Lynn, Allison

PERSONAL: Female. Education: Dartmouth College, B.A.; New York University, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Short-story writer and novelist; journalist.

AWARDS, HONORS: William Faulkner Medal, Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, and Chapter One Award, Bronx Writers' Center, both for Now You See It.

WRITINGS:

Now You See It (novel), Touchstone (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Times Book Review, People, and Redbook.

SIDELIGHTS: Short story writer and frequent book reviewer Allison Lynn's debut novel, Now You See It, centers on David, a travel magazine editor who comes home one day to find his wife Jessica has vanished without a trace. While their marriage had had its strains, most notably a frustrating failure to conceive a child, and Jessica had begun to express a certain emptiness about their privileged lives, David is sure that she would not simply walk out without a word. After the police and even her mother despair of finding her, David soldiers on, determined to find out what happened. Then he begins to get odd reports that a missing American businessman, whom David had tried to find in his first and only foray into serious investigative journalism, has been sighted in Peru. Could the two disappearances be related?

Booklist reviewer Frank Sennett found that in Now You See It "Lynn deftly employs David's journey to explore how someone might rediscover his internal compass." A Publishers Weekly reviewer faulted the "novel's glib tone, which nullifies any sympathy the reader might have for its protagonists." A Kirkus Reviews contributor praised the author's storytelling prowess, however, noting that "Lynn's gripping and feverish tale builds momentum page by page—right up to a surprise climax that confounds all expectations but seems obvious once it arrives."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2004, Frank Sennett, review of Now You See It, p. 1702.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2004, review of Now You See It, p. 463.

People, August 9, 2004, Margaux Wexberg, review of Now You See It, p. 48.

Publishers Weekly, May 10, 2004, review of Now You See It, p. 34.

ONLINE

Allison Lynn Home Page, http://www.allisonlynnbooks.com (February 23, 2005).