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Now You See Her

3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 · rating details · 1,426 ratings · 253 reviews

New York Times bestselling author Joy Fielding tells an unforgettable story of a newly divorced woman attempting to heal her heartache, only to find herself on a desperate search for her daughter. Fifty-year-old Marcy Taggart’s life is in shambles. Two years ago, her twenty-one-year-old daughter, Devon, perished in a canoeing accident. Her body was never found in the icy...more

Hardcover, 357 pages

Published February 22nd 2011 by Atria Books (first published January 1st 2011)

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Feb 14, 2013 Christie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Well, there’s a few hours I’m never getting back.

I am not a book snob. I like a fast-paced, plot-driven suspense thriller as much as the next girl. Now You See Her, on the surface at least, seems like a book that would be right down my dark alley. Marcy Taggert is on holiday in Ireland. It was supposed to be a second honeymoon, but her husband, Peter, has run off with the golf pro from his country club and so Marcy has gone solo. While enjoying a cup of tea with a man she’s met on her day-trip t...more Well, there’s a few hours I’m never getting back.

I am not a book snob. I like a fast-paced, plot-driven suspense thriller as much as the next girl. Now You See Her, on the surface at least, seems like a book that would be right down my dark alley. Marcy Taggert is on holiday in Ireland. It was supposed to be a second honeymoon, but her husband, Peter, has run off with the golf pro from his country club and so Marcy has gone solo. While enjoying a cup of tea with a man she’s met on her day-trip to Cork, Marcy sees her daughter, Devon. Which isn’t possible because Devon is dead. (cue music)

I really wanted to like Now You See Her. For one thing it’s written by Canadian Joy Fielding (who has had a great deal of success in this genre). For another, I felt like I should be able to relate to Marcy. We’re of the same vintage, at any rate. But nothing about this book spoke to me.

So Marcy sees Devon and tears off looking for her. Of course, she doesn’t find her. But she returns to Cork and sets up camp and becomes more and more convinced that Devon is not dead. Marcy’s supposition might, in fact, be possible because Devon’s body was never found. She meets various characters along the way, some of whom have nefarious motives, some who want to help her. Some who think she’s crazy and as the book plods along it’s possible that crazy is exactly what Marcy is.

Here’s why the book didn’t work for me:

1. Marcy is stoo-pid. She actually meets a man in a pub and goes off with him after he tells her that, yes, miraculously, he knows her daughter. Really? Really?

2. The writing is clun-ky. Sometimes, apropos of nothing, we get a little history lesson. No one sounds Irish. The transitions are often confusing.

3. There are characters who just appear – out of nowhere – conveniently. Fresh baked muffins, anyone? Also, the characters are not believable. Seriously, wait until the lacklustre denouement, see who plays a part in it and then see how you’ve been mislead all along. But not is a plausible way. Peripheral characters, Marcy’s son, for example, are footnotes.

4. If you are going to weave a tangled web, the spider at the center wants to be believable. Um. Just no.

I don’t know where Now You See Her comes in Fielding’s canon, but I won’t be rushing to read any more of her work.(less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Wesley rated it 2 of 5 stars

Review Summary: Shallow, cheap mystery with an extremely outdated and overused plot and a dissatisfying and irrelevant conclusion. If you're really that curious about how this story will play out, just read the first and last parts; everything in between is not necessary, entertaining, or thrilling. Otherwise, I'd avoid this book altogether.

The plot is of a parent seeing a glimpse of a child they thought was dead all along is so old. I cannot stress how old and unimaginative that plot is. I'm su...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Phyllis Sommers rated it 4 of 5 stars

As I started this novel, my early assessment was that this author, one of my favorites, was starting to "lose her mojo" and becoming very "cookie-cutter," like so many of her peers. It wasn't long, however, before I was on the edge of my seat, unable to turn the pages fast enough and realizing that Joy Fielding's writing is every bit as exciting and interesting as it's always been.

