Books : Magic Hour
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780061099489
ISBN: 0061099481
Label: HarperTorch
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 496
Publication Date: February 01, 1992
Publisher: HarperTorch
Release Date: February 01, 1992
Sales Rank: 121493
Studio: HarperTorch
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Movie producer Sy Spencer -- one of the premier summer residents of the Hamptons, Long Island's oh-so-fashionable beach resort for everyone who is anyone -- has hosted his last power clambake, thanks to whoever shot him dead beside his oceanfront pool.
Heading the investigation is Hamptons native Steve Brady. His prime suspect is Sy's ex-wife Bonnie, a strangely appealing and energetic woman both in and out of bed. As the case against Bonnie builds, so does Brady's obsession with her. Before long, he's laying the case and his career on the line for her, ignoring all the rules, all the evidence, and all common sense.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
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.
Rating:  -
"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. ... Read More
Rating: -
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!
Rating: -
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!
Rating: -
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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