27 November 2025

Now You See Her hooked me from the very first chapter with its “every worst nightmare” premise. Heidi Perks takes something as ordinary as a playdate at the school fete and turns it into a full-blown psychological mystery that had me flipping pages late into the night.

What I loved most about this book is how tightly it focuses on the complicated, messy dynamics of female friendship. Charlotte and Harriet are two very different women, and Perks does an excellent job peeling back the layers of their relationship—loyalty, guilt, resentment, and the weight of secrets they’ve both been carrying. The tension between them, once Alice disappears, felt painfully realistic, and I found myself torn between sympathy and frustration for both characters.

The dual timelines and alternating perspectives kept the story moving at a fast pace. Every time I thought I had figured out what really happened to Alice, Perks dropped another hint or twist that made me doubt everything again. It’s not an overly twist-heavy thriller, but it’s smart, emotionally driven, and full of reveals that genuinely surprised me.

If I had one small criticism, it’s that some sections felt slightly drawn out, especially in the middle—but the final act more than made up for it. The truth, when it comes, is both shocking and believable, and it left me thinking about how far people will go to protect the ones they love.

This was a tense, thought-provoking read with strong character work and a plot that keeps you guessing. A solid 4-star thriller that I’m still thinking about days later.