Great story with great characters. I really like the setting. 1960s Brighton is brought to life.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

In this fifth episode in the Stephens and Mephisto mystery series we find ourselves transported to the 1960`s.
All the characters Emma Ruby Edgar and Max are brought back together for the funeral of Stan Parks aka the Great Diablo, war time friend of Max and Edgar.
Edgar is now married to Emma and they have three children, Max is a hollywood movie star and married to famous actress Lydia Lamont.
Ruby, Max`s daughter from an earlier relationship has her own TV show in the UK called Ruby Magic.
Catching up after the funeral gets cut short when Bob Willis now Edgars DI gets a call that a young girl has gone missing from Roedean, the exclusive Brighton boarding school.
The investigation has only just got underway when they discover links to two more missing girls.
Emma finds herself frustrated in her current role of housewife and mother and dreams of once again being a detective.
When Ruby herself goes missing Emma is unable to resist the urge to be involved, wise move or not there is no stopping her.
An exciting and cleverly thought out plot that is definitely a great addition to the series.
Hints of whats instore in the future certainly have left me hoping number 6 wont be too long in coming.
Thanks to Quercus books and Netgalley for the chance to read this as an ARC.

The Brighton Mysteries, book five. A gripping mystery and a catch up with some of the previous cast some years later , set in 1963 - with a good, nostalgic sense of place. Engaging, nicely penned with a swiftly moving, character driven storyline. A worthy addition to the series.

Absolutely rate elly Griffiths and have read all the mephisto and Stevens plus the dr Ruth Galloway books. This series just keeps getting better and evolving which is good! The characters are hugely likeable as well which I feel helps the reader a lot. You have to read this !!! @NetGalley @NowYouSeeThem

This is the fifth book in the Stephens and Mephisto series which is set in Brighton. Edgar Stephens has now been promoted to Superintendent and married to former DS Emma Holmes, they have three children. Meanwhile, Max Mephisto is a movie star in Hollywood, he is married, with two children. His daughter Ruby is doing well in her tv programme too.

Max is back in England for the funeral of Stan Parks, aka Diablo, actor and wartime comrade to him and Edgar. DI Bob Willis is trying to find local schoolgirl Rhonda Miles, daughter of an MP. Emma is very frustrated at being just a housewife and gets together with Sam Collins, a local woman reporter who has noticed a pattern with other missing girls, Louise Dawkins and Sara Henratty. Edgar listens to the theory and looks at the cuttings from the papers left by Sam. Also, Emma went to the same school as Rhonda so mentions the tunnel that runs from the school grounds down to the sea. Emma wants to go and check the tunnel immediately but Edgar says ‘who would look after the children?’. Then Jonathon starts crying. In the morning, he gets his team to do some enquiries into the other missing girls and the tunnel.

He sends WPC Meg Connolly and PC Danny Black back Roedean School to check about the tunnel. Miss Browning is surprised about the return visit to check the tunnel as it’s only open two or three times a year other than that it’s locked. She takes them to the caretaker for the keys which are just inside the door so would be accessible to anyone if he wasn’t there. They take the key and walk towards the main gate where the tunnel entrance is. When nearing it, they can see the padlock in position but it’s not locked and the door is propped ajar by a stone. They push the door open, switch their torches on as the tunnel is dark and there is s salty taste of the sea in the air. There was a rope handrail to hold onto as they descended down towards the beach, The door was propped open too when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Meg spotted a broad-brimmed blue school hat. The name on the hat was Rhonda’s. Had she left this way then gone to London but when?

Edgar’s main priority is the May Bank Holiday invasion by Mods and Rockers at Brighton beach so he has passed the missing girls case onto DI Bob Willis. The case takes a turn for the worst when one of the missing girls is found dead and then Ruby Magic goes missing. Max is getting worried after she misses seeing him one evening, not turning up to the studio for work and not seeing Emma on the Saturday. He does some digging then takes it to Edgar for some help as it’s out of character for Ruby.

