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saarahnina 's review for:
Now You See Her
by Heidi Perks
It's your classic domestic thriller with a twist!
*Small spoilers ahead.*
When reading this book, I was reminded of The Breakdown by B A Paris and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. It seemed quite identical in aspects, but where it became different, that was so very good! It was where the book lost its predictability and so, naturally, the reader would be overwhelmingly curious.
The book follows Harriet after her four year old daughter, Alice, goes missing at a school fair. She's never left Alice in the care of anyone before, but when her best friend Charlotte offers it seems like a good idea.
I was impressed by the character development, the ending was good closure as nothing seemed so out of character for any of them. My suspicions were confirmed.
I liked Charlotte the best, especially when she quickly realised her friendship with Harriet was one-sided but didn't see anything truly wrong with that. She didn't feel comfortable prying and I'm very much the same and not every one understands that. I guess her reaction was also realistic though I feel I'd have been able to understand the 'greater good' of the event.
But I have to say Harriet was astonishingly different to how one-dimensional the victim characters are sometimes written. It's as though once someone becomes a victim in a book, they lose all their quirks and character traits. This isn't true for real life, it's why it becomes so difficult for their friends to identify the problem. Heidi Perks did a remarkable job with this, Harriet had this inner strength, this motivation to want to see for herself. If her husband told her she made a mistake, she didn't simply apologise. She questioned him, and when it constantly repeated, she kept a record. I always think were I in that situation, I'd be so frustrated that my memory of something was being challenged that I'd stay up all night to make the person understand. I'm pretty stubborn. But as a fellow diarist/journal keeper, I didn't have to internally scream "write it down!" to her whenever Harriet doubted something. Then there was how she had her daughter help her. A toddler! It just went to show just how desperate and lost she felt.
This is a very different take on a plot that seems so over-used. I recommend.
I received this book through Netgalley.
*Small spoilers ahead.*
When reading this book, I was reminded of The Breakdown by B A Paris and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. It seemed quite identical in aspects, but where it became different, that was so very good! It was where the book lost its predictability and so, naturally, the reader would be overwhelmingly curious.
The book follows Harriet after her four year old daughter, Alice, goes missing at a school fair. She's never left Alice in the care of anyone before, but when her best friend Charlotte offers it seems like a good idea.
I was impressed by the character development, the ending was good closure as nothing seemed so out of character for any of them. My suspicions were confirmed.
I liked Charlotte the best, especially when she quickly realised her friendship with Harriet was one-sided but didn't see anything truly wrong with that. She didn't feel comfortable prying and I'm very much the same and not every one understands that. I guess her reaction was also realistic though I feel I'd have been able to understand the 'greater good' of the event.
But I have to say Harriet was astonishingly different to how one-dimensional the victim characters are sometimes written. It's as though once someone becomes a victim in a book, they lose all their quirks and character traits. This isn't true for real life, it's why it becomes so difficult for their friends to identify the problem. Heidi Perks did a remarkable job with this, Harriet had this inner strength, this motivation to want to see for herself. If her husband told her she made a mistake, she didn't simply apologise. She questioned him, and when it constantly repeated, she kept a record. I always think were I in that situation, I'd be so frustrated that my memory of something was being challenged that I'd stay up all night to make the person understand. I'm pretty stubborn. But as a fellow diarist/journal keeper, I didn't have to internally scream "write it down!" to her whenever Harriet doubted something. Then there was how she had her daughter help her. A toddler! It just went to show just how desperate and lost she felt.
This is a very different take on a plot that seems so over-used. I recommend.
I received this book through Netgalley.