An Elly Griffiths' (@ellygriffiths) book is always such a treat, and #NowYouSeeThem is no different. Witty and sly with great characters and plot points, and terrific mystery to boot. Part police procedural, part meditation on family, it just works all around.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

I became an Elly Griffiths fan thanks to her Ruth Galloway series. When I saw that she'd come out with a completely different mystery series I definitely wanted to check that one out, and it hasn't disappointed me. This newer one is also set in England, but in a completely different time period and this time with two men as the main characters. Edgar Stephens is a police detective, and Max Mephisto is the friend with whom he worked during WWII; Max is also a magician. This is the fifth in a series that needs to be read in order, and I'm very glad that I did just that. Relationships definitely build and change from book to book, time passes (the first in the series is set in 1950, this fifth one in 1964) and past cases are brought up in part because of those relationships. So that's my word to the wise reader on that score. As far as the story of this one is concerned, it was another good one. Max and Edgar have both made significant changes in their lives since Book #4, and on the surface all seems well on their personal fronts. In the course of the book we see that things aren't quite as rosy as they seem. A string of disappearances of young women pulls them into working together again to solve those disappearances, and they get some help from a new young woman on the police force, as well as one who's left the force but is missing the job and determined to prove she hasn't lost her skills. I was surprised at the revelation of the perpetrator, and very much enjoyed the journey to the end. I'm a child of the 60's so could definitely relate to much of what was described, despite the fact that I was avidly watching Great Britain from across the Atlantic - thanks to the musical British Invasion of the time. I look forward to what lies in store next for Edgar, Max and friends.
My thanks to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

What can I say it's Elly Griffiths. Love all her books and this one was no exception. Loved the era it was set in especially the mods and rockers in Brighton-brought back so many memories. A fantastic book as always from a fabulous writer.

Now You See Them is the fifth installment of the Stephens & Mephisto Mystery series. Unlike the previous books this one takes place after a time gap. It's roughly ten years later, the main character, while adults in the other four books, have really grown up. They are married, have children, and a new batch of characters are being added in to the group. It's interesting to see Edgar, Max, Emma, Bob and Ruby further on in life, and the new struggles they have to deal with. Like always the mystery sucks you in, and you feel for not only the main characters you expect, but the new ones as well. In addition to the mystery, one of the main focuses of the book is on the struggle Emma has being looked at as no longer a detective but as a wife, and mother. The idea of a woman's place, and fulfillment is central, and refreshing. I definitely enjoyed this progression in the series, and look forward to seeing where the Stephens & Mephisto bunch end up in the future.

Characters and setting are primary in Elly Griffiths' mysteries, and while I prefer the Ruth Galloway series to the Magic Men, this installment of the latter is nonethless entertaining. The characters of Edgar and Max have evolved over the five books in the series and are fun to return to. There's a span of 11 years between the fourth and fifth book, skipping forward in time to the 1960s -- to the time of the Beatles, Mods and Rockers, overall social and cultural change. Max, Edgar and wife Emma team up to investigate the disappearance of young girls in this mystery that unfolds slowly but remains compelling. This can be read as a stand-alone but it's likely readers just discovering the series will want to backtrack and enjoy the first four books as well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy; this is my honest opinion.

The newest in the the Magic Men mystery series finds the characters in 1964 Brighton, England. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters better as they’ve grown and changed. The novel starts at a funeral, characters have married, moved, gone on to new careers or left them, and meanwhile the teenage daughter of a local lord has gone missing from her boarding school. Was she a runaway, or has she been kidnapped? Edgar, now a police superintendent, is helped by various return characters and some new ones (who I hope to see again) in an interesting, well set story. Max is back, his reminiscing about his old haunts and home are so well written, you can really empathize with him.
Altogether, this is my favorite book of the series so far, do read them in order!
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC, the review reflects my honest opinion.

EXCERPT: May 1964

At first, Edgar thought he wasn't coming. They were all there in church: Edgar and Emma, Bob and Betty, Queenie in the front pew, sobbing into a lace-edged handkerchief. Even Mrs M was there, her hair white now but as striking as ever in a black cape with a fur collar. Ruby had caused a stir when she entered the church, followed, as ever, by Joe. There were even a few photographers waiting outside, just for the chance to snap the star of 'Ruby Magic', the nation's favourite TV show. Ruby swept up the front to sit with Queenie, who welcomed her with a hug.

