14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Susan Isaacs writes a book from a male perspective, October 6, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Magic Hour (Mass Market Paperback)
Although it is not my favorite by Susan Isaacs, I feel compelled to mention that this is one of her few books written from a male character's point of view, and it works great. Steve Brady is a "real" person all the way around - a former alcoholic, he is apprehensive about his current relationship and his numbing everyday existence, when BAM, he unexpectedly falls head over heels for someone he never suspected would make him feel that way. I love Bonnie's character - I appreciate that she's not beautiful or sexy, just a real good person. I love the build up to their climax, and I think Steven Brady learns so much about himself in the process.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Isaacs Book!, September 12, 2006
"HE was a man who fled from the past..."
"SHE was a woman who lived in it..."
No, wait...
"FOR every man there is a woman who holds the key to his past..."
"FOR every woman, there is a man who can open her future..."
**********
OK, this was never made into a movie, and Susan Isaacs is a much better writer than me, but her two strong protagonists seem just right for the big screen. Detective Stephen Brody is a modern film noir hero, straight out of Bogart: He's a cynic who doesn't play by the rules, he has his own moral code (that, nevertheles,p lays well with readers,, and when he falls for a woman, he falls hard. That is, if he can remember his alcohol-induced trysts. See, Brody has a past, no, make that a PAST! ...possibly undiagnosed PTSD out of Vietnam, subsequent heavy-duty alcoholism, and a strangely askew family history, including a would-be social climber of a mom on the fringes of upper-class Long Island.
Ms. Bonnie Spencer is the castoff spouse of rich guy producer Sy Spencer, neatly killed (it looks like a professional hit) near the location of his newest movie. He's having an affair with the lead, who's fooling aroun with the director, even the technical and artistic staff are fooling around with each other--it's wonder anything got made (meaning the movie, of course). Brody arrives en scene, and he and his partners in Homicide focus on three suspects, eventually zooming in on Ms. Spencer. Ms. Spencer was a slightly promising screenwriter when she met Sy Spencer; she's an impoverished hack living la vida promiscuous when Sy Spencer reenters her life. Importantly, there's a strange attraction and sexual tension between detective Brody and Bonnie Spencer, something fishier than the Long Island Sound is going on here. One starts thinking Oedipal Complex before too long, but Ms. Isaacs resolves the mystery credibly, if somewhat conveniently.
It's a fast "page-turner" of a book, believable, with a supposed man's eye view of sex (maybe if you're an alcoholic man with a PAST), and fairly credible multiple suspects. Really, I looked forward to getting back in to the book, the dialogue crackles, the observations on the Long Island social scene are funny and well-observed, and Brody has that Bogart-like appeal. Still, when you're done with the book, you can't help but wonder how Isaacs does so well with so little: There are only a few plot twists (though they're important ones), almost no action or violence (except fot that page one murder of Sy Spencer), and the characters seem too familiar.
The appeal is simple-- it's Susan Isaac's writing. Infused with genuine humor, a compelling cast of minor characters, and snappy dialogue between Brody and Bonnie Spencer, the book isn't your typical mystery. Isaacs doesn't waste time on fussy details or convoluted plot mechanics. It's refreshingly direct, it mixes Shirlock Holmesian deduction with Mickey Spillane sex, and she mixes bemused detachment with intense drama. As she's proven several times over, Isaacs is a master story-teller.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great characters; Great plot, April 28, 2001
This review is from: Magic Hour (Mass Market Paperback)
Steve Brady, the narrator is a Long Island cop and recovering alcoholic with the perfect, twenty-something fiance. Why, then, can't he stop thinking about Bonnie Spencer, the ex-wife of the victim and the prime murder suspect? The description of this plot on the cover sounded shmaltzy and stupid, but being an Isaacs fan, I read it, and highly recommend it.
Before long, you forget the author is a female, because the male narrator is so believable. The characters are well-drawn, even the minor "supporting" characters. My only quibble is that I figured out the "shocking" actual murderer looonnnggg before the last few pages when it is revealed. Still, the book keeps you wanting to turn pages long past Midnight, and I felt sorry when it ended. You can't ask much more from a book.
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