In 1972, Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed the movie Sleuth which starred Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. The movie was a tour de force (at least in my youthful eyes) mystery thriller where, if the movie goer had heard nothing about it, continued to deceive and surprise throughout. It was full of trickery, disguises, and deceptions that begin innocently but, as with many practical jokes, result in fatal consequences.
Similarly, Richard Matheson's novel, Now You See It... contains much of the same literary blueprint but, interestingly enough, Matheson's story is told by a paraplegic invalid who can do nothing but helplessly sit and watch the drama unfold. Considering that Matheson published Now You See It... in 1995, I would wager that he saw Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth on stage (a Tony Award Winner) or, at least, the movie version starring Olivier and Caine and consequently, used that story for a basis for Now You See It.... Both stories are similar in that they occur in a very short time frame (within a day) within the same house (or even room) and the various players continue to deceive one another until the comedy turns serious and destructive.
I have enjoyed the writings of Richard Matheson for many years reading many of his books such as The Beardless Warriors, I am Legend, and The Legend of Hell House as a young boy, and others such as The Shrinking Man. I have also enjoyed his genius as I grew up watching Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. Now You See It... in my opinion failed to reach the levels of some of those earlier creations, but it did contain an interesting story that continues to keep the reader engaged and wondering. I believe, however, that one of the drawbacks (and it was also true with Sleuth) was that there really wasn't a likeable character throughout. Maybe, however, that is how it is with people that live by deception. Like they say, "if you live by the sword, you die by the sword." Is Now You See It... worth reading? If you like a good mystery with many surprises, you will probably enjoy this novel.