'Isn't she lovely?' said someone. Edgar looked at Emma but her face was expressionless.

And then, as the wheezy music started up, a door banged at the back of the church and Edgar knew. The photographers must have known too because there was a shout outside, something like 'That's him.' Edgar couldn't resist looking round and there he was, in the blackest suit with the thinnest tie, taking off his hat, unchanged by the last eleven years. Max.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: A wild mystery with DI Edgar Stephens and the magician Max Mephisto, as they help Edgar’s new wife investigate the disappearance of one of their own in the swinging 1960s.

MY THOUGHTS: Set in 1964 against the backdrop of the infamous bank holiday mods and rockers fight on Brighton beach, we catch up with DI Stephens and Max Mephisto eleven years after we last met with them in The Vanishing Box.

This was an interesting period in time. A time of Beatlemania, of protest marches against the Vietnam war, the advent of the contraceptive pill (available only to married women), and the emergence of female activists demanding more rights for women, whose role in society began to change as women realised they could have motherhood and a career too.

Policing was a completely different ballgame, with trunchons instead of tasers, no kevlar vests or body cameras, very little in the way of forensics, and communication via the unreliable 'walkie talkie'.

Elly Griffiths has cleverly interwoven these social changes into the fabric of Now You See Them, a tale of mystery and intrigue that centres around the disappearance of 4 very different girls and women. Edgar not only has to cope with the mounting pressure to find these women, but also with the growing discontent of his wife Emma, who is missing her life as a detective on the force (married women could not work in the police force), and the effects of her 'meddling' in his case.

Griffiths has gathered together an interesting cast of characters with real depth and melds them with the changing social and cultural climate to produce an intriguing mystery. Although very different to her Ruth Galloway series, the Stephens and Mephisto series is every bit as good.
Highly recommended. But it is probably wise to read the earlier books in the series, set in the 1950s, for the characters back stories.

🚓🛵😍❤.5

THE AUTHOR: Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels take for their inspiration Elly's husband, who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist, and her aunt who lives on the Norfolk coast and who filled her niece's head with the myths and legends of that area. Elly has two children and lives near Brighton.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hodder Mifflin Harcourt via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

This is such a great series! I'm really impressed with how Griffiths has managed to transition her characters from the Magic Men of the early books into an aging (gracefully of course!) cast of still fully engaging and constantly evolving characters whose lives (and plot lines) move on appropriately with time... The misdirection and drama of the early stories continues to play a role in the later ones, albeit in different directions. So many times authors seem to feel compelled to keep their characters in the moment of their introduction - both psychologically and in terms of the action they encounter - and it feels forced because, well, it is. Time passes, people age and their lives change - so to, characters. When an author manages that transition well, as Griffiths does, the result is a series with longevity that continues to provide new opportunities for character development and story lines that don't feel like rehashed tales of days gone by...

In this latest installment, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Emma's character struggle with the role she's been forced into by circumstance, choice, and reality. The dynamic between her and Edgar added an interesting new tension to the series. I never doubted they'd figure it out, but wasn't sure exactly how - and when the revelation on her plans for the future came out in the end, it felt perfectly organic and solid. Not to mention, it offers up excellent opportunities for future stories!

There was a little less emphasis on Max in this one than I like to see. He was there and important, of course, but he wasn't the key to this one. That worked, given the story, although I do hope to see more of him in future books because he is, without a doubt, one of my favorites. He's such a delightful blend of old school and perennially contemporary... It's a fine line to walk but he does it - as he does all things - with aplomb and panache.

I've tried reading Griffiths' contemporary stories but just never seem to connect with them the way I do these Magic Men stories. She is a very talented writer and if you don't know her work - or only know the more modern stuff - you should definitely check these out. They're well-written, original, and the characterization is spot-on fantastic!