We meet Marcy Taggart, a recent divorcée who has had a very difficult two years, as she is listening to a guide on h...more As I started this novel, my early assessment was that this author, one of my favorites, was starting to "lose her mojo" and becoming very "cookie-cutter," like so many of her peers. It wasn't long, however, before I was on the edge of my seat, unable to turn the pages fast enough and realizing that Joy Fielding's writing is every bit as exciting and interesting as it's always been.

We meet Marcy Taggart, a recent divorcée who has had a very difficult two years, as she is listening to a guide on her tour of Ireland. Two years prior, Marcy's bi-polar daughter, Devon, had been declared dead after a boating accident, although her body was never found. Marcy's refusal to believe Devon was dead, and her repeated, supposed 'sightings,' consequently put a severe strain on her marriage and on her relationship with her son, Darren. Within months, her husband Peter then entered into another relationship and told Marcy he wanted a divorce. This, after they had planned a trip to Ireland as a second honeymoon, to try to reclaim their relationship and their marriage.

After Marcy's initial shock from these events, she ultimately made the decision to take the trip to Ireland by herself, secretly hoping that Devon had actually faked her death and traveled to Ireland, the land of her father's heritage, to begin life anew. Shortly after arriving, Marcy found herself sipping tea in a pub, relating some of her story while showing Devon's photo around, hoping someone would recognize her. The bartender, Liam, immediately took a liking to Marcy, as did a fellow traveler on her tour, Vic Sorvino. Then, as Marcy and Vic were sitting together in the bar, a young woman passed by the window and caught Marcy's eye-- she was certain she'd just seen Devon! Add to that the fact that Liam and a waitress both determined that the photo reminded them of a relatively new "local" who went by the name of Audrey, and Marcy was off and running on her quest to locate her daughter.

The crux of the story thus focused on Marcy's attempt, with the occasional help of both Liam and Vic, to track down Audrey/Devon. Nothing was what it seemed, however, and events snowballed several times, leaving Marcy a frequent unintended visitor to the local police station! The tension continued to mount and, despite the implausible nature of many of the events, the reader is taken on a thrilling ride. A fun and exciting read! Highly recommended!(less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars

When you blend familial mental illness, the grief of losing a child, and the stress/depression of a divorce; let it bake in a foreign country, you end up with a potent mix of paranoia and self doubt. Fielding adds these ingredients a little at a time and gradually ratchets up the tension in her heroine Marcy Taggert, to where something has got to give.
If you have a child disappear you would never be able to let go of the suspicion they are still out there waiting to be found. What would you do?...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Dale Safford rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another book where the main woman character looks like she is off her rocker, and has voices in her head. Why does the author make a woman seem looney-tunes when she is thinking through a situation? And how can a woman who is brand new to a town attract not one but two men who want to get involved in her problems when she comes across as quite boring? And, besides all that, this narrator reads with a crackle in her voice which makes the woman seem even more bonkers.

Marcy Taggart takes a planned...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Book Him Danno rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Sometimes people are out to get you. When you blend a little bit of familial mental illness, the grief of losing a child, and the stress/depression of a divorce; let it bake in a foreign country, you end up with a potent mix of paranoia and self doubt. Fielding adds these ingredients a little at a time and gradually ratchets up the tension in her heroine Marcy Taggert, to where something has got to give.
If you have a child disappear you would never be able to let go of the suspicion they are st...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Tea Time Blog rated it 3 of 5 stars

As a big Joy Fielding fan, I was expecting a really great story as usual from her latest release Now You See Her and I can say now that I am not disappointed. As usual, the story is really compelling and she manages to build up suspense and an ending you would not expect.

Until the very end of the story, you will not find out if Marcy will really find her daughter Devon or if Devon really has killed herself two years ago. Knowing all her novels, Joy Fielding has a real talent for bringing in diff...more As a big Joy Fielding fan, I was expecting a really great story as usual from her latest release Now You See Her and I can say now that I am not disappointed. As usual, the story is really compelling and she manages to build up suspense and an ending you would not expect.

