding information in an completely unnatural way merely for suspense, and then offering up an overt excuse in the narrative that the character likes the lie of omission.

By the time we get to the end, it is a bad story that is surprisingly beneficial to any married person who reads it. I'd recommend this novel to anyone over 18, just don't expect much from the story. It's like a darker version of John Grisham, without the lawyers. It is also my new go-to suggestion for any guy contemplating marriage...and I say that without any trace of irony. We learn so much about a bad marriage.

I'm also very glad a woman wrote this novel, and not a man.