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BOOK INFO
Title: Now You See Me
Author: Chris McGeorge
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Publish Date: September 3, 2019
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Series: na
My Rating: 4/5
BOOK BLURB
Six went in…only one came out.
The Standedge Tunnel, the longest canal tunnel in England, has become one of the rural village of Marsden’s main tourist attractions. Now it’s also a crime scene.
Six students went into the tunnel on a private boat. Two and a half hours later, the boat reappeared at the other end of the tunnel carrying only one of the students, Matthew. He had been knocked unconscious and has no memory of what took place in the tunnel. The police suspect he killed his friends, hid the bodies and later moved them to an undisclosed location. But sitting in a cell awaiting trial, Matthew maintains his innocence.
When Matthew contacts a famous author asking him for help in return for information he claims to possess about the author’s long-lost wife, it’s an offer that can’t be refused. But before the author can prove Matthew’s innocence, he must first answer a far more unusual question: How did five bodies disappear into thin air?
MY REVIEW
Robin’s wife, Samantha, went missing in 2015. Three years later, Robin has written a book about her to help him with his grief. He misses her terribly, and especially wishes he knew what happened to her. At a book signing, he receives a mysterious call from a man saying he spoke with Samantha years earlier. The caller, Matthew, is a man who has recently been arrested for killing five of his friends. Matthew and his friends went through the Standedge Tunnel on a boat, but only Matthew came out of the tunnel. Matthew claims he is innocent and asks for Robin’s help, promising more information about Samantha if Robin helps him. Robin is intrigued and heads off to Marsden, location of Standedge Tunnel. While Matthew maintains his innocence, there is still a big question about his friends – where are the bodies?
Robin is grieving for his missing wife and having difficulty moving on. With the hope of learning something about Samantha’s disappearance, he jumps into investigating Matthew’s claim of innocence. However, the townspeople of Marsden have already decided Matthew is guilty, and they are not welcoming to Robin and his inquiries about the Standedge Five. This makes Robin’s task more difficult, but he presses on to discover what happened in the tunnel, and in turn, hopes to learn what happened to his wife.
The atmosphere Now You See Me is fantastic. The claustrophobic tunnel and tight knit community of Marsden make for a dark and eerie setting. The characters are complex and not all that trustworthy. A compelling and suspenseful mystery.
I read Chris McGeorge’s previous novel, Guess Who, and was amused to see it referred to a couple of times in this book. Both books are entertaining thrillers.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Books by Chris McGeorge:
- Guess Who
- Now You See Me
- Inside Out
- Half-Past Tomorrow