Now You See Her

Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Atria (Audiobook by Brilliance Audio)

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 waters of Georgian Bay, and as a result Marcy has never fully accepted her death. She continues to see the young woman’s face in crowds and has even stopped strangers on the street, certain she has finally discovered her long lost daughter.

Now in Ireland, on what was originally intended to be a celebration of her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary — if, that is, her husband had not left her for another woman — Marcy yet again thinks she sees her daughter, casually strolling past her on the sidewalk. So begins Marcy’s desperate search to find Devon, to find herself, and to find the disturbing truth that might, in the end, be her only salvation.

Now You See Her is the latest by Joy Fielding. Marcy is on holiday in Ireland and thinks she sees her presumed dead daughter walk by the window of a pub. Her chase kicks off a confusing and twisted journey as she tries to prove that her daughter did not kill herself. I found this book and Marcy's character incredibly frustrating. Marcy seemed all over the place. She continually made very stupid choices and it was a wonder she wasn't ever seriously hurt. Her reasoning behind her decisions had me shaking my head at times. I wasn't sure if the author wanted us to think she was crazy or not. I lost sympathy for her halfway through the book.

The pacing of the book was also rather frustrating. Just as the story would get rolling, we would be subjected to Marcy's reflections on the past (that often had no relevance to the present) or voices in her head giving her advice. There is also an Irish history lesson in the middle of the book that added nothing to the story. So, why did I finish it? I wanted to find out who the bad guy was and whether or not Devon was alive or dead. I'll let you decide of you want to read it and find out.

I did listen to the audiobook and I thought the narrator, Justine Eyre, did a good job. I just didn't care for the story she was reading.

--Kari