Praise for Takes One to Know One:
“[Isaacs] has us chasing Corie all over the map, charmed by this motormouth sleuth’s snappy wit and awed by her courage.”—New York Times Book Review
“Ms. Isaacs is a witty author, but comedy gives