This is the first book I've read in the Magic Men series and I have enjoyed it a lot. The plot moved along quickly with enough back-story for me easily to understand the various relationships, but I think that, knowing their history and the outcome of previous mysteries, I shall not now read the earlier books. The 1960s setting was described well, including realistic glimpses of life for pupils in an all-girls boarding school, and an unsympathetic attitude to gay issues. Although I think that the feminist aspect of the plot is a bit over-laboured, this will not stop me following up Emma, Meg, Ruby and Sam's later adventures as and when these are published.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for this review.

Now You See Them is the 5th mystery in a series by Elly Griffiths. Released 3rd Dec 2019 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's 352 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

I've enjoyed all the previous books in this series as well as the author's other series. This one is a little different. It's set 10 years after the occurrences in book 4, with Max back in England for a funeral after moving to Hollywood. When a local girl goes missing, his friend Inspector Stephens (now a Superintendent) is drawn into the case along with his (the inspector's) wife, a former detective sergeant.

This is (as all her other books) an intricately plotted, technically adept book. It's a large ensemble cast and I wonder if it might be difficult to keep track of the characters if the reader weren't already familiar with the earlier books. I'm not sure how well this one would read as a standalone. The plot is certainly self contained, and the denouement is satisfying, but I think I would've had difficulties sorting out the characters' interrelationships if this were my introduction to the series. That being said, this is a supremely entertaining read and I heartily recommend it.

I like the nostalgia aspect. There aren't that many series set in that time period (post WW2 up to the 60s) with the same light humor, intrigue, and show business/magic circuit characters.

Five stars, but I'd read the others in the series first.

I was excited to read the latest installment in this series and was taken aback when the story jumped ahead almost 10 years in the characters' lives. I felt like I had missed a book in the series! But Griffiths always delivers likable characters with interesting personal dilemmas as well as an intriguing mystery. I'm looking forward to more Magic Men mysteries!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fifth book in the Magic Men series by Elly Griffiths and my first read of the series. Because I’ve read two other books by Griffiths, I wanted to see if this one held up to what I had already read. Yes, indeed, it held up on all counts.
The book begins with the disappearance of a school girl. It is clear from the beginning that the principle characters have relationships that date back to past occurrences, although it isn’t difficult to follow how they relate to each other in this book. In this series, I believe it would be in the reader’s best interest to read the books in order as it would give the reader the opportunity to understand all the nuances that have been created from personal relationships.
As the chief superintendent begins to investigate, his wife, a detective with the police force before she married and left the force to raise a family, it becomes clear the missing girl is one of a series of girls who has disappeared. In addition to the suspicion that this is a serial crime, one of the girls is discovered murdered, which adds to the urgency for a solution.
In addition to investigation of the disappearances and murder, there is considerable attention given to the personal relationships between the principle characters. There is the relationship between the chief superintendent and his wife. Prior to this book and probably part of earlier books in the series, it is clear he was a detective inspector and she was his sergeant, along with the current detective inspector who as a secondary role in this book. Other characters who have previous relationships with the couple are a magician turned actor, his daughter, a close friend of the wife who is a reporter, and various other tertiary characters. Curiosity about all these people’s previous relationships is raised as this book is being read, increasing the desire to go back and read the earlier books.
The mystery itself does stand alone and there is enough information regarding how the characters relate to each other for the reader to still enjoy the book. That said, I do believe this series is best enjoyed being read from the beginning in order to fully appreciate the different characters, their personalities, and their motivations.
My thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing and NetGalley for providing me an advanced digital reader copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Things have changed in the ten years since Edgar and Max first teamed up to solve the murders in The Vanishing Box. It is now the 1960s, and the funeral of one of their original group brings everyone together again, and not all of it is for the better.

This is the fifth book in the series, and I was surprised at how much time has passed since the previous installment. Relationships have changed, some growing closer, and others growing apart. That said, I still enjoyed catching up with the characters and following along with them as they deal with the disappearance of a young girl and the invasion of the Mods and Rockers. I can understand Emma's frustration and Sam's eagerness to have her work be valued the same as that of her male co-workers, and I look forward to seeing where the next book takes us.

I have read all the books in this series and enjoyed them all and also her characters. Well written. Good suspense. Would definitely read her next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I was delighted for the opportunity to continue with Elly Griffiths’s mystery series featuring police detective Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto In Now You See Them, the fifth book of the Magic Men (or Stephens & Mephisto) series.

