Harriet leaves her four year old daughter Alice in the care of her friend Charlotte to attend a course in bookkeeping. While at the school fete with Charlotte and her three children, Alice goes missing. This is a story full of twists and turns and it about secrets, lies and control.
I enjoyed this book even though I found Charlotte and Harriet to be flawed and unlikeable.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House UK,Cornerstone for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a page turner! Really enjoyed the developing story of the missing little 4 year old Alice.
Really engaged with the characters and could not put this book down.
Look forward to more by this author

This book keeps you guessing. Highly engaging read. Over the course of the book you really get to know each of the main characters. You won’t be disappointed with this book

As soon as I read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it. As Mummy to a 1 year old and 3-year-old, this is my absolute worst nightmare. Four-year-old Alice is being looked after by her mummy's best friend. Or at least she is until she disappears without a trace.

Told from 2 different perspectives - Harriet and Charlotte - Now You See Her is given an extra dimension as it is also told from 2 different times. The story opens in the now where Charlotte is in a police cell being questioned about her involvement Alice's disappearance. It then moves back in time to then which describes the disappearance 13 days ago and everything that happens afterwards to bring us up to date with Charlotte in the present.

It may sound a little complicated, but Perks does a wonderful job of moving the reader through the different perspectives and times with seamless fluidity. The story never feels difficult to follow and as to two timelines come together, you know something isn't right.

With guilt, suspicion and lies throughout; there is more than enough to keep you turning the pages. However, I will say that I did find the friendship between Harriet and Charlotte a little bit of a stretch. Although it's not unusual to have friends who are very different, I just didn't see the glue that held them together first hand and the 'we have things in common' line told retrospectively seemed a little weak. This was most likely due to the story structure and the limited contact the two women had in with each other the book and therefore you never see their relationship and interaction first hand. This left the relationship a little shallow for me. I think it would have benefitted from a little something more between the women before it all kicked off.

Away from each other though, both characters were well rounded and believable. I despaired with Harriet in the loss of her daughter and empathised with Charlotte's guilt. How many of us have had a quick glance through our phones while our children have been playing? The thought of looking up and one of them being gone just doesn't bear thinking about.

As expected Now You See Her comes with a twist or two and I will say they are quite predictable. However, this didn't take away from my enjoying the book and I found myself turning page after page to try and find out what really did happen to Alice. As one thing is for sure, nothing is as it seems and there is no doubt that at least one person is lying.

If you enjoyed The Couple Next Door, Gone Girl and The Girl on a Train then you will no doubt enjoy Now You See Her too and I can't wait to read more of what Heidi Perks has to offer.

I was really looking forward to reading this from the synopsis but it didn’t grip me as much as I had hoped. It was still an enjoyable read and I did not see the twist coming midway. However once that was revealed I found my attention wandering a little and I didn’t enjoy the ending which felt like it didn’t sit right with the rest of the book. That being said there was enough to want me to read more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Cornerstone for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Heidi Perks serves up a tale of loss, betrayal, friendship and regrets and hits the mark on so many levels. When the unspeakable happens on a bright summers day, the surface tragedy is just the beginning of a story that will keep you reading well into the wee small hours.

I read this book in one sitting, expecting little more than a kitchen sink drama full of blame and angst. How wrong I was!

The characterisation is well rounded and the alternating perspectives keep us bound in sympathy to the each of the women on an immediate level, whilst making us constantly check our loyalties as the stories unfold. Charlotte is likeable and well meaning, but does her friendship with the drab Harriet stink of the pity and privilege? Should the burden of blame rest with her? Harriet is shy and nervy, but is she overprotective and neurotic? With two separate time frames the tension builds and builds.
Though this is undoubtedly a book of two women, it is also a story with deep resonance in today’s media savvy world, where trolling is rife and everyone has an opinion. How well do you know your friends? How far do you trust them? What would it take to truly test that friendship?

I’d thoroughly recommend Now You See Her. Well written and with great pace, it raises many questions whilst not compromising on tension. A good thriller.

** spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars. This was an enjoyable thriller and the author particularly delved into the minds of the two women, especially with regard to Harriet’s abusive husband wonderfully. I especially liked the fact that the characters were complex and layered, and there were no pat solutions (except with the dispatch of Brian).

I would have given this 4 stars or more but for the fact that despite a chilling story line, I didn’t find myself completely immersed in the story. There was a sense of distance in the narration, a feeling like one was being told that “this happened, and then this”.

(Review copy from Netgalley)

I read this book quite recently and really enjoyed it. The fantastic plot unfolds with guilty secrets being revealed, suspicion, blame, lies, deceit. As you would expect from any good thriller, it is well written with tension, a surprising twist and an unexpected ending I certainly didn't see coming.
I thought Now You See Her was a brilliant psychological thriller, I look forward to reading more from Heidi Perks in the future. Would definitely recommend it.

