Review by Booklist Review
Three alternating plotlines eventually converge in this psychological thriller. A woman sees pieces of her past as she tumbles downstairs, sustaining near-fatal injuries. Lawrence Billings, an expert in face-reading and body language, recognizes a young woman at one of his seminars as a skilled player in his own field but underestimates the potential damage she can do to his sexually rejuvenated, long-term marriage. And John Potash, happily remarried and relocated at midlife, is victimized by a skillful financial scam that he fears will threaten his relationship and his future. As the woman begins a slow and halting recovery, Billings' rationalizations for his own behavior are laid bare, and Potash desperately seeks help from various quarters. Gottlieb (Now You See Him, 2008) portrays the male of the species as not acquitting itself well, particularly in terms of vulnerability to the female, as he plays with chronology and ties threads together with a final, ironic twist. Although short on sympathetic characters and occasionally confusing, this will appeal to those who appreciate psychological intrigue.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of Gottlieb's third novel, a taut psychological thriller, an unnamed woman, later identified as Margot Lassiter, sustains grievous injuries as she tumbles down a long flight of stairs. Flashbacks reveal the enigmatic and charismatic Margot, before her near fatal fall, as a consummate schemer. Soon after Margot hired Lawrence Billings, a self-professed expert at reading body language, to give her private instruction, she tried to seduce him. Also, under an alias, Margot enticed 42-year-old John Potash, who spent most of his career as the vice principal of a small alternative Manhattan high school, to invest much of his family's fortune in a fraudulent financial firm. Meanwhile, in the present, police detective Dan France takes a deep interest in Margot's well-being as she recovers in the hospital. Not just a gifted storyteller, Gottlieb (Now You See Him) provocatively explores human relationships and the lies we tell ourselves and each other. Agent: Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Gottlieb's (The Boy Who Went Away; Now You See Him) third novel piques our interest with a woman tumbling down steps, with visions of her past whirring through her mind. Did Margot fall, or was she pushed? She lives, and yet as she mends, we get glimpses of her disturbing memories. Meanwhile, a newly married man drawn into a fraud and a teacher of face reading tell in alternating chapters of Margot's cunning and seductive influence over them. Gottlieb paints a rather bare-bones portrait of Margot, with her tendency to fall back on Daddy and her money issues as the basis for her destructive behavior. The male characters are more developed, to give the reader a glimpse into their lives and their motives and insecurities, thus showing how Margot was able to manipulate them so effectively. A third male character is a hapless detective who tries to see the good in Margot because he is blinded by her beauty. VERDICT A lot more fluff than thrill ride. Still, undiscriminating mystery and thriller readers will enjoy its fast pace and compelling story.-Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park H.S., Annapolis, MD (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Now You See Him, 2008, etc.) tracks a femme fatale/con artist and her victims. Margot Lassiter was only 16 when she began learning how to control men through sex. Ice cold, she felt nothing for her many conquests. An unhappy childhood behind her, she learned how to read people during a stint at a New York fashion magazine. The plot kicks in when she asks Lawrence Billings for private lessons. Middle-aged and happily married, Lawrence is an expert on face and body language; his seminars are Dale Carnegie spinoffs. Margot has moved on to an investment firm and needs to perfect her game. She already has a target in her sights: John Potash, once a New York educator trapped in a boring marriage, now a transplant in Northern California, madly in love with his second wife and possessor of a sizable nest egg. Gottlieb juggles the stories of Margot, Lawrence and John. Margot's story is partially flashbacks, for a mysterious fall down a staircase has resulted in memory loss and broken bones. It feels awkward, and somewhat diminishes the drama of her entrapment of John and Lawrence. She quickly separates John from his nest egg; evidently sunny California has turned his brains to mush. Nor is Lawrence, who should know better, immune to Margot's charms; she almost wrecks his marriage. But when a hard-boiled detective on surveillance duty also falls for her, that strains reader credulity; he's one sap too many. There are other problems: Margot's accomplices in the financial scam, who appear and disappear without explanation, and a cavalier response to an attempted murder. Though these moves are fumbled, Gottlieb is very good with the incidentals, especially John's relationship with his canny old mother. Gottlieb is never dull, which is a bigger compliment than it sounds, so we keep turning the pages, albeit with a raised eyebrow.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