Emma goes off to track the kidnapper of her child whilst Edgar is dealing with violent fights between Mods and Rockers on Brighton’s seafront. Meg Connolly, Sam and Max come to her aid whilst also trying to find Edgar and Bob on their police issue radio’s amidst the melee that’s going on.

I really enjoyed reading this book, got into it straight away and it’s so easy to read, read it in a day. The story line flows well and is interesting with references to some parts of Brighton which makes it more interesting I think. The research has been done for this book and it’s shown in the detail which is very good. 5 out of 5 stars from me.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. I haven’t read any of this authors books but after a few recommendations I decided to give her a try. And I’m glad I did. Really well written and left me wanting more , off I go to find the other books!

With thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Now You See Them had moved to 1960s Brighton when the word teenagers were invented. The Beatles were the original UK boy band, and battles between mods and rockers on the promenade.

Times had changed for Edgar and Max. Edgar became a superintendent and married his former sergeant Emma Holmes and had three children. Max went to America where he appeared in a successful film. Max married a film star and they live in Beverley Hills with their two children.

Max`s firstborn Ruby became an actress and got on her series playing a magician.

Edgar and Max met again at the funeral of fellow Magic Men Diablo. Max was. back in England to star in a film with heartthrob Bobby Hambro.

Shortly afterwards a girl disappears from Roedean School. The girl had been kidnapped years earlier but was released. Edgar soon discovers that other teenage girls have gone missing. Edgar along with newly promoted Bob Willis and WPC Meg Connolly try to track the girls down.

After releasing The Stranger Diaries last year, I thought Elly Griffiths had stopped writing the Stephens and Mephisto mysteries. I was so excited when I heard there would be a fifth book. I was pleased that the series had moved to the swinging sixties and away from the shadow of the second world war.

The mystery of the missing girls was interesting and I enjoyed reading about Meg going undercover in London as a Bobby Dazzler groupie.

I was more interested in the lives of Emma and Max. I was rather annoyed that Emma used herself as bait to lure the kidnapper. I couldn't believe she put herself at risk so she could play detective again.

Emma had a surprise at the book which i think may lead to further books. I look forward to reading what happens next.

I've just read the first four books in this series, back-to-back, so to get my hands on this one was an absolute treat! I love Elly's books but I can't decide whether I love her Dr Ruth Galloway series best or this one. Do I have to choose?!!

The first four books in the Brighton Mysteries were set in the 1950s and many of the ongoing plot strands were resolved in the fourth book. Now You See Them is almost a reboot, in that we rejoin the characters nine years later. Some of them are no longer with us (I won't say who, but noooo!) but there are several new characters introduced. If you haven't read the others in the series, you could start with this one.

Now You See Them is set in Brighton in 1963. Edgar Stephens has been promoted to Superintendent and is married to Detective Sergeant Emma Holmes. They have three children and Emma has given up her career. Ed's wartime 'Magic Men' colleague Max Mephisto, a music hall magician, is a Hollywood film star but returns to Britain for the funeral of one of their old friends. Edgar, Emma and Max swiftly become involved in the case of a missing schoolgirl, which ends up being a little too close to home.

At first I was grumpy that the series had skipped nine years (and that my favourite character had been killed off!) but I was immediately caught up in the story about three young women who go missing, one after the other, with apparently nothing to connect them. I loved the new characters, WPC Meg Connolly, who is frustrated that she gets all the boring jobs because she's a woman, and female reporter Sam (who we originally met in The Vanishing Box; she has a bigger part to play here) who is similarly frustrated. Female empowerment is an ongoing theme, because Emma has realised that living happily ever after with the man she loves is starting to feel a bit...dull...and longs for the excitement that she once had working for the police.

As well as writing a entertaining mystery (I am never able to work out the villain!) Elly's particular skill is to create brilliant, totally believable characters. She writes with humour and her stories are well-researched with lots of amazing detail. The way Now You See Them ended makes me hope there might be another one coming along soon?

One of my favourite reads this year, Now You See Them, is recommended for anyone who loves historical mysteries and the kind of murder mystery that has a puzzle to solve but isn't too violent.


