Readers United Book Reviews | The Da Vinci Code and Gone Girl

Have you ever been thoroughly flummoxed by a mystery novel? You just know that the author has kindly dropped a hint of breadcrumbs along the way, but the answer itself is still obscure. In this installment, Readers United Vice President Fritz Legaspi is bringing to you some beloved mystery, horror, and thriller novels. He always has something to say and a new perspective to explore.

The Da Vinci Code

Note: This book is part 2 of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series, but can be read as a standalone novel.

As suggested in the title, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code centralizes around a theory behind one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings, The Last Supper. You have probably seen this famous painting, or at least have heard references to it. Supposedly, the man standing to the right of Jesus in the painting is actually the woman that Jesus married, Mary Magdalene. The search for her crypt, also known as the Holy Grail, has inspired many to dedicate their lives searching for it.

In one of the beginning scenes of the book, a Louvre curator named Jacques Sauniére is shot and killed in a museum, causing the police to call upon Robert Langdon. Much like the rest of the book, Langdon is required to solve a puzzle, this time being a code written in Sauniére’s final moments. Soon afterwards, Langdon meets Sophie Neveu, a cryptographer, who reveals that she is Saunière's estranged granddaughter. After deciphering the message written by Sauniére, Robert and Sophie follow the address, arriving in Paris, where their adventures continue taking them around the globe.

Brown’s masterful usage of the third person point of view is immensely intriguing for the book, giving the reader a desire to devour more. Switching points of view at different points of the book, Brown keeps up an extremely mysterious air about the nefarious characters scheming behind the book. As Sophie and Robert get closer and closer to solving Sauniére’s puzzle, the connections between religious organizations and the Holy Grail are developed by Brown. Masterfully tailored with real-life research, Brown paints a burning question: Is the Holy Grail actually Mary Magdalene’s tomb and bones?

Verdict: Extremely recommended, especially if you have some time to burn. If you know a decent bit about art or the Christian religion, it’s pretty helpful, though not necessary.

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is a book unlike any other that I had ever read before. This mystery and thriller capitalizes on a few exceptional motifs, and features a cast like no other. Nick and Amy are a couple that met in New York, but they both lose their jobs, due to the growing technological world. Soon afterwards, the couple move to Nick’s hometown of Missouri to take care of his ailing mother. Amy stays resentful of the move, missing her previous life in New York.

On their fifth anniversary, Amy is nowhere to be found, with the house’s door wide open, as Nick is informed of by a worried neighbor. The mysterious disappearance is the major plot-driving point, as the world crashes down on Nick. Seen as the primary suspect, Nick somehow refrains from revealing too much information, though this merely brings more suspicion onto him. The book continues, switching from the views of Amy’s diary and of Nick’s present-day experiences, and we focus on the question: What has happened to Amy?

Throughout the book, Flynn exquisitely relates between present and past, using Nick and Amy’s diary, respectively, to display how the relationship had deteriorated. Perhaps commenting on the effects of a long-term relationship, Flynn epically depicts an extreme scenario, with both halves of the couple arguably crazy, though one is definitely more so than the other. Via the medium of sharp twists and turns, Flynn leaves readers with an eagerness to read the rest of the book, but also with a slight thrill of excitement as to what might be next.

Verdict: Extremely engaging psychological mystery and thriller book, I’d highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in any of the mentioned topics.