Unexpectedly, eleven years have passed since the events of The Vanishing Box. In the interim, Edgar Stephens has been promoted to Superintendent, and is happily married to (former Sergeant) Emma, with three young children, while Max Mephisto has become an American movie star and married a Hollywood starlet, with whom he has two young children. The pair are reunited in Brighton at the funeral of Stan Parks, aka The Great Diablo, but the separation has put some strain on their friendship, and both are too busy with their own interests to properly reconnect. Max is negotiating a role in a movie to be filmed in England with the country’s hottest teen idol, Bobby Hambro, while attempting to spend time with his grown daughter, Ruby, who is now the star of a popular television series, and Edgar is overseeing a search for the runaway teenage daughter of a local MP, and preparing for the May Bank Holiday, during which large groups of warring Mods and Rockers are expected to clash on the Brighton foreshore.

Suspecting that the missing teen is simply skiving to stalk Bobby Hambro at his London hotel with all the other young ‘Bobby Soxers’, DI Bob Willis, and WPC Meg Connolly are tasked with making inquiries, but Samantha Collins, a reporter at the local paper, thinks otherwise. She believes that Rhonda Miles is the third of three teenage girls who may have been abducted, and approaches Emma with her suspicions.

Emma, who has become increasingly restless in her role as only a housewife and mother, sees merit in the theory, and eagerly presents it to her husband, hoping she can perhaps be of help in the investigation. She’s hurt when Edgar barely acknowledges it, and so with the support of Sam, somewhat naively does some investigating of her own, children in tow.

The questions surrounding the fate of the missing girls is the core mystery in Now You See Them. The police have few leads and no real evidence of the connection, and Griffiths makes the most of the uncertainty, but it’s not until Ruby goes missing that any real urgency is introduced into the plot.

Now You See Them is far more about the characters than the plot though, Max and Emma in particular are at a crossroads of a type. I felt that Edgar was sidelined somewhat, but as a Superintendent he is no longer a hands on detective, so that makes sense. I enjoyed the time leap in character growth much more than I expected, and I also liked the introduction of the new WPC.

One of the strengths of this series remains its sense of time and place, the jump from the mid 50’s to the mid 60’s is deftly accomplished with Griffiths illustrating the cultural shifts in various ways.

Now You See Them can probably be read as a stand-alone but the experience will be much richer if the reader is familiar with the series. I enjoyed both the story, and reconnecting with the characters. Interestingly Griffiths seems to have ended with a hint of a new direction for this series that may see Emma and Sam in the forefront.

I've loved every single one of Elly Griffiths' novels. Her characters, in both the Ruth Galloway and the Magic Men series, are well-defined and memorable. Griffiths often reveals more about each character's motivations to readers than the characters themselves ever suss out, and -- in the case of this series -- period detail has been thoroughly researched and well portrayed.

This last was a bit of a sticking point for me in Now You See Them. While catching up with these familiar characters felt like a long-delayed reunion (the previous book in the series was set 10 years earlier), some of the historical details, especially about events in 1964 America, were juxtaposed badly.

This book is set at the beginning of Beatles mania, in the era of the Mods and Rockers in England. There are several references in the book to the Vietnam War and to long-haired hippies. However, to all but a few Americans in 1964, Vietnam was just a distant country where the Pentagon had sent some military advisors, in an adjunct to the Cold War. Protests against imperialism in Vietnam began in England and Australia months and even years before we in the U.S. joined.

Likewise, in 1964, the term "hippies" was still associated with the hipsters of the Beat movement -- also a counterculture group, albeit one with more style. It was a year or two later that the barefoot and long-haired flower children began to share the label.

Still, this book is bound to be loved by any Griffiths fan. It may not be a standalone, but it was a lot of fun.Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

This is my first read in this series, though I read and enjoyed some of the author's Ruth Galloway series. Overall, an interesting story but the large cast of main characters had me confused fof awhile. I would have rather fewer main people's perspectives. Still, overall a good mystery, but not a great read. Maybe better if reax from the start of the series.

I adore Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway book series and also loved her recent standalone The Stranger Diaries but, on a whole, I will admit I have not enjoyed the Stephens/Mephisto (or as it is advertised on the US cover, The Magic Men) series quite as much. The trend continues with Now You See Them.