Thank you to Elly Griffiths and Quercus for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

This is the first Elly Grffiths book that I have read and, to be honest, I felt confused by the characters who already had back stories that I knew nothing about. The plot is good, but boy did Emma get on my nerves!! My favourite character had to be Ruby who positively leaps from the page. I'm not sure about the other books, but Edgar seems too boring to be a main character and certainly wouldn't have attracted someone like Ruby; although I suppose he is a good match for the ever whining Emma. I know Elly is very well thought of as a crime writer, so I guess I was unlucky. Also, and this is just one of my personal pet hates, but I hate it when a main character, or one of their friends/family, is put in danger.

I haven't read any of the Stephens and Mephisto series and was a bit reluctant to start mid series as such, no worries in reality, the character's are clearly realised and the book sucks you in from the first paragraph. I love the pretty basic policing without forensics etc. Really interesting portrayal of how female police roles evolved. I couldn't help feeling annoyed for Emma that she was expected to stay at home with the kids!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Now You See Them, the fifth novel to feature Superintendent Edgar Stephens of the Brighton police and magician turned film star Max Mephisto.

Time has moved on for the characters and it’s now 1964. Max is back in Brighton, having spent the last 11 years in Los Angeles, and Edgar has been promoted to Superintendent. Life has changed for them but crime still exists so Edgar is soon busy investigating the disappearance of schoolgirl Rhonda Miles. Things take a more serious turn when it appears that Rhonda is not the first young woman to disappear from Brighton and may not be the last.

I thoroughly enjoyed Now You See Them which held my attention from start to finish, not just with the crime element but with the interplay between the characters and their developing lives. Despite magic, which has always been an integral part of the series, not playing a large part in this novel I feel that this is the best novel in the series so far with Ms Griffiths’ playing to her strengths and concentrating on her characterisation. Edgar has achieved promotion and is relatively content in his marriage to the former DS Emma Holmes but Emma is unhappy in her role as housewife and mother of three. Max, forever restless, is wondering about his choices, did he do the right thing moving to Los Angeles and marrying film star Lydia Lamont? Then there’s his troubled relationship with grown up daughter, Ruby, who has a successful career of her own as an actress. I loved the 1960s setting with its offer of hope and change as it just seems so apt for the characters. I also loved Emma’s solution to her unrest - now I can’t wait for the next novel to see how it plays out.

Ms Griffiths does a sterling job with the period detail and it’s in the detail, most people don’t have a phone or a television because they were expensive. This is the childhood I remember, not the usual fictional assumption that they were readily available and affordable. There are some nice vignettes of teenage fandom with the object of their desire being American film star Bobby Hambro rather than the Beatles and no novel about Brighton in the 60s could be authentic without mention of the Mods and Rockers fights in the town.

The crime element takes a bit of a back seat to the personal with various characters involved in the investigation and there being no coherent strategy, nonetheless it works and is the glue that holds the novel together. Some of the twists are quite unexpected and it gets quite exciting towards the end.

Now You See Them is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths

Ten years have passed since the events presented in The Vanishing Box and much has happened to change the lives of our heroes, Brighton detective Edgar Stephens and his close friend magician Max Mephisto and so, at this vital point, I’ll come to a brief pause. Despite the lapse of time since the last novel, I really think that this wonderful series is one that should be read in order and so this review assumes you’ve read the others.

It is now 1964 and the biggest change to have affected Edgar is that he’s now married to his former sergeant, Emma, a deed which means that Emma had to give up her career and is now a full-time housewife and mother to three children. Anyone who’s read the previous novels will know how well that would sit with Emma. Edgar, by contrast, has progressed up the police ladder and is now a superintendent. As for Max, he’s now a famous film actor living in LA with his glamorous film star wife. They have young children and Max has continued to build bridges with his adult daughter Ruby, who is now a well-known actor in her own right. LA and Brighton are a long way apart but the sad death of an old mutual friend has brought everyone together to Brighton for his funeral. But as well as mourning, this is a time to catch up on old times but for Max and Edgar there’a shock in store and before long the two of them, with Emma helping them whether they like it or not, have to work together on a case that grows increasingly, horribly personal.

