Now You See Them returns to the characters from Griffiths' bestselling Stephens & Mephisto series, ten years after the events of the last book, and finding them married and settled down with children. Edgar is investigating the disappearance of a local schoolgirl, but this takes a backseat to spending time with the characters and their reflections on the passing of time. Griffiths is excellent at creating characters you care about, and it was undeniably good to catch up, but I would have preferred more focus on the criminal investigation as I found the book rather dragged in the other sections.

It has taken this latest addition to Elly Griffiths's historical Stephens and Mephisto series set in Brighton for me to become aware of just how much I love this series. It picks up more than a decade later from events in The Vanishing Box, in the interim fundamental shifts have taken place in the lives of the major characters. It is 1964, Max is now a bona fide movie star living in LA, married to the famous actress, Lydia Lamont, and has two young children, Rocco and Elena. He is now Lord Massingham after the death of his father, although he makes no use of the title to his American wife's dismay. His daughter, the 34 year old Ruby is now the fashionable darling of the nation with her popular TV show, Ruby Magic. Edgar is now Superintendent, whilst Bob has been promoted to DI, and there is a new WPC, the 19 year old Meg Connolly, on the police team. Emma Holmes left the police force on marrying Edgar, and is mother to 3 children, Marianne, Sophie, and 10 month old Jonathan.

The paths of this close knit group connect once again at the funeral of Stan Parks, The Great Diablo, along with Max and Edgar, was part of The Magic Men, wartime comrades running vital missions in WW2. Being a housewife and mother is not enough for Emma, she sorely misses her previous life as a DS, her dissatisfaction is something Edgar is aware of, correctly intuiting she hankers a return to her previous role in the police, which is just not a realistic possibility. Max too is feeling his own strain of unhappiness, he hankers for his old variety music hall shows, the itinerant lifestyle as a magician, but that has all but disappeared from British cultural life. Now it all about pop stars, like The Beatles, and film stars, attracting huge young crowds of screaming fans. There are violent running battles on the Brighton seafront between the Mods and the Rockers, with the police caught in the middle. Max is ruminating over the loss of the murdered Florence, who he believes he loved, and wondering about the nature of his marriage to Lydia, but his children keep him tethered to his current life. A 16 year old Rhonda Miles, a Roedean school girl, has gone missing, a fanatical follower of the American film star, Bobby Hambro. 2 other women have previously gone missing, with matters coming to a head when the dead body of a woman is discovered on the beach.

Danger comes dangerously close to Max, as Ruby disappears and Emma just cannot stop herself getting involved, resentful, aware that she is much the better detective than both Edgar and Bob. She is joined by her only friends, Sam Collins, local reporter and medium, Astarte Zabini. It is the women, along with WPC Meg, that make the key breaks on the case. The sixties is an era where rampant sexism, racism and anti-gay sentiment make life considerably more challenging. Emma has to forge a path in another direction with a police force unwilling to accommodate married women. Griffiths has a real gift in creating complex characters that you cannot help but care about, getting caught up in their lives and relationships, which hold centre stage as much as the core murder mystery in the novels. A brilliant historical series, capturing the class distinctions and spirit of Britain and Brighton in the 1960s in this addition, dripping with the social and cultural norms and attitudes of the time, amidst a background of the popular culture. Looking forward with great anticipation to the next in the series. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

What can I say? This was good and enjoyable but maybe I should have read the rest of the series first to get a fuller picture. The characters seem almost to be more important than the mystery, but they are well-developed and are part of an interesting story. I especially liked the setting. Brighton in the sixties and the whole mods versus rockers drama is particularly well drawn. I will read some of Elly Griffith's other books to see if they manage to create the same atmosphere.

This is a good book with a good writing style.
This is the fifth in the series and I feel that I should have the other books first. Saying that it can be read as a stand alone book but I just feel that you will get more from it by reading them in order

Ten years have passed since the grizzly murders took place during the Christmas Variety at the Brighton Hippodrome. Edgar is now a Superintendent and formidable DS Emma Holmes is his housewife and mother to three children, a job she can’t say she enjoys all that much. Max is now a famed Hollywood movie star and Ruby is taking British television by storm!

When a sad departure throws the gang back together, the reunion sparks some unexpected feelings for the friends. Like old times the group are linked to an ongoing investigation, one that soon takes a sinister turn when a body is found on a nearby beach, but it is when the suspect strikes a little closer to home that tensions begin to show.

