Young people, and those no longer young, who feel that no one really sees them.
Rochelle Krich
Questions for Discussion
Molly initially resists agreeing to search for Hadassah Bailor. She feels inadequate to the task and has unresolved issues with Hadassah’s father. Did you sympathize with her reluctance, or did you find it petty? What made Molly overcome that reluctance?
Rumor and innuendo can permanently damage a person’s reputation, and by extension, that of a family, especially within a close-knit, traditional community like Hadassah’s. Can you understand why the Bailors didn’t want to involve an outsider in their search for Hadassah? Would you have handled the situation differently?
What was your impression of Rabbi Bailor? Of his wife, Nechama? Of their son Gavriel? Of Aliza, Hadassah’s sister? Of Reuben Jastrow? Did your impression of these characters change throughout the course of the novel?
How would you describe the dynamics of the Bailor family? Do you think the Bailors are representative of the average American family? In what way, if any, did they contribute to Hadassah’s feelings of isolation? Do you think they ignored signs that Hadassah was unhappy, or was Hadassah effective in hiding her feelings?
How did you feel about Sarah, Hadassah’s best friend? Do you fault her for keeping Hadassah’s secret about her online boyfriend?
Aside from the opening chapter, I intended to tell the story entirely from Molly’s point of view. But Hadassah insisted on having her own voice. How did her voice affect the story?
At what point did you become worried about Hadassah’s safety? What factors intensified your concern? Did you fear that, like Shakespeare’s Juliet, she would kill herself?
Do you think teens are at greater risk today than they were a decade ago? If so, why? Does the media exaggerate and possibly contribute to the problem? How can we reduce the risks teenagers face? How can we protect them? Empower them?
Do you think that parents are naïve about the dangers of the Internet and lax in monitoring their children’s online activities? Aside from the tips mentioned in the novel, do you have other suggestions?
Do you see a difference between cheating on an exam and buying term papers or other material online? In what ways do schools and parents contribute to the problem? Why don’t teenagers view plagiarism as cheating?
Was Molly justifiably angered by Rabbi Bailor’s equivocations and lies? Did he “owe” her the truth, even if that truth jeopardized him and his family? Molly herself equivocates—with Connors, with Rabbi Bailor and others. Is she being hypocritical?
What was your impression of Cheryl Wexner? Do you think she was inappropriate in making her son her confidant? At what point did she first suspect that Justin was somehow involved with Greg Shankman’s death? Was she in denial?
Were you shocked to learn that Justin killed Greg? Do you believe that Justin felt remorse? Do you view Justin as evil or damaged goods?
The death of a child can create tremendous stress on a marriage. Discuss the relationship between the McIntyres. Do you see a possibility of their remarrying?
I had originally intended to have Molly rescue Hadassah from Justin, but Hadassah ultimately saves herself, transforming herself from “Dinah” to “Yael.” Was this transformation believable?
Do you believe that Rabbi Bailor attempted to defend Molly when he was her teacher fourteen years ago?
At the end of the novel, Hadassah asks Molly if she thinks Justin loved her. Do you believe he did?
Discuss the title, Now You See Me, as it applies to the characters in the novel.
About the Author
ROCHELLE KRICH is the author of many acclaimed novels of suspense, including Blues in the Night (which introduced Molly Blume), Dream House, Shadows of Sin, Dead Air, Blood Money, and Fertile Ground. An Anthony Award winner for her debut novel, Where’s Mommy Now? (which was adapted as the TV movie Perfect Alibi), Krich lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their children.
Visit Rochelle Krich’s website at
www.rochellekrich.com.
By Rochelle Krich
Where’s Mommy Now?
Till Death Do Us Part
Nowhere to Run
Speak No Evil
Fertile Ground
IN THE MOLLY BLUME SERIES
Blues in the Night
Dream House
Grave Endings
Now You See Me...
IN THE JESSE DRAKE SERIES
Fair Game
Angel of Death
Blood Money
Dead Air
Shadows of Sin
SHORT STORIES
“A Golden Opportunity”
Sisters in Crime 5
“Cat in the Act”
Feline and Famous
“Regrets Only”
Malice Domestic 4
“Widow’s Peak”
Unholy Orders
“You Win Some...”
Women Before the Bench
“Bitter Waters”
Criminal Kabbalah
Now You See Me... is a work of fiction. The schools in the novel—Bais Rifka, Sharsheret, and Torat Tzion—are products of the author’s imagination. All other names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Ballantine Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright © 2005 by Rochelle Majer Krich
Reading group guide copyright © 2005 by Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krich, Rochelle Majer.
Now you see me— : a novel / Rochelle Krich.— 1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Blume, Molly (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Teenage girls—
Crimes against—Fiction. 3. Los Angeles (Calif.)—Fiction. 4. Women
journalists—Fiction. 5. Kidnapping—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3561.R477N69 2005
813’.54—dc22
2005046478
www.ballantinebooks.com
www.randomhouse.com
eISBN: 978-0-307-41626-1
v3.0
Now You See Me... Page 31