Until the very end of the story, you will not find out if Marcy will really find her daughter Devon or if Devon really has killed herself two years ago. Knowing all her novels, Joy Fielding has a real talent for bringing in different characters into the story who could all be honest but could also be behind a big cruel plan. For the reader it is always hard to decide who are the good and who are the bad guys. Thus, you start searching for hints and do kind of your own investigation to figure out the truth.

Even though I think that there was more in this story and that Fielding could have elaborated more on different parts to make it even more compelling, the story is still well written and thought through. It makes the reader want to find out more and doesn‘t let you stop reading until you finish it and know the whole truth.

Sometimes, the main character seems to make some really weird and kind of unrealistic choices and I thought “this would never happen in real life” but then, on the other hand, I have never lost a child and thus, do not know how irrational someone can become after loosing a child and then thinking that it might still be alive. Many of us might act in the exact same way and only people who‘ve been through something similar will be able to understand.

What I really liked about this book is that it took place in a completely different setting this time. Usually, Joy Fielding‘s books are always set up in Canada or the US. This time, it was Ireland which made it stand out a bit from her other novels. The way she describes the scenery, allows me to perfectly picture rainy Ireland with its tiny streets, houses and big countryside with a lot of green above cliffs next to the sea.

Overall, I can say that the story got me hooked but I think there was more in there and it could have been even better than it already was. I have the impression that the true potential of the story has not been exploited. I still like to recommend the book to everyone who loves Joy Fielding novels as much as I do and to every crime and suspense fan.

More of my reviews can be found here: http://booksaroundtheworld.wordpress.com (less)

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Jul 06, 2011 Judi/Judith rated it 3 of 5 stars

The novel opens with an introduction to 50 year old Marcy who is on a tour bus in Ireland. Actually, she is on a 25th wedding anniversary trip without her husband. He left her after their daughter died in a boating accident because he couldn't deal with all their emotions. (Wimp, in my opinion!) The authorities are sure that Devon, their daughter committed suicide but Marcy can't accept that answer because she thinks she sees Devon in crowds everywhere. While in Ireland, she is positive she sees...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Dorothyanne Brown rated it 1 of 5 stars

Joy Fielding is an author I tend to avoid, simply because her writing reminds me of the way music swells in dramatic moments of a movie. I always come away from Fielding's books feeling vaguely dirty and definitely manipulated. Part of it is the subject matter of her books, always geared for maximum intensity of emotion, part of it is the way she writes them.
Which is to say she is very good at what she does.
But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Every once and awhile I pick up one of her books...more Joy Fielding is an author I tend to avoid, simply because her writing reminds me of the way music swells in dramatic moments of a movie. I always come away from Fielding's books feeling vaguely dirty and definitely manipulated. Part of it is the subject matter of her books, always geared for maximum intensity of emotion, part of it is the way she writes them.
Which is to say she is very good at what she does.
But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Every once and awhile I pick up one of her books just to see if she's still on her game, and to bolster myself against the legions of fans who looooooove what she writes. I probably would, too, if I enjoyed gut-wrenching sobbing. But it makes my eyes all puff up for days and frankly, some of her plots are just too far gone to be credible.
This is one of those. Picked up because I needed a good cry at recalcitrant daughters who vanish and won't speak to you (personal reasons, too complicated for here), and this story fit the ticket. Tellingly, I bought the e-version, always a hint that I don't want a book lingering on my shelves.
I lost patience with this plot. As first, it gets all mysterious, and then this silly woman who is looking for her daughter and who obviously has not the slightest rudimentary knowledge of horror films (I mean, c'mon, where does this woman live? A storage room?) or police procedure or let's see, sense - heads off to sleep with strangers in a strange country (who might be nice cos she feels all cozy cuddled up with them but might be fooling her cos he keeps following her around), drives off with others, doesn't even pause to think throughout. I find it hard to believe any woman who parented such a child could be so totally out of it. And the revelations at the end just made me want to throw my ereader against the wall. What a silly silly woman. One should feel sympathy for her and really it dissolved into total exasperation.
The other characters are stereotypes. My feeling was that Fielding mailed this one in. I gave it a star, because, for all the implausibility, I still read it right through till the end. She IS good at these sorts of stories. But she can do better.(less)

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May 08, 2011 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks-read

4.5 stars. I cannot give this a complete five - only because of a few really annoying moments & some too unbelievable stuff.