Well, we’ve arrived in 1964 and the Mods and Rockers are in full swing, but Griffiths latest instalment for this series left me yearning for the 50s.

Although all of this author’s usual brilliance was here; the wonderful writing and suspenseful storyline, the new dynamic amongst the group left me feeling a loss for the characters. I had, of course, expected the relationships to be different after an interlude of ten years. Especially as keeping in touch was not as easy in this time as it is nowadays. However, I felt they had become disjointed and far removed from one another.

Whilst I really enjoyed the story and Griffiths had be guessing until the last minute as always, I found I couldn’t quite overcome the feeling of sadness at the lack of rapport I’ve become used to from this gang.

Perhaps, now that they have been brought back together, going forward the group will gel a little better and more like the old days. I still highly recommend this book as it is a brilliant series, and I will still keenly keep an eye on NetGalley for the release of book number 6!!

This is the latest in the Brighton Mysteries series from this prolific author. The action has moved on to 1964 and reunited DI Edgar Stephens and Max Mephisto. Whilst centring around a plot involving missing girls, the period is richly invoked. There is the battle between mods and rockers on Brighton seafront at bank holiday weekend, the obsessive worship and following of pop/film stars by screaming teenage girls, the possibility of fame and fortune through becoming a model, and the frustration for a capable woman of the restrictions that came with marriage at this time. All these features are used skillfully to move the plot along. The best of the series so far.

Brighton. Diablo's funeral.

Eleven years have passed since we met Edgar, Emma, Bob, Max and Ruby, and all of their lives have changed.

A schoolgirl is missing from Roedean. As are two other young women.

Meanwhile, an American heart throb is in town. What does this have to do with anything?

As usual, the whole gang become embroiled...

Elly Griffith is best known for her Ruth Galloway series, but I have a great fondness for her books about Max Mephisto (a famous magician – and also a movie star by the time this book opens) and Detective Inspector (now Superintendent) Edgar Stephens. Set in Brighton in the 1950s, the series opened with The Zig-Zag Girl, and her latest, Now You See Them, moves forward ten years or so to the time of mods and rockers.

Much has happened in between Now You See Them and the previous novel, to the point where you don’t necessarily have to be familiar with the earlier books in the series. It’s almost, but not quite, a reboot. One of Griffiths’ great strengths is her ability to write an ensemble cast of characters, so that you care about each and every one of them. Indeed, each face personal and life choices as well as becoming involved in the disappearance of three young women. It was great to see modern dilemmas, such as Emma (Edgar Stephens’ wife and a former detective herself) becoming dissatisfied with her role as a housewife, portrayed with sensitivity, whilst the mystery itself was absorbing enough to drive the story along.

The descriptions of Brighton are vivid, and the interweaving of historical details of the period work well. I’ve learned a lot about smugglers tunnels that I never knew, and I felt the story ended with a setup for a future spin-off that would work well. Her books are so cinematic in the way they’re written I find it extraordinary that none appear to have been optioned for broadcast.

Elly Griffith is one of those few authors I would pre-order books by in advance of publication, so it was a real treat to have been able to read an early copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Another terrific read from Elly Griffiths. At the end of the previous Stephens and Mephisto book, I felt that it was a satisfying conclusion to the series, so I was intrigued to see a fifth book. This one is set 11 years on from the last book, so there is a sense of a new beginning, albeit with the same characters. This book is by far the best in the series. It has a great plot, as we you would expect from Elly Griffiths and the characters feel more rounded and developed. It was fast paced and I loved the Brighton setting and historical details.

I've read all the other books in this series and I have to say this is the best so far. It's so believable, the characters, the scenes, I could believe I was there. And is lovely to see time moving on and Emma feeling stuck in a rut and wanting to be back in the thick of things. And linking in with things that actually happened is wonderful. Oh how much easier life would have been with mobile phones in those days!
I certainly hope there's more in the series, I can't wait!

Bank Holiday weekend in a busy Brighton and a young girl goes missing, upon investigation Detective Superintendant Edgar Stephens discover shes not the first, when one turns up murdered their fears are correct could there be a serial killer ?.

