Now You See Her by Joy Fielding (review #111)

Now You See Her by Joy Fielding

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Atria (Simon and Schuster)

Release Date: February 22

* Read for my A-Z Mystery Author Challenge

Even though it is the dead of winter and I could scream if I see one more piece of snow fall, I am still able to muster some excitement for this time of year because it means there is a new Joy Fielding mystery to read! I have been a fan of hers for almost a decade now. My love began with one of her first novels, See Jane Run, which I still think is one of the best mysteries I have ever read. I can thank my pal Cheryl for that. She recommended it to me and I could not put it down. Even my husband read it and loved it!

Though there have been a few here and there that I haven't enjoyed as much, I can safely say she knows how to write a twisted, fast paced mystery thriller and is one of the best in her genre.

I was thrilled when I was able to read this a little early. Thrilled would equal me squealing when the UPS man arrived. I'm sure he thinks I'm a sad little gal whom he seems to only see in pajamas. (don't worry folks, they deliver early. I'm not in my pjs all day!) But anyway, I hunkered down with this one right away, flinging all else to the side.

Now You See Her tells the story of Marcy Taggart, a newly divorced fifty year old woman, on a vacation in Ireland. What was supposed to be her 25th anniversary getaway has turned into a lonely expensive therapy session. She finds herself wandering from tour group to tour group trying to make the most of it, until one afternoon she spots a young woman who looks just like her daughter Devon. Problem is, Devon is dead; supposedly drowned in a canoe accident two years prior. No body was found. Life went on and so did her husband.

Marcy is convinced her daughter is still alive. No one believed her in the past and no one is certainly going to believe her now. With only the slightest of glimpses, Marcy throws herself full on into her own investigation of this woman. Her blinders are on and her only focus is to find her daughter, at any expense, including running up bills on her ex husband's credit card, traveling to remote areas of Dublin and Cork, trusting in strangers, sleeping with strange men and lying to her sister.

I completely sympathized with Marcy the whole way, even when she acted like a moron, with little regard for her own safety or her family back home. You lose a child with no closure, how could you not always have hope? Devon was a troubled child, suffering from bi-polar disorder. Marcy always struggled to be a good mom but during her mad search in Ireland, she brings to the surface just how tough she really was on her daughter. Maybe she could have done better. Maybe this is her chance to give back.

Joy Fielding is always good for the twists and turns towards the end. As I was reading along, I was shaking my head at some of "help" Marcy received along the way and how easy it seemed to be going at times. But, leave it to Joy, she surprised me in the end. Her stories don't always leave you with happy endings, but you do manage to feel the mission accomplished.

Rating: 6/6

I highly recommend this one for fans of Fielding or just fans of mystery/thrillers in general. I don't like to figure it all out before it ends and with Fielding's novels, I rarely do. Not only do you go on the roller coaster ride of Marcy's search, you get to do it Ireland. Fielding obviously did a fair amount of research with the location because I certainly felt like I was there.

Book Club Pick?

This is just a fun, solid, suspenseful mystery/thriller, good for a weekend on the couch. For me, that's all I seem to be doing because it's so damn cold out there.

Author Website:

Joy Fielding

* Click on title above to pre-order.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child