Young women are being snatched from the streets of Brighton. There seems little to go on but the pressure on Edgar and his team of police officers, including a young and ambitious female officer who reminds him so much of Emma, are under a great deal of pressure. Adding to the strain for Edgar is the approaching Bank Holiday. It is predicted that mods and rockers will descend on Brighton. It’s up to Edgar to keep the peace. And then Ruby goes missing and Max realises that there is nothing he won’t do to find her. He is going to need the help of Edgar and Emma, as do the distraught parents of the other missing women, one of whom is about to turn up dead.

Now You See Them is the fifth Stephens and Mephisto mystery by Elly Griffiths and I was thrilled to learn that they were to return. I love this author’s work, whether it’s the Ruth Galloway novels or a stand alone book such as The Stranger Diaries, but I have to admit to a special place in my heart for Max Mephisto. This novel represents quite a change for Max and Edgar – and for us – and it does take a bit of adjustment. The previous novels were set in the aftermath of the Second World War and during the deprived years of the early 1950s. We’re now in the early-mid 1960s, a time of the Beatles, teenage factions and fashions, a relative time of plenty, and Max in particular has scaled the heights of fame and fortune. No longer the pier-end magic shows for magician Max Mephisto. He is now a famous Hollywood actor who also happens to have inherited his title of Lord Massingham as well as his stately pile. But the biggest change is for Emma and I really felt for her. She was such a feature of the earlier novels and, while she’s just as important here, her role has changed completely. Edgar has a new WPC, Meg, who helps to fill the missing shoes, but it isn’t quite the same.

The main reason why I would recommend that you read the earlier novels first is because, like in the Ruth Galloway novels, the characters are of far more importance than the mystery. Elly Griffiths loves these people, as do the readers, and so she takes her time to bring us up to date with the changes and to refresh our affection for them. I loved this but it is possible that if you’re not familiar with what’s gone before then you might feel a little lost. Which would be a shame because this is such a beautifully written, elegant novel and it brings to life so effectively Brighton during one of its heydays in the early 1960s. There is such a sense of time and place, it’s bewitching.

The mystery is an entertaining one, it’s also rather glamorous as it has at its heart a young filmstar, Bobby Hambro, who is visiting Brighton during the early stages of a film’s production. The place is abuzz with the excitement of it all and it certainly doesn’t help with Edgar’s case of the missing girls. It’s such a good mystery. But the most interesting element of it all is, I think, Emma and her situation and how this affects her relationship with Edgar. We spend time with all of these characters and we most definitely get involved. My heart, though, belongs to Max Mephisto who is a glorious creation. I’m so delighted to see his return and I cannot wait for more of this wonderful, beautifully-written, witty and warm series.

Other reviews
The Chalk Pit (Ruth Galloway 9)
The Dark Angel (Ruth Galloway 10)
The Stone Circle (Ruth Galloway 11)
The Zig Zag Girl (Stephens and Mephisto 1)
The Vanishing Box (Stephens and Mephisto 4)
The Stranger Diaries

I have to confess to be an out and out Elly Griffiths fan. This series wraps you in a warm fug of nostalgia but don't be deceived as there is a gripping storyline to accompany it. This is the fifth outing in this series and for me the development of the characters moved forwards massively in this novel. We join the team 10 years after the last novel and there is much to catch up on. This book really follows the changes in their lives against the background of the missing schoolgirl. I found this mix enjoyable as it is interesting to explore the personal lives of detectives and their families as well as the crime investigation. The 1960s atmosphere is conveyed well and is not over the top, the obsessions of the day and the tension between different groups in society are useful reminders that little changes in the human condition.

Having said at the outset that I am a fan of the author and this series would I recommend that anyone else reads it? Absolutely and if this is the first you have tried go back and read the rest you will love them too!

#NowYouSeeThem #NetGalley

What a delightful book this is! Having read both of Elly Griffiths' series from the start, I have always felt that the Ruth Galloway books much more engaging and compelling than the Brighton strand, but in Now You See Them the latter series reaches a new standard. Set in 1964, the historical context is convincing and the characters seem more carefully portrayed and less like caricatures. The kidnapping of a series of women presents Edgar with a conundrum, and the various family threads are nicely developed. Very enjoyable.