BUT...I loved this book! It had me sitting on the edge of my seat! I have had so many disappointments lately - I just cannot seem to 'fall into' any book. Lots of starts only to abandon them for not having the ability to keep my attention. NOT SO HERE. I was drawn in right away & couldn't wait to indulge myself with more. I HAD to know just who was the villan.

A good...more 4.5 stars. I cannot give this a complete five - only because of a few really annoying moments & some too unbelievable stuff.

BUT...I loved this book! It had me sitting on the edge of my seat! I have had so many disappointments lately - I just cannot seem to 'fall into' any book. Lots of starts only to abandon them for not having the ability to keep my attention. NOT SO HERE. I was drawn in right away & couldn't wait to indulge myself with more. I HAD to know just who was the villan.

A good plot, excellent writing...just only a very few annoyances. One, Vic. WHY does he like Marci enough to follow her around like a puppy? She is a total bitch to the poor man every time he appears, yet we are to believe that there is something about Marci soooo special that he just cannot accept her discouragement to his wiles. Nah. Also, not wanting to give away the ending, I'll just say it like this - WHAT? I don't quite understand the explanation given behind the whole farce & how Marci's involvement occured & continued to play a role. And finally - I read this via audiobook & to be fair - the reader is excellent! I am extremely picky about readers but I found Justine Eyre, the reader of this book, to be above my expectations. Except for one thing ... nearing the end of the book I realized that Marci had this habit of exclaiming 'What?'(as in disbelief) constantly. The annoyance builds along the way until by the end, one of those 'what's would make me want to hit something. I can't fully describe why it is soooo ridiculously annnoying, but if you were to listen to the audiobook, you would know exactly what I mean.

I have read several books by Joy Fielding and I have loved them all. I know she must have a decent fan following as she does seem to sell alot of books. She just doesn't seem to get very much attention - certainly much less than other comparable authors in the same genre. Just something I've noticed...it doesn't matter nor does it affect my feelings about her books ...I'm just saying.

Overall, SO SO good. Really. I can look past silly mistakes or little plot boo boos. As long as it's well written and entertaining, I'll be happy. Ya can't always get it all! This is one of those, but you won't even realize it until you reach the end & by then you won't care either. I will not say that connected with any of the characters, but as a mom I was able to connect with Marci as far as understanding her emotion over the disappearance & assumed death of her daughter. So in a different way I got what I like to out of a good book. Worth reading!!! (less)

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Mar 02, 2011 Luanne Ollivier rated it 3 of 5 stars

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...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Sandie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books, contemporary-lit, psychological-thriller

Like Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, Marcy Taggart has chosen to depend on the kindness of strangers. Following the death of her daughter Devon two years ago (the body was never found) and the departure for greener (and younger) pastures by her husband of 25 years, she has gone to Ireland alone on the vacation that was to have been a second honeymoon of sorts for she and her husband.

Marcy's has experienced feelings of unrelenting guilt since her mother committed suicide several years...more Like Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, Marcy Taggart has chosen to depend on the kindness of strangers. Following the death of her daughter Devon two years ago (the body was never found) and the departure for greener (and younger) pastures by her husband of 25 years, she has gone to Ireland alone on the vacation that was to have been a second honeymoon of sorts for she and her husband.

