Magic Hour

I thought this was romance, but it's really a mystery. Readers who love mysteries would probably enjoy this more than I. There were way too much conversation and detail facts to follow. I didn't want my brain to have to work to remember and analyze all the details. I also didn't like this style of writing - all in first person, told from the police detective's perspective. Story brief: Steve is a police detective trying to solve the murder of Sy. He falls in love with Bonnie who is the main suspect.

Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: a few (I forgot exactly). Setting: around 1989 The Hamptons. Copyright: 1991. Genre: mystery with some romance.

"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.

I really enjoyed this novel. Susan Isaacs writes believable and fun-to-read dialog, and blends it well with the narrative passages. I must be a little thick, as I didn't catch on to the "whodunit" right away - LOL! My "suspect" turned out not to be the killer, but that discovery didn't diminish my enjoyment of this book at all.

I enjoyed the amount of illustrative passages, enough so I could visualize everything, but didn't bog down in endless, almost catalog-like descriptions of a character's appearance, or home décor. I prefer a story that moves right along, rather than telling me (in long, florid paragraphs) about the couch and armchair upholstery, if it has no relevance to the outcome.

I loved the humorous outlook and the "just-right" degree of quirkiness to the characters, so they were interesting and "real"... neither saints nor demons. I read it in two sittings, breaking only because I realized it was 2 AM - LOL!

Would definitely recommend!

This was the first book I ever read by Susan Isaacs, and it's a great example of her really unique style-- beautifully written, often hysterically funny, and always "a ripping good yarn." Having now read and re-read her entire oeuvre, settling down with Magic Hour reminds me of sitting down to a hot toddy and a meatloaf-and-mashed-potatoes dinner on a cold and rainy night -- anticipated with pleasure, full of comfort, and leaving one with a nice feeling of satisfaction when it's over. Isaacs' characterizations are full and real, the often witty and/or self-deprecating inner monologues of the characters will have you either sympathizing or snorting with laughter, and the story is an interesting murder mystery. Buy it, read it, and then get Shining Through. The only thing disappointing about Isaacs is that she hasn't written about twice as many books!

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.