Now You See Me

Crime
Thriller

By Chris McGeorge

Paperback 302 pages
Publisher Orion (13th Jun 2019)

'Phenomenal. An utterly compelling and fiendishly clever read - it blew my mind ten times over. I can't wait to see what McGeorge does next.' Francesca Dorricott, author of After the Eclipse

📕My Review

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Guess Who, the highly successful 2018 debut novel by author Chris McGeorge, I was delighted to receive a review copy of his new book, Now You See Me.

The blurb immediately captured my imagination - six students enter Standedge canal tunnel on a boat but only one emerges at the other end. What happened to the other five? No trace was ever found. The police conclude that lone survivor Matthew McConnell murdered his friends and somehow disposed of their bodies.

Two years after his wife's disappearance, Robin (Robert) Ferringham receives a phone call out of the blue from McConnell, who is currently on remand in New Hall prison. He claims Robin's wife Samantha asked him to make the call. Believing him to be a nutter, Robin almost slams the phone down. But then McConnell divulges information only Samantha would know and Robin is forced to accept that something very strange is going on. What really happened to the Standedge Five and how is Samantha connected? Robin needs to know the truth and sets off to the tunnel to solve the mystery.

What an addictive and absorbing read this turned out to be! Chris McGeorge certainly knows how to write a suspenseful and utterly gripping, twisty thriller. I was 'in the zone' from the outset. Just how could five people vanish into thin air? Were supernatural forces at work? Did Scotty beam them up!? Throughout the book I couldn't help but imagine all kinds of scenarios. Throw in a tight-knit community with plenty of secrets to hide and you know there's going to be trouble ahead. 

If you get the opportunity to read Now You See Me, I highly recommend it. I'm looking forward to seeing what Chris McGeorge conjures up next.     

Book Source: Review copy from the publisher

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Other Reviews:
Guess Who

📗The Blurb

Introducing Standedge Tunnel: the longest canal tunnel in England.

Last year six students went in, and two and a half hours later, the boat reappeared on the other side with only one of the students, unconscious, and the dog.

The case of the Standedge Six was largely kept from the national media. The police investigation concluded that the only remaining student, Matthew, killed his friends, hid the bodies on the boat and returned later to move them to an undisclosed location.

Matthew is in prison . . . but maintains he is innocent.

Robert Ferringham is grieving for his missing wife, Sam. So when Matthew contacts him for help with his case, promising information on Sam, Robert has no choice but to help. But can he trust Matthew?

And how will he solve the insolvable case?

📘The Author

Chris McGeorge has an MA in Creative Writing (Crime / Thriller) from City University London where he wrote his first crime novel Dead Room for this thesis. He constantly told stories from a young age, whether they took the form of comics, short stories or scripts.

He is a lover of Golden Age crime, like Christie and Conan Doyle, leading his crime stories to be a mix of the old and the contemporary. He likes weird and wonderful plots, with plenty of intrigue and twists. 

His often coherent ramblings about everything pop culture can be found on his blog Festival of Blood and occasionally he produces the Sarcasmicast podcast with a group of friends.

Chris McGeorge on Twitter