Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Now You See Her - Joy Fielding

In Joy Fielding's latest novel Now You See Her, we meet 50 year old  Marcy Taggart as she's on a tour bus in Ireland. This trip was supposed to have been a 25th anniversary trip with her husband Peter.  However, their marriage fell apart after their daughter Devon died. Marcy has never accepted that her bipolar daughter committed suicide - her body was never found. Peter has left her for another woman and divorce proceedings are underway. Marcy has taken the trip anyway - why not?

While sitting in a pub, looking out the window after the tour, Marcy is stunned - she is sure she has seen Devon walking by. But as she races into the street, the girl has disappeared. Could it be true - could Devon still be alive? Maybe she faked her own death?  Marcy is determined to track her down. New acquaintances such as the local bartender and another passenger from the bus tour are eager to help Marcy with her search. Too eager?

Fielding does an admirable job with Marcy's character, weaving the spectre of mental illness, grief and anguish into her storyline with thought and consideration.

Many red herrings and plot twists keep the story moving along very quickly.  Although Marcy may be blinded by her desperation, I did question some of the decisions and choices she makes - some of them were downright dangerous. But this added to the question - is Marcy of sound mind herself?

An engaging read that will keep you turning pages to see if Devon is alive or not.

Read an excerpt of Now You See Her.

Fans of Mary Higgins Clark and Iris Johansen would enjoy Joy Fielding.

7 comments:

bermudaonion said...

That sounds like every parents worst nightmare! The book must be a page turner!

Dorte H said...

The plots sounds intriguing, and I like the idea that the mother may not be mentally balanced either.

Marilu said...

I have read quite a few of Joy Fielding's books, and I can honestly say I have not found one that I did not like! If you haven't read See Jane Run, that one is GREAT!

superica said...

I am reading her STILL LIFE at the moment and its my first JOY Fielding book I am holding and I can't keep it down..Liked her style of writing and narration:):) Will read the other books too...

Anonymous said...

I truly enjoyed this novel Please find my full review here: http://booksaroundtheworld.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/review-now-you-see-her-joy-fielding/

Anonymous said...

For some reason I just couldn't get into this book. I lost interest after page 60 but then few days later picked it back up because I love Joy Fielding books and thought it must get better later on. Sadly after reading a few more pages I just couldn't read on. This is the first of her novels I did not enjoy. I love Still Life and my all time favourite See Jane Run which I rad aged 18 and was blown away! I am just starting Heart Stopper this weekend God Willing. Love this blog. So glad I cam across it.

Luanne said...

Saana:

I felt I had to finish it justs to see what the mother did,but yes it wasn't a good read at all. Hope Heartsopper is better for you. Thanks for you kind words about my blog!