Marcy's has experienced feelings of unrelenting guilt since her mother committed suicide several years ago, and now with her daughter's death these feelings have escalated. Like most people who lose a loved one Marcy continually carries on internal conversations in which she relives every unkind thing she has ever said or done to her mother and her daughter. Normal, right??
She seems to veer off the road to normal when she begins to hears voices and lose track of her surroundings as she spaces out. Between her dreams, which she feels are trying to tell her something, the mental games she plays with herself, and her willingness to believe anything anyone tells her that validates the certainty she feels concerning her daughter, the reader begins to wonder if this woman is as crazy as her husband and her sister believe her to be.

I say this because for a 50 year old woman Marcy is very immature and trusting....not to mention insecure and gullible when it comes to the men she meets. We find her jumping into the sack with the first sympathetic man she encounters on her trip then confiding her life story to a bartender at the local pub, and willingly getting into cars with virtual strangers who may or may not have seen her daughter. I guess we are supposed to believe love for a child and the anguish brought on by that child's questionable death makes one put logical thinking on hold.............. or perhaps we should surmise that being married (and out of circulation) for 25 years destroys your functioning grey matter when it comes to men and their motives.

While I am an admitted Joy Fielding fan, the dialog is repetitive and it is my humble opinion that her Marcy Taggert creation is not someone most readers can relate to or even sympathize with. Now You See Her is definitely not one of her better books and its contrived ending is just a little too forced. (less)

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Aug 30, 2012 Michele Grant rated it 4 of 5 stars

James Patterson is my favorite mystery writer but after reading this book, Joy Fielding will now be added to my list. I almost immediately became both exasperated with and sympathetic to the leading character, Marcy. Recently divorced, apparent suicide of her only daughter and being to go to person for her sister makes an interesting character. Marcy has decided she needs a change of atmosphere and decides to go on her supposed twenty-fifth anniversary to Ireland. BOth her ex-huband and sister f...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Jean rated it 2 of 5 stars

This wasn't a bad book. But it wasn't good either. It's a plot we all read a million times. Marcy takes a trip to Ireland on what should have been her 25th anniversary. But her husband left her for another women, and she goes anyway. People seem to think this odd, but if you have ever made travel arrangements, you know if you have no travel insurance, and you don't go on the vacation, you pay for it anyway. So why not go? Anyway..

Marcy and Peter's Daughter Devon was presumed dead when her overtu...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Eileen Granfors rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: families, grief, local-color, police-procedural-mystery, psychological-thriller, women

I've been up and down with Joy Fielding in the last 12 or 13 books, after loving some of her early works such as "The Other Woman," "The Deep End," and "Kiss Mommy Goodbye."

Her latest thriller, "Now You See Her," reads quickly with Marcy Taggart on a trip to Ireland, hoping to diminish her grief over her daughter Devon's suicide. But Devon's body was never found, and Marcy has a mother's intuition that Devon may be in Ireland. Then she sees a girl outside a pub, a girl who looks like Devon.

Off w...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Gen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm always on the lookout for books that grip me and keep me glued to my bed or couch from page 1 til the end of the book. I've discovered just this weekend that joy fielding's writing style and genre fulfills that. I finished the book in just one day, which is a big deal for someone as time poor as I am.

Drilling it down to bare bones, the story is fundamentally about a woman's journey through grief, occasional madness until the ultimate gift of peaceful acceptance comes. In the process, there'...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime

Marcy Taggart is a middle-aged woman whose husband has recently left her. They had been planning a second honeymoon in Ireland, and, since it's been paid for, Marcy decides to go by herself. She's sitting in a Dublin pub when, through the window, she spots a young woman who's a ringer for her daughter Devon, who committed suicide 2 years ago. She takes off in pursuit, only to lose sight of her when she is run down by a bicyclist. Convinced that Devon is not dead at all, but alive and well and li...more