A gripping and enjoyable read, I was quickly drawn in and couldn't put it down. A good psychological drama with plenty of twists. No plot details from me...give it a read and judge for yourself!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Alice is missing presumed abducted from a summer fete while under the watch of her mothers best friend.
What unravels is a gripping psychological thriller that I could not put down!! This book was so intense with such amazing twists and turns, I could never have predicted the outcome!!
Fantastic book, amazing characters and a gripping storyline. Thanks for sharing!

This was one of those books that kept me guessing from start to finish and threw up some great curve-balls! It's every parent's worst nightmare, your child is gone, vanished, nowhere to be found. Imagine if you were taking care of your friend's child and it's YOU that loses sight of them. Horrendous right?

This complex character book shares with us the story of both characters. If you like flawed people where you are not sure if you are on their team or not, this is one for you. I loved the pace of the book, it had me enthralled from page one and never let up. This one was enjoyed in one sitting.

The latter part of the book and especially the ending is incredibly good. Really brilliant! I was holding my breath and had my jaw wide open for the whole telling. I did NOT see all that coming. No matter how much I thought I did. It totally blindsided me and that makes a book so enjoyable. It's intense, dark at times and emotive. I can't recommend this book enough. If you love a good psychological thriller this has to be on your list to read in 2018.

Five well-deserved stars!

I saw the blurb of this book and was immediately drawn to it. I love a good psychological thriller and I love it even more when there is kidnappings involved. There is just always so much tension in the story.

Heidi Perks surely delivered with this one. There are two narrators in this story.
First we have Charlotte, a divorced yummie mummy who promises to one day look after her best friends child. This friend is Harriet, our other narrator.
Harriet's life is not an easy one. Her husband Brian constantly gaslights her, trying to make her believe she is crazy. Because of this, Harriet does not leave her daughter Alice out of her sight.

One day Harriet has to go to a course and leaves Alice with Charlotte. Her best friend surely should be able to look after her child right?
Charlotte takes her 3 kids and Alice to the school fete, where she becomes a bit overwhelmed. When 2 of her kids and Alice decide to go on a Jungle Run obstacle course, she sits down in the shade with her youngest daughter. She keeps an eye on the kids and then for a few minutes she checks her phone and Facebook.

When her children come back, Alice is gone. And no one has seen where she went.

What follows is an incredibly well written thriller. The characters jump from the page and I was truly starting to hate Brian.
I somewhat saw the plottwist coming but I still thought it was well executed. Would recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you for the opportunity to read. First book I've read by this author and it won't be the last. Fast paced thriller that kept me up late into the night.

Loved this. Never read anything before by the author but have already purchased two more books.
5 stars on goodbooks
This is a fast paced thriller. I read it on holiday cover to cover in 24 hours. Had that feeling of I need to know but then that disappointed feeling that I read it too fast! Excellent book.

A truly tense thriller about a family where the husband is controlling, devious and sometimes just plain nasty. The wife is desperate to get away with her small daughter, but doesn't know how she can manage it. She has one friend, who doesn't really know what is going on, but knows she doesn't like the husband.
Then the father of the bullied wife reappears, although she thought he was dead. Then the wife sees her chance.
The twists and turns in this novel are both heart-stopping, and make you very fearful for all the people concerned. The police are not aware most of the time what is happening, and the twists in the plot are numerous.
I found this book easy to read, although the subject matter is not nice. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this thriller.

This is an enjoyable and engrossing story with enough surprises and twists to keep the reader guessing. It's one of those books that you just read one more chapter, then another until you realise you've devoured it in almost one go. It will be a hit over the summer holidays as it's the perfect holiday read and will, I'm sure, be recommended through book clubs and blogs.

The search for a lost child.

Alice, aged four, disappears at a school fete. She was not with her mother Harriet at the time but had been left in the care of her mother’s great friend, Charlotte. Both women are distraught and the search for the missing child begins. This takes place over many weeks as the plot behind the disappearance becomes more and more baffling and complicated.

It is the ultimate nightmare to lose a child – shades of Madeleine McCann. It is almost worse when the child who disappears has been left in your care. Charlotte is devastated, feels guilty and her own life starts to fall apart. Meanwhile Harriet is angry and refuses to see her friend. But all is not as it seems in this highly tense, psychological thriller.

The writing is tight and the many twists in the story have you gripped and turning the pages to the very end. This would be a great book for a holiday or while travelling, as it really does need to be read without a break. My only criticism is that the portrayal of the children is not so sure-footed. They tend to speak and understand situations in an adult way, even when only four or five years old. Otherwise this is a really good story.

I would recommend this book.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

A great read showing how things are not always as they seem and really addressing difficult scenarios

Where is Alice? A truly captivating story about how a little girl disappears and the ends to which her mother goes to try and protect her.

This was an engrossing read, with many twists and turns to leave the reader guessing. A child disappears at a school fete, whilst being looked after by her best friend. Who is responsible? Did Charlotte not look after her properly, is her father responsible for her going missing. Where is Alice? It is a very clever story that slowly unfolds and at the end you still aren’t sure if everyone is safe and happy.
Highly recommended
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book.