Eleven years have passed since the previous instalment of the "The Brighton Mysteries" starring Stephens and Mephisto. Anyone enjoying the first four books may be surprised to find our heroes quite a bit older and wiser, and its hard to say what else has changed without spoilers! Suffice to say Edgar Stephens has settled down and Max Mephisto has gone as far as he is ever likely to in the same direction. But luckily for us they are thrown back together for this more reflective chapter in their adventures.
read the full review at www.booketybook.com

It has been ten years since the events in The Vanishing Box and things have certainly moved on! Edgar Stephens, now a superintendent, has finally got his act together and is married to his former DS, Emma Holmes, and is the father of three children. Edgar’s friend, Max Mephisto, has made the move to America where he is now a film star, married with children, while his daughter, Ruby, is now the star of her own television show, Ruby Magic.

Now something has brought them all back together in Brighton, stirring up memories of the past. Meanwhile, Edgar is investigating the disappearance of a local schoolgirl, Rhonda Miles, and there are concerns that there could be a connection to two other missing women. With the culprit seemingly close to home, will disaster be averted or will their reunion bring heartache?

For me, Elly Griffiths is one of those authors who automatically moves up your TBR list, no matter how many books you already have to read! Ever since attending a talk she did with William Shaw at Waterstones, I have been excited to see what had happened to Stephens and Mephisto, especially as there is such a gap in time between the setting of this book and its predecessor. I had so many questions at the start of the book, all of which were answered really quickly, leaving me to enjoy the latest installment of the Brighton Mysteries.

In Now You See Them, we see the characters move away from the theatre, the setting of much of the previous books. As a result, we see a lot more police work, with a new officer, Meg Connolly, being added to the team. I really liked Meg who, as a woman, is finding it frustrating that she is forbidden from doing the same tasks as the male officers. She has the potential to be a great character, and, although she is still young, I don’t think it will be too long before she is climbing up the promotion ladder. We also see a different side of Emma who, after years of bringing up her children, is desperate to get back to work. It will be interesting to see what will happen in the future as a result of her revelation at the end of the book.

There are several other events in the book placing it firmly in the 1960s. A well-known film star is in the area, scouting out locations, giving the local teenage girls the opportunity to get up-close. With this, and references to The Beatles and Top of the Pops, we see a time when teenagers were beginning to become more prominent in society. Perhaps, the most iconic event in the book, however, is the clash between the Mods and the Rockers which took place on Brighton beach in 1964. This provided a great backdrop to the crime, highlighting how difficult it was for Edgar and his team, as they battle to keep order whilst trying to find the missing women.

I really enjoyed meeting up with Stephens and Mephisto again and particularly loved how we see the women starting to want to follow their own career paths. I do hope that book 6 is in the pipeline as I can’t wait to see how Emma’s plans affect her life with Edgar.

I have read all Elly Griffiths’s novels and they are brilliant. This latest one is no exception. We are now in 1964 and the Mods and Rockers are gearing up for trouble on the Brighton seafront during the August Bank Holiday. Superintendent Edgar Stephens is getting ready to face the trouble, but he has an important case to deal with. Girls are disappearing. A schoolgirl, a nurse and a Mod, and then Ruby, Max’s daughter. After one of the girls is found dead, Edgar must find the killer. However, Emma, his wife, who used to be in the police force wants to help, and when their eldest daughter is taken, the push to find this kidnapper ramps up.
Elly Griffiths sets the scene in Brighton wonderfully, and it is delightful to see the same, and new characters back in this latest mystery.

Elly Griffiths is a marvel, and she has conjured another excellent book in the Stephens & Mephisto series. A girl goes missing from Rodean, and Edgar is on the case, but she isn’t the only girl to have gone missing in Brighton. Emma is frustrated at her lack of involvement in anything outside the home, now with three young children to look after. I love Emma, and some of the descriptions of her feelings were so close to home, I had to wipe away the sniffles.
Max is now living in Los Angeles and married to a movie star, but is over in England to discuss a film with a young American heartthrob, Bobby Hambro. Max is on hand to contribute to the case, which becomes more imperative when Ruby also goes missing.
The story, with a wide range of characters, weaves between Brighton and London, and introduces us to new characters in the Sussex Force. It romps along at a good pace and drops enough clues to be tantalising without being particularly obvious. It can be difficult to keep characters fresh when they are part of a series, but Griffiths manages to develop them and keep us coming back for more!

Oh it must be me! This started ok reasonably well but unfortunately for me it fell by the wayside. There were sooooo many characters that I rapidly lost track. Perhaps had I read the previous exploits of Edgar Stephens, Detective Superintendent and been familiar with his ensemble I might have had a better understanding of them. Set in the 60's and focusing on a missing girl the story just seemed to meander along for quite a large chunk of the story and only really came to a head in the latter third or so. I'll say one thing though - Elly Griffiths can really write well though. As I said, I think the fault lies with me in that I didn't know any of the characters back-story so I'll have to bear that in mind when I rate it. Certainly wouldn't put me off reading another one in the series but for the time being I'll be generous!