I liked this, I'm not surprised that it was eleven years later than the last one. It was nice to see what everyone was up to. I loved Emma and Edgar but I felt the mystery was a bit lacking

I'm not sure whether I prefer this or Ms Griffiths' other series featuring Ruth Galloway. Luckily, I don't have to choose! As with all series books it's best to start from the beginning and read in order. A lot has happened with regard to character backstory and development along the way that you would really gain from doing so.
This latest Stephens & Mephisto episode starts a decade after the last ended and lots has happened to each of the main cast. Max is now a movie star, married with two children and living in LA. Edgar has been promoted and is married to Emma who has had to resign from the police and is now running the house and bringing up their children. Ruby is now a big TV star with her own show. They all come together at the start of the book when they attend the funeral of Stan Parks who was another member of the war-time Magic Men. A new policewoman is introduced in this book and she is struggling to live up to the reputation of Emma whose job she now does. Emma herself is a bit bored and misses the work she used to do so when Rhonda, a 16 year old schoolgirl, goes missing she inveigles herself into the investigation, able assisted by reporter friend Sam. It turns out that Rhonda is a big fan of Bobby Hambro, an up and coming American film star, who, coincidentally, is wanting to include Max in his latest film. Investigations show that Rhonda is not the first fan of Hambro's to disappear and the stake get higher when Ruby also goes missing. Could Hambro be involved?
There are many reasons I love this series. The characters are all brilliant and so well described and have all developed nicely through the series thus far. We do have a bit of an eclectic mix of them, thrown together through various circumstances but they work. We also have a bit of a cultural and historical trip down memory lane - specifically in this book, the clash between the mods and rockers on Brighton beach.
Pacing is good and the story gets on with itself very well with little superfluous waffle to distract. The story builds nicely, adding layer upon layer, until it all becomes a bit of a race to the end. All culminating in a very satisfying conclusion.
All in all, another cracking addition to an already well loved series. I wonder what's next for the crew, looking forward to finding out. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. As this is the first book I have read in this series it probably accounts for why I found it a little disjointed. I enjoyed the style of writing, plot and era the book was written in but had trouble in relating to the characters. If I had read the series in order I would maybe have had a different opinion but as a stand-alone I found this book hard to follow.

I was pleased to see that there was a new Stephens and Mephisto mystery, I had hoped that the previous one was not the last, and Elly Griffiths has cleverly set this ten years later, in 1964, and manages to include all the familiar characters.
Edgar and Emma are married and have 3 children, Max Mephisto is a Hollywood star, and Ruby is a TV star.
They all come together for a funeral, but then become involved when a schoolgirl goes missing.
The police investigation looks just at the girl, but Emma, who is missing her police job, and resenting being a housewife and mother, and her friend Sam (a female reporter) link the disappearance to some other girls.
When one of the missing girls is found dead, things take a serious turn.
Set in Brighton and London, with the background of 60’s teenagers and Mods and Rockers, the book comes to a thrilling climax, and a satisfactory end, promising more to come.


Thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Now You See Them sees a welcome return for the Brighton Mysteries series by Elly Griffiths.

This book is set approximately 10 years after the end of the previous one so everybody has moved on with their lives but due to a funeral of a common friend they all meet up again. Meanwhile a kidnapped is loose in Brighton.

The book is well written and the storyline moves along at a good pace towards the pacy conclusion.

Overall this is a welcome return to catch up with old friends and Now You See Them is definitely recommended

Another excellent Elly Griffiths book. This is my first Stephens and Mephisto book, the fifth in the series and I will definitely be reading the others. Set in Brighton in the 1960s the story features Edgar Stephens and his wife Emma, an ex policewoman who is decidedly discontented. Several girls go missing in Brighton and when one of them turns up dead Emma decides to use her experience as a DS to try to solve the crime with unexpected consequences. A really enjoyable read.