Member Reviews
So happy to be given a whole budget to replenish our senior shelves in the school library. The books in there are far from appealing at the moment and I have been delighted to find books here that will intrigue, captivate and engross my senior students. This is a fantastic read with characters they will be able to connect with, a pacy narrative and an ending that will provide plenty to talk about. It's great to read a book that does not feel formulaic and gives some credit to their reader's intelligence too. Young people are very fussy about the books they choose to read and in this time-precious day and age it really has to be something above and beyond the ordinary to get them to put down their devices and get their noses stuck in a book. I think this is one book that will capture their imagination and keep them turning the pages until the end. This is definitely going onto my 'must-buy' list and I really look forward to seeing what the young people themselves think of this twisty, clever and engaging novel. |
A missing child is a topic that's difficult to do well because of the tremendous heartbreak that goes hand-in-hand with it. Too much, and the readers won't be able to go on; not enough and they won't feel engaged. This thriller manages the balance beautifully, adding the complications of broken relationships and secrets into the mix. The plot twists and turns as we get to know the characters and get swept up in their dilemmas. |
NOW YOU SEE HER She’s playing at the school fete with your children. You pull out your phone, scroll through Facebook, and look up again. NOW YOU DON'T Charlotte is looking after her best friend’s daughter the day she disappears. She thought the little girl was playing with her own children. She swears she only took her eyes off them for a second. Now, Charlotte must do the unthinkable, tell her best friend Harriet that her only child is missing. The child she was meant to be watching. Devastated, Harriet can no longer bear to see Charlotte. No one could expect her to trust her friend again. Only now she needs to. Because two weeks later Harriet and Charlotte are both being questioned separately by the police. And secrets are about to surface. Someone is hiding the truth about what really happened to Alice. Wow, this book though! Gripping and tense throughout, this book was fast paced and kept me guessing right until the huge twist at the end. It shows how easy it is to pin blame on people and how hard it is to live with yourself after such a terrible event, involving a child. The atmosphere is claustrophobic and so real it almost feels like you’re in the story, the characters are descriptive and emotional, again so real. Charlotte battles with both guilt at losing her friends child and relief at having her own, this shows at every turn and there is an inevitable confrontation it’s surprising results, I did not see the ending coming! A well written, solid story by an author I will read more of. |
You know when a book just reaches into you and grabs you? This was Now You See Her for me. It’s breathless and tense, and it’s all about every parent’s worst nightmare: what if your child disappeared? In somebody else’s care, no less? That’s what happens to Harriet and Charlotte when Harriet’s daughter Alice goes missing at a local fair. It’s tense, it’s sad and it slowly gets more and more complex as we start to realise that the women in the police station giving their evidence might not actually be telling the whole truth. The whole situation almost plays out in slow motion as we cover the days leading up to and after the event, and, unusually for this kind of book, it’s all from the perspective of the women rather than the police. This is a great example of how to do a plot twist right. You never quite know who to trust, and as Perks flips ever faster between time zones and between points of view, the tension builds and builds, and the plot becomes more tangled. Let me just say, the ending is absolutely not what you’d expect- and even if Harriet isn’t quite as sympathetic as Perks makes her out to be, I was still absolutely gripped. |
Beverley R, Educator
When Harriet unexpectedly asks her only friend Charlotte to look after her daughter Alice for the day and Alice disappears both women's lives are turned upside down. Charlotte suffers the finger of blame being pointed directly at her by not only Harriet and her husband (more about him shortly!), but also those she thought of as friends. Slowly it begins to emerge that all is not right within Harriet's marriage and so the unravelling of the mystery begins. The husband Brian now comes into the story and to me appears to be a very weasel like and unpleasant character - is he an abusive husband who can devious!y manipulate and coerce his wife, or is she mentally unstable ? As the true story begins to emerge there are more twists and turns than a tumble dryer and so the lies and deceit begin to show. This is where it doesn't quite hit the spot for me in the believability stakes. FIrsty, even the police officers appear to be oblivious to what is going on under their noses and even when suspicious don't seem to bother with basic checks of facts for key suspects. Secondly, the plot becomes a little complicated and fantastical - for British readers think Coronation Street and Pat Phelan! Nevertheless the book was very readable and there were parts where I couldn't put it down. Worth a shot |
Breathtakingly gripping. I stayed up all night simply because I couldn't put this down, I NEEDED to know what was going to happen! I loved it! |
