Rating: 4 stars
Imagine this: You are traveling in a foreign country enjoying yourself when, suddenly for an instant, you see your daughter in a crowd of people. You are shocked beyond belief because your daughter drowned two years ago in the waters of the Georgian Bay.
Now You See Her is just such a story. Marcy Taggart is touring Cork, Ireland. Her tour bus driver has stopped there so passengers can take a break, purchase souvenirs, get a bite to eat. Marcy has been through several psychological shocks both recently and in her past. She and her dentist husband have divorced, thus she travels through Ireland alone.
Two years ago, Marcy’s daughter drowned in the icy waters of Georgian Bay in Canada. She has never been able to accept her daughter’s death because her lifeless body was never recovered—only an overturned canoe. Quite often, Marcy thinks she has seen her daughter Devon and has stopped strangers on the street, only to be disappointed when they turn to face her.
As a child, Marcy’s unstable mother committed suicide. Forever after, Marcy wonders if she inherited her mother’s insanity genes. Devon, of course, was a difficult child, but Marcy doubts that her twenty-one year old daughter would ever take her own life. The two had some rather heated arguments, but nothing significant enough to cause suicide.
In this market area in Cork, Marcy sees Devon. There is no doubt. So shocked is she that before she can react, it is too late. Devon has disappeared among other shoppers. Even so, Marcy chases across busy traffic desperately trying to connect with her, but Devon is gone. That incident changes Marcy’s entire tour intentions in Ireland. Now, she will not return home until she locates her daughter to make amends for any bad feelings between them.
In Now You See Her Marcy spends days in and around Cork, hunting. She visits the university showing passing students her daughter’s picture. She visits bars and restaurants, all to no avail. To her good fortune, she meets a man who believes her story and searches with her when he can. Of course, they spend several sensual nights together.
Eventually, other people surface who think they have seen Devon. Naturally, Marcy trusts these people implicitly; particularly another man who appears extremely sincere and volunteers much of his own time. By now, her desire to see her missing daughter is so great that she begins to sidestep issues of reality. She harasses some people and eventually becomes involved with local police. Without realizing it, Marcy’s drawn, pawn-like, into a deadly kidnapping scheme she knows nothing about.
Here, I will leave the reader, because reading Now You See Her will weave all these loose threads together. Can Marcy trust everyone? Should she depend on no one? Marcy’s character in this tale is well developed. A reader cannot help but feel for her—feel her mental distress as it grows stronger and stronger. Can she bear the strain before she mentally breaks with reality?
Now You See Her is not a book for the fainthearted. In fact, it is a story steeped with depression and mental anguish. For readers who enjoy psychological drama and even terror, this book is for you. The ending is not just surprising—it is downright shocking as the loose ends finally tie together.
I would recommend this book to readers who like mystery, drama, romance, and intense psychological suspense. It is a tale not easily forgotten. Not intended to be the most uplifting story, it is positive in this sense: Author Joy Fielding is talented enough to make every reader hope that what happens to Marcy will never happen to them.