It is always an event when a new Elly Griffiths book is due out. The chance to receive an advanced reader’s copy (ARC) should not be passed up.
This is now the 5th in this series that began with her main characters caught up in making a go of things after World War II. Life in Post War England was a struggle and the charm of these books were the end of the pier shows, variety and where magicians were often topping the bill in theatres. Two wartime colleagues were reunited in what became initially known as the Stephens and Mephisto mysteries centred on Brighton, where Edgar Stephens became a detective inspector and Max Mephisto star and travelling magician assisted, whenever he was in town in solving the crimes presented.
They have now been rebranded the Brighton Mysteries but Max remains a central character and Edgar, now Superintendent makes this still really a police procedural (but with a magic twist).

This compelling addition to this engaging series is set some 11 years after the last one. Consequently, much has changed in the intervening years for these characters. The author manages this with the expertise of the successful novelist she is and integrates the backstory without deviation, hesitation or reputation.
It can be read as a stand-alone and would be a get in to anyone new to the series or Ely’s diverse work.

Perhaps more challenging to the author was the jump into the 60’s and presenting details some of her reader’s may have memories of and could have lived through themselves. Here Brighton comes into its own. While not like a Graham Greene novel but real and black. This series has always had an edgy feel to it even a decade earlier. No cosy mysteries here. The murders have always been macabre and dark, reflecting the stage magic and mystery of a bygone theatrical day.
This is a story of a missing girl where the abduction does not seem initially for ransom. As the investigation expands we see this might not be the first young woman taken but the facts surrounding each disappearance seem confused as each missing person left a note.

I loved the grasp of the teenage world; the crush young girls had for film stars and growing music scene like The Beatles. I also appreciated the social commentary that is bound up in the story regarding other social changes. Youth culture, gangs, women’s roles, radio to TV and issue based awareness around sexuality, environment and class.
Elly weaves this all into her story which brings colour and depth. In addition she brings a rich love of literature and historical nods to her writing that adds layers and gives substance to this novel.

At times you think you’re reading a separate soap, it’s all about Emma, as the writing exposes the struggle a woman has being married, raising the kids and losing her identity without a role outside the home.
But Elly repeats this in Max’s character too regarding his marriage and his memories of a precious love returning to Brighton after 11 years.
It also works on another level that of the relationships of fathers with their daughters. Here the author shows great insights and a variety of interactions between the various examples in the book. Not deep but a social commentary fully integrated into the story. All the more striking compared to the love or endowment given to sons.

This is what made Jane Austin such a great writer and why Elly Griffiths is a quality author as demonstrated here.

It is a novel set in 1960s England but it is a story very much for today.

A top mystery tale - set in Brighton with the familiar characters of Max, Edgar, Ruby and Emma. But this is far from a rerun of the previous stories in the series. Emma is now a housewife and mother of three, and is unhappy that she has been made to give up her job as a detective. Her frustrations are played out alongside the disappearance of the three females, making this story the best in the Max Mephisto collection.

I never read an Elly Griffiths book I didn't like and I love this series.
It was great to meet again the cast of characters after ten years and meet some new.
There's a lot of character development, they're all quite realistic and fleshed out. I loved to read about Emma's issue with being only a housewife and how she needed something more in her life.
I also loved the social contrast between Emma and the new policewoman.
Both are great characters and it was great to see them collaborating.
The plot is gripping and entertaining, I didn't read this book but I inhaled it.
The mystery was great and the solution came as a surprise.
The historical background is well researched and it plays a relevant part in this book.
A great reading experience, I can't wait to read the next Ms Griffiths book.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Now you see them by Elly Griffiths

Stephens and Mephisto return, but much changed a decade or so after the events of the Vanishing Box. Some of the Magic Men and their friends are dwindling- the book opens with the Great Diablo’s funeral, Emma is frustrated by her life as a wife and mother Others have widened their scope- Edgar is now a Superintendent with wide responsibilities, Ruby is a TV star, and Max is a Hollywood film star. However patterns from the past recur in the 1960s, with death & secrets, disappearances & lots of misdirection. I thoroughly enjoyed the story set against the Brighton of Mods and Rockers.