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Feb 23, 2011 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Marcy Taggart has been hit with an emotional wallop, but she has not fallen. First her daughter was killed in a canoeing accident two years ago. The body was never found, so Marcy has never truly accepted her daughter's death. Her husband has moved on and left her for another woman. At fifty, Marcy is taking a tour of Ireland that was meant to be a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary trip. During a break at a pub, Marcy thinks she sees her daughter Devon walk past. Could her daughter still be alive...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Katie Kenig rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Marcy's life is a bit of a wreck. Her mother killed herself. Her daughter presumably died in a canoeing accident, though her body was never found. Her husband left her for a golf pro at the club, just before their anniversary. To try to perk herself back up, she decides to take their anniversary trip to Ireland on her own - why waste a fun vacation after all? And it's sitting in a pub, chatting with an American tourist that she sees her daughter - outside in the rain, through the ad-pasted front...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Keep you guessing till the end. Marcy's daughter supposedly committed suicide (has bipolar disease)by taking a boat out into the bay two years before the story begins. She left a note for her mother but we don't get to read the whole note until the end. Marcy does not believe Devon actually died as her body was never found. Her marriage has collapsed and she decides to take a trip to Ireland on her own. It was to be a second honeymoon for her and her husband but he left her before the trip start...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Heather McCubbin rated it 3 of 5 stars

A great premise for a suspenseful book, which it was up to the end.

Marcy Taggart can't accept her daughter committed suicide--a few years back--since her body wasn't found. A trip to Ireland proves not-so-relaxing as she thinks she sees her daughter and stumbles upon some other "shenanigans", which ends up sending her to the police station more than once.

There were a few twists and the ending was very expected. However, I found the interrupting of Marcy's past thoughts and conversations (varyi...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Suzanne rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 20, 2012 Lesley Green rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am usually very much the joy Fielding fan but this time was very much a disappointment. I didnt believe anything about this. Only good thing done in 3 1/2 hrs. The main character was a mess and the conversations at time was drawn out. It was overly convenient that so many men were interested in her and knew that at least one was fake and the other was the knight in shining armour for what-cuz he had a great one night stand with her. I just didnt get it. I have read almost all her books (except...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, female-author, january-12

Marcy Taggart is visiting Ireland on what should be her second honeymoon but her husband isn't with her as he left her for another woman. While in a bar she sees her daughter walking past. the only problem is that her daughter disappeared and is presumed to have killed herself two years ago as she was suffering from depression. Marcy has never accepted this explanation and sets out to track her down.

This is the second Joy Fielding book I have read and the characters she develops are very believe...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy Joy Fieldings books and always look to be added to the list at the library so I can get her latest. Marcy's marriage to Peter disintegrates after 25 years and the death of her daughter Devon. Her husband is now living with their golf pro, Sarah rather than her. They had planned a 25th anniversary trip to Ireland where Peter had long wanted to travel to trace his roots. Marcy decides to make the trip anyway. While sitting in a pub Marcy sees her daughter pass by the window. Marcy has neve...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Shaun rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ugh...I had the same problem with this book as I had with "Lost," another of Fielding's books. I am a huge fan of Joy Fielding, but I guess even a good author makes a misstep now and again.

Biggest problem I had was the stupidity and naiveté of main character, Marcy (I had similar problems with Cindy, the protagonist of "Lost.") You just find yourself shaking your head and muttering "stupid" at almost every word Marcy utters and every boneheaded move she makes.

My other problem was the incessant h...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Laurel-Rain rated it 4 of 5 stars

In a captivating tale of what can happen to someone whose daughter has presumably died, but whose body was never found—like a cruel twist of the saying "now you see her, now you don't"—Marcy Taggart's journey toward finally resolving what happened to her daughter Devon is a convoluted one at times.

It's a story about grieving when you don't really believe your child is dead. It's a story about new beginnings when you don't really want to begin again.

Because, after the tragic canoeing accident tha...more In a captivating tale of what can happen to someone whose daughter has presumably died, but whose body was never found—like a cruel twist of the saying "now you see her, now you don't"—Marcy Taggart's journey toward finally resolving what happened to her daughter Devon is a convoluted one at times.

It's a story about grieving when you don't really believe your child is dead. It's a story about new beginnings when you don't really want to begin again.

