Did Gillian Flynn steal her idea from Lisa Gardner?

So I read Girl Gone by Gillian Flynn and loved it. Then I proceeded to read all her other books, which I also loved. Then I was desperate for more books and I remembered I had a book on my wishlist by an author I had never read before- Lisa Gardner. The book was Hide. I read that book. Loved it. Then I proceeded to read all her other books, which has led me to The Neighbor. Almost right away I started getting déjà vu. Wife goes missing, strange scene at the home (where she was last seen), even the damn cat is the same, story changes perspectives throughout, female and male detectives, husband comes off as unlikable, then you're led to believe maybe it's the wife that is unlikeable and has a deep, dark secret past, wife shows up alive- after killing stalker, semi-happily ever after, etc. I find the similarities too many and too close to be coincidence. I really liked Gillian Flynn as an author, but I have to say that my respect for her has just gone down a few notches. I understand authors steal from each other all the time, but this isn't just taking the seedling of an idea- it's a uprooting an entire friggin tree! 

I did a quick google search of both authors names together and got one sort of hit (the person writing the review got the story in The Neighbor wrong by writing the husband had a son to protect, but it was actually a daughter, and that's not a typo or a misunderstanding- it's central to the story so I have doubts on the authenticity of that reviewer, needless to say. Anyway, I was surprised there wasn't more internet buzz about this and I'm not sure why. It was a total coincidence that I found these two authors because I had the Lisa Garnder book on my wish list from two years ago and had totally forgotten about it until after I read Gillian Flynns' books, which was only last month, and needed something else to read. I didn't even start with The Neighbor, but read Hide first. Well, it's comforting to know that Lisa Gardner has a ton of books and I've only been through two so far and really like them. That should keep me busy for another month at least!

Where is gurulib!?!

UPDATE (6/18/12): As I mentioned a couple of years ago, the site has major problems and shuts down with no warning and no explanation or message. In fact, the last time this happened, it did start up again and I went back on and there was an option to export all your library information. I did that and saved it to my computer. (Unfortunately, my computer crashed and I ended up losing all the files I had not saved since my last back-up, including my gurulib library export file.) Anyway, if the site ever does come back again, I can only recommend that anyone who uses it, export all their library info and save it on their computer and then never use the site again. This disappearing act happens way too often and the site is too unreliable. Again, if anyone ever finds a comparable alternative, please share the link here. Also, if anyone knows how to replicate a web program that would do the same thing gurulib does, please let me know. I would love to create an alternative to gurulib- without all the glitches and shutting down crap...

I know it's not the same thing, but for people who love books and go through them as quickly as I do, the site http://www.swap.com/ (formerly known as swaptree.com) is AWESOME! You can create have and want lists and then trade with people for free. The only cost is the shipping of the books, which is really cheap. (I've always paid under $3 per book.) The website actually goes through the process for you so that they will match your "wants" and "haves" with others and it's incredibly simple. There is a rating system so it's very reliable and honest. I've used it many, many times and never had any problems AND the site is ALWAYS up and running!! FYI: The site has expanded so you can swap just about anything, but I've only used the books section.


UPDATE (1/21/10): Once again, gurulib is offline with no explanation or redirect link. As far as I can tell, this is the third major site disappearing act. I don’t know about you, but I will no longer use the site- if it ever resurfaces again. It is completely unacceptable and irresponsible of the owners to do this to its users. If anyone has additional information, please post here and I will do the same. Thanks! I have been trying to access the site for over a week and have been unable to do so! What has happened to the site? Is it gone for good? Have I lost my library- a library which I spent hours building- forever?! Why is there no information about this? I have been googling to try to find information on why the site seems to be gone, but nothing… The frustration is unprecedented. I am furious and curious and utterly depressed.