Rochelle Krich Now You See Me

Now You See Me

Rochelle Krich

Ballantine, Oct 2005, $13.95 352pp.

ISBN 0345468120

Recently married Molly Blume feels good about her life. Besides her personal life, her book is selling and her column is becoming even more popular. However, she becomes concerned when an apparent fan Reuben Jastrow turns up at three consecutive book signings. She initially thinks he is a stalker but he explains that he wants to hire her as a Jewish private detective to find his missing eighteen years old daughter Hadassah. She reluctantly agrees to help because she learns that Reuben is a highly regarded Orthodox rabbi.

Molly's inquiries lead to unsafe chat rooms and Goth-suicidal teens, but these prove false as the sleuth is no closer to finding Hadassah then when she started. The case seems to be going nowhere as Molly ponders what could have happened and reconsiders several times all the possibilities, but finding no clues that take her closer to the vanished teen.

The story line is more character driven than usual as Rochelle Krich concentrates on Molly's muses leading to a brilliant insight into the orthodox Jewish American community. However, a twist in the middle of NOW YOU SEE ME leads to questions as to why Molly does what she does for the rest of the plot. Though not quite at the calibre of a typical Blume tale (see GRAVE ENDINGS), fans of the series will enjoy the happily married Molly's fourth sleuthing adventure played out in a backdrop Orthodox Judaism

Harriet Klausner