Because, after the tragic canoeing accident that presumably took her daughter Devon, Marcy's husband left her for another woman. Blindsided again, she seems to be treading water when she decides to take the long-awaited trip to Ireland...the trip that was supposed to be the Taggarts' twenty-fifth anniversary celebration.

Ireland is lovely and lush, and sitting in a pub to catch her bearings after she decides to leave the tour group, Marcy catches a glimpse of someone passing by...she is sure it is Devon. So she is off in pursuit, and over the next few days and weeks, we see Marcy hurtling in one direction after another, finding "clues," accepting associations with strangely helpful people, and discovering herself again and again in the police station for causing disturbances, loitering, etc.

Through it all, two men seem determined to help her. But who can she trust? Is the ubiquitous Vic disturbing in his constant presence, or does he just care for her? Does Liam Flaherty, the kindly bartender from the pub, have her best interests in mind, or is he playing some game? And why does her sister Judith, who keeps calling and trying to get her to seek help, arouse all of her frustration? Does anybody understand her at all?

In her quest for the truth, Marcy will finally resolve these issues, but at what cost? How will she finally learn what happened to her daughter?

"Now You See Her" was a fast read, primarily because I felt very excited by the pace, the characterizations, and the whole idea of finding the long-lost daughter. I could relate to Marcy's dilemma in some ways, even though these specific things have not happened to me. But loss arouses similar feelings in each of us, and for these reasons, I could identify in some ways with Marcy and her situation. There was an aura of predictability that hovered over the situations and characters, which is why I decided on four stars. But I loved the story and would recommend it to Fielding fans and everyone who loves a good suspenseful tale. (less)

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Oct 01, 2011 Katherine Clark rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm enjoying this: 50 year old protagonist thinks she sees her "dead" daughter in Ireland (protag is Canadian). So far so good.

I'm about 1/2 way through and the protag is testing my resolve. She actually is rather whiny and tends towards stupid actions. I hate this. I'm going to keep going for a bit because some of this is good. It made me realize that when I read I don't want protags making the same mistakes as I would. I want them to be better.

Wow did this book deteriorate after the first few...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Carola Johanningmeijer-harmsen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

De vijftigjarige Marcy is door haar man verlaten voor een jongere vrouw. Dat is echter nog niets vergeleken met de pijn die Marcy bij zich draagt om de dood van haar 21-jarige dochter. Devon verdween tijdens een kanotocht, en haar lichaam werd nooit gevonden. Daardoor kan Marcy de dood van haar dochter niet accepteren. Na twee jaar denkt ze haar nog steeds overal te zien. Nu is ze in Ierland, op een reis die oorspronkelijk haar tweede huwelijksreis zou zijn. Als ze Devon in een flits voorbij zie...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Sunflower rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Auf einer Irland-Reise glaubt die Kanadierin Marcy ihre totgeglaubte Tochter gesehen zu haben. Von nun an setzt sie alles daran, ihre Tochter wieder zu finden.
Da hatte ich mehr Spannung erwartet. Das kann Frau Fielding besser. Bis kurz vor Schluss plätschert die Story so vor sich hin. Es passiert nichts besonders Spannendes, zumindest nicht viel, dass man nicht auch erwarten würde, wenn jemand in einem fremden Land jemandem sucht, der eigentlich tot sein sollte. Zu Recht wird die Protagonistin v...more

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About Joy Fielding

Joy Fielding (née Tepperman; born March 18, 1945) is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last n...more Joy Fielding (née Tepperman; born March 18, 1945) is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding) and began writing novels.
Fielding is also the screenwriter of the television film Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.

At the age of 8, Joy Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972. She has published to date 22 novels, two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months. Joy Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity. Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband's name is Warren, and they have two daughters, Annie and Shannon. They have property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.

Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that "[it] isn't what her fiction is about", but rather more about the development of her characters. Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."

Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany. In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.(less)

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8720820-now-you-see-her?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348329405l/8720820.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8720820-now-you-see-her?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Now You See Her by Joy Fielding[/url]

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