Now You See It

by Allison Lynn

David and Jessica have almost everything they could he is an accomplished journalist, she teaches at an elite private school, and they travel in a circle of alluring friends. Theirs is an enviable life -- until one night when David returns from a business trip. Jessica's wallet and keys are in their usual place, but she is gone. As months pass without her, David's certainty "that she is going to walk in that door tonight" slowly diminishes.
At the heart of this unnerving story is David's search for his wife -- which takes him far from his Manhattan neighborhood and deep inside himself.
At once heartbreaking and wry, Now You See It is a remarkable debut novel about the impossibility of fully knowing someone -- and what happens to the past when we have a second chance at the future. Now You See It presages a thrilling career for a fresh and gifted author.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Book Club

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Allison Lynn is author of NOW YOU SEE IT, which won both the William Faulkner Medal from the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society and the Chapter One Award from the Bronx Writer's Center. She teaches in the Creative Writing program at Butler University.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

A woman disappears. Her husband tries to deal with it. There are flashbacks to their early life together, and to a story he did in Peru which started on their honeymoon. Unfortunately, that's about as exciting and engaging as the story gets. I never really got into this book, though I managed to finish it. I found the characters flat and the story line dull.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish most of the last 40 pages. What I thought would be a mystery ended up being depressing drivel about a man who wasn't a great husband and instead of searching for his wife, projects his fantasies about finding her onto a random tech millionaire who disappeared four years before who readers care nothing about. By the time I figured out Jessica wasn't going to come back and we were never going to know where she went, I didn't care about David AT ALL.

[July Rahly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it extremely boring. Not anywhere in the book did it make me want to read more, and I practically forced myself to read to the end, in hopes that it would get better. Having not, I am disappointed.

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn engages us with her story of a couple who outwardly appear to have everything but are missing something crucial. It's not a perfect book but I look very forward to her next one.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found that even though this is a short book it drug on and on in some places. I found the parts where it talks about Peru were so boring and lacked a lot of connection to the main storyline. I get that Jhensen was also a man unsatisfied with his life so made a drastic change but was it really necessary to go into all the details about the Peruvian extremists? I suppose this book is meant to tell us that despite how perfect things can look from the outside, if you’re not on the right path in life you’ll never be happy. I don’t really understand Jessica’s character, why she couldn’t voice her unhappiness even when she feels David is unhappy as well. And if you’re planning to leave your spouse on a whim why not leave a note? Or send a postcard? He deserved something, some resolution. All in all not a bad book but not that great either. It kept me interested enough to keep going but I prefer a story with a deeper plot.

[Mark Stangroome · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is about David, a travel journalist, and his life before and after the disappearance of his wife Jessica. It quickly becomes apparent that no crime has been committed and Jessica chose to leave her seemingly good upper-middle class life with the imminent prospect of the child that she desires arriving through adoption.

The book, though, does not deal with why Jessica chose to leave but rather on David and how his life progressed with occasional flashbacks to their life together with emphasis on their honeymoon in Peru.

My problem with this book is that I never got to know David despite him being the central character of the book. He is self-centred and a bit uncaring but his motivations and personality never truly come over and when this lack of detail is added to a ponderous plot then I was left with nearly 300 pages of not a lot.

There is no conclusion either; any questions that you may ask yourself as you read are not answered in any way, shape or form.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never given a bad review on a book until now and I seriously think this is the worst book I’ve ever read. I finished it because I thought maybe it will get better. None of it makes sense, it doesn’t go together at all, and it left me feeling like the author didn’t know where she was going with the book And the ending is like she’s saying I’m done writing this one, I just gotta end it here. It’s one of those books that at the end I’m like I can’t get that time back from reading it.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now You See It is an interesting look at marriage and character. No spoilers, it’s a mystery. Why did Jessica disappear, was she taken? did she simply walk off with nothing and no explanation? In reading we follow David as he searches for answers, and his wife Jessica. David’s trips to Peru parallel this search as he tries to find his breaking, career making, story.

[Ayla Fant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like there was no actual plot to this book. I feel David was full of himself, and then he wonders what could’ve made his wife not want the life they were living. I definitely felt like this was not a fluid motion book, and that there was no point to it. There was no final conclusion or anything, just a story of his job? Maybe I’m just not getting it.

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get through this. It's. Just. So. Boring.

[Nicole Greenrock · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was stupid.

[Nicole Bowman · Rating 1 out of 5]

So stupid!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read...

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential in the beginning. I was drawn in by the mystery of the disappearing wife; it kind of had a Gone Girl feel to it. Despite being disappointed with the overall story, I decided to give it 2 stars. There were a lot of details given pertaining to Peru and a revolutionary uprising. The main plot felt incomplete and the ending was lacking. Some parts were well written, but by the end of the book I felt like I should have used my time to read something else.

[Jennifer Kepler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book had so much potential. A woman disappears with no explanation and her husband is left behind to put together the pieces. What's not to like? Oh yeah, that it fell apart! No real answers and another story in there that didn't relate very well to the main point of the book. I was hoping to find a new author to love, it I found a new book to toss.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently after the wretched "Still Missing" I still needed a good girl-gone-missing story. This was it! Not really a mystery -- more of a suspenseful reflection on a relationship that flashes back to a related story of another missing person. There's a lot to be said for browsing the shelves at the library...I may never have come across this otherwise.

[Chantella Abington · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if having it all really means walking a constrained path that you might not have chosen had you consciously selected your life? I loved the character development in this book and the way a map was used to help David see his life. I loved that a story about a missing wife was given so much depth, while keeping us in suspense until the end.

[Katie Ouellette · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give less than 1 star, I definitely would. It bothers me that I actually took the time to finish it, because the ending was so disappointing. It's the story of a husband's search for his missing wife and what "happens" along with way, which is essentially nothing.

[AshO · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got through almost half of this book, but kept putting it down and couldn't get back into reading it. Every time I would pick it up and read more, I'd end up just wanting to stop reading it. It's just very dull and has nothing really going on in it.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the characters. I have a hard time reading straight fiction (as opposed to historical fiction) about unlikeable characters. But I actually liked the ending, unlike most reviewers, because it seemed the heroine finally did something about her disappointing life.

[Kristine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just love reading an entire book only to learn the main thesis (in this case, a woman's disappearance) is never resolved! Despite this major flaw, the book shows beautiful writing and sense of place.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise, but could be better. I didn't love it.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ehh...not that compelling.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love it when I read it, but when I discussed with a book club including the author I have more appreciation for it. Definitely made me think just wasn't willing to suspend my disbelief.

[Britt · Rating 1 out of 5]

So incredibly frustrating. Liking playing a game of clue but never getting to open that cute little manilla envelope.

[Cherie]

Book club pick -- a mystery about relationships.

[Becky]

pointless

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really disappointed in this book. It dragged on and the endning wasn't what I thought it would be. I made myself finish it.

[Brittany H.]

February 25, 2013- 25 minutes
February 26, 2013- 30 minutes
February 27, 2013- 15 minutes
March 10, 2013- 30 minutes
March 11, 2013- 30 minutes
March 13, 2013- 25 minutes
March 14, 2013- 20 minutes

[Kathleen G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a lot of potential and I love the theme and message the author is trying to get across but I found myself skimming through and wanting it to be over.