And to think that I had this all figured out near the ending but NO, it took off and surprised me! Really a fascinating evolution in terms of Marcy's thinking, both aloud and to herself about what was happening. Who was she listening to...her mother? Her sister?
Definitely a good read.... I am trying to catch up to all of the Joy Fieldings books I have missed! I'm always fascinated to see what other reviewers have had to say....after I have written mine! ( )

Summary:
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 and hiding out in Ireland to make a new start? Marcy sets out on a journey to find her daughter and along the way meets others who either seem too eager to help her or want to hide vital information. It is hard to know who to trust and where the truth lies.

My Thoughts:
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 still out there waiting to be found. Much like real life cases of kidnapping, you would always feel like a failure as a parent if you gave up too soon.

Joy Fielding presents a quick, suspenseful and enjoyable read in Now You See Her ( )

I listened to this book rather than reading it; perhaps it is more believable in print rather than as an auditory experience. Marcie is a recently separated woman "celebrating" her 25th anniversary in Ireland alone. She is convinced that she sees her daughter, Devon, from her seat at a pub and the pursuit of Devon begins. The only problem is that Devon died in a boating accident, which Marcie cannot accept. The accounts of Marcie's encounters simply aren't credible as she puts herself in very obvious danger time after time. This was a poorly executed plot with remarkably unlikeable characters. The only reason I gave it 2 stars rather than 1 star is that I love Ireland and its interesting history. ( )

This was my first novel by Canadian Joy Fielding. This book became more intriguing as the story continued. I certainly didn't see the end coming, but it made sense when I thought about it. The real story is about Marcy Taggart and her personal journey through the two crises in her life - the supposed drowning of her 21-year old daughter and the break up of her 25-year marriage. Marcy had planned a second honeymoon trip to Ireland before her husband decided the marriage was over. She decided to go to Ireland by herself since everything is already booked and is non-refundable. While there, she meets interesting characters and is convinced she has seen her missing daughter. She is determined to find that face. There was only one troubling thing in the book - the motives for one of the characters, Vic - just seems a little far-fetched. Overall, I enjoyed it and will try some other Joy Fielding novels. ( )

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. ( )