Sapna C, Educator
What an amazing book! A very scary subject since I offer to take care of my friends kids all the time...Ill definitely be more vary now! |
Louise R, Reviewer
A fab read which I really enjoyed! I was gripped by this story from start to finish Thank you for the opertunity to review |
A top notch psychological thriller, Now You See Her is a fast paced, intriguing, gripping read. I read this in a day as I simply couldn't put it down. It is very well written and full of twists and turns. Highly recommended! |
Oh wow what a storyline, 4 stars. I told my friend I didn't like the story, child abduction, however.... I couldn't put the book down. Half way through and I loved it, I was caught up in all the emotion, who, when, why and how. The twists and turns kept me guessing throughout and at the end I could not stop reading until I had finished. I stayed up late, frantically turning the pages. Great book, great story with emotion and concern for the characters. |
I started to read the book with high hopes because it was really promising and people liked it. On the other hand, I found it very slow in the beginning so I stopped reading for now. Maybe it will be faster and there will be some twist in it. |
Everyone’s worst nightmare- losing a child. This book had me on the edge of my seat. Charlotte and Harriet are best friends- and Charlotte seems the perfect choice for Harriet to finally leave her four year old daughter Alice with. Charlotte takes her to the school Fayre but Alice goes missing and has seemingly disappeared without a trace. The impact on Charlotte and Harriet’s friendship and the communities views of Charlotte felt so real. This left me with a pit of anxiety in my stomach until I finished the book. Excellent writing. |
I could not put this down from the moment I started it ...it was impossible. Reading the blurb you think that this is going to be a simple case of a missing child...it’s not. Twists and turns thoroughly held my attention and kept me hooked. Brilliant. |
Lillian C, Reviewer
How far would you go to save your child? Charlotte has no problem with looking after her friend Harriet's daughter what could go wrong. Everything was going well the children were enjoying the fete that is until one of them goes missing. Charlotte has looked everywhere Alice and there is no choice but to call the police. Harriet knew that she shouldn't have left Alice but she needed to get away and now she has to face the fact that she might never see her again. But who took the little girl will the police be able to find her before it is too late? Things are not what they seem as Harriet is hiding a secret that could destroy everything and she has no choice but to pretend that everything is okay when she is dying inside. Charlotte has tried to help but no one wants her around their children will she ever recover from this? When the truth comes out will she be able to forgive and understand? A gripping read. It makes you wonder what would you do to save yourself? Never forget that a mother would fight with everything that she has to protect her child. Harriet surprised me as she always seemed like a little mouse but she was actually a tiger waiting for the right moment. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley and the publishing house in exchange for my honest review. |
Sara N, Reviewer
This is the first Heidi Perks book I've read and I loved it. Looking forward to reading more from this author. A gripping read with a brilliant twist that I wasn't even close to guessing. A great thriller that you'll not want to put down. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review. |
Sian A, Reviewer
I could not put this down.. A terrible thing happens, a child missing, a distraught mother, an upset firend who was the babysitter at the time, and yet through all the pages, you just know something is going on, but what!!! |
Utterly chilling. Makes me wary of taking other people's kids to the park! A compelling read that haunted my dreams!! 4.5* |
Suzanne C, Reviewer
This is one of those books you can't put down where everyone is hiding something, Heidi writes with an instinctive knowledge of how to keep the reader enthralled and dissects her characters along the way until you see them clearly. I read this in one sitting and paid the consequences in work the following day! Loved it! |
Sarah G, Reviewer
This book had me gripped from the very first page. I was on a bit of a reading slum and couldn’t find anything to read and get my attention. However, this book did the job! This book is told from two different perspectives, Charlotte and Harriet, who are best friends, and told from before and after! Harriet has never left her daughter, Alice, with anyone else before. She is now 4 years’ old and Harriet wants to go back to work. She attends a book keeping course and Charlotte, her best and only friend looks after Alice for her. Charlotte’s worst nightmare happens whilst Alice is in her care. Alice goes missing! The novel explores many different themes; domestic abuse, betrayal of friendship; divorce; death and it is not an easy read in some parts! This book was gripping from start to finish and only took me a day to read as I was that drawn into it. I felt that the “after” chapter could have given a bit more information to the reader, as I still had questions! But overall, I thought this was a fantastic read. 8/10 |
A fast paced and very intriguing thriller about a missing child and the rift it creates between two close friends. |