For this, the fifth book in the series, Griffiths has skipped ten years, thus the post war 50s has morphed into the swinging 60s. I really enjoy books set in the 50s, where PTSD from WW2 is so prevalent and am less interested in the 60s as I find the era is just a bit overused generally in books, movies, television etc.

The book opens with my favourite character of the series, the Great Diablo, having passed away, bringing everyone back to Brighton for the funeral. Edgar is now the Super and is married to Emma who, as such, has had to resign from the police force. With three children, she is kept busy but largely dissatisfied with her housewife/mother status. Max is married to a famous Hollywood actress and Ruby is the star of her own tv series. Their reunion is disrupted when a young girl from the local boarding school (which Emma attended) goes missing.

The crime itself is satisfying enough, there are a lot of red herrings and, as Max would say, misdirection, meaning I was not really sure whodunnit. I did guess a couple of key points, however and, as per usual, I would have preferred Edgar to be more involved. He takes the backseat yet again though and it’s Emma who is the focus of this installment.

I have been a bit indifferent towards Emma’s character until now and I’m still not feeling the love completely. I understand Griffiths is using her to highlight some important points, especially when it comes to feminism (as she also does with the introduction of another female police officer, Meg) but sometimes I think writers need to just show the readers misogyny in a more organic way instead of pushing it straight down our throats.

Classism and racism are also themes of the book and again, it feels heavy handed. Maybe writers need to remember not every reader is too stupid to understand subtlety.

Max’s lovelife is another thing I’m starting to feel indifferent about. Although he turns up married in this book, it’s glaringly obvious he will soon be taking up with yet another different woman and Griffiths will work in yet another love triangle into one of her books. *sigh* Unlike Edgar though, at least Max does get to do some sleuthing, which is a bonus.

With the new 60s setting, Griffiths took the opportunity to include the Brighton riot/clash between the Mods and Rockers. This real life historical gang war is always interesting (and so very English!).

Out of all the books of the series I thought this one felt much more ‘cosy mystery’ than the others and I recommend it to fans of that genre that are looking for a decent story. Now You See Them is very standalone too. I think new readers will pick up on most of the previous plot points fairly easily.

The Zig Zag Girl is still the best of the series but I think there are worse books you could pick up than this and I will probably keep going with the series in the future.

4 out of 5

Girls are disappearing and the Magic Men need to figure out how to undo the trick of this unknown man lurking in the shadows -- promising to turn girls into models. Ten years have gone by since Stevens & Mephisto #4 and it is 1964. With WW II so distant in the rearview mirror, the tumultuous 60's are in focus. Max and Edgar both have young children. Diablo is dead. Emma is a stay-at-home mom. Ruby is a celebrity in her own right. There is a new recruit in the police business and she has skills. With references to many of the old tricks and cameo appearances of some favorite supporting characters, this one kept me engaged. Formatting for the switching of POVs was a bit choppy in my ARC. I trust that will be better defined in the final product.

Thank you Houghton Mifflin and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a huge fan of the Ruth Galloway series, I was thrilled to learn that Elly Griffiths had another series. So, when book five in the Magic Men series became available on netgalley, I jumped at the chance to read it.

This story takes you back to 1964. The Magic Men originally came together in WWII. Now Max is an actor in Hollywood and Edgar is a Police Superintendent. The time period allows for the sexism of the day to shine through, like the fact that a female police constable isn’t allowed to drive or have a radio. This time period was at the forefront of the women’s liberation movement and we have Emma feeling the dissatisfaction of being stuck at home. In fact, Griffiths does a great job painting the whole atmosphere of the times, with the mods and rockers, the fashions and the teenyboppers falling over heartthrobs.

The book moves at a fast pace. The mystery is a good one and while I had my suspicions, I was kept guessing until almost the end.

As you would expect for someone picking up the fifth book in a series without having read the prior entries, it took me a while to get everyone straight and suss out their relationships. But once I did, I really enjoyed the characters, especially the women. In fact, the ending was a treat and I hope means there will be a book six.

The book is described as a cozy mystery fit for those that like Agatha Christie, which is a good description.

My thanks to netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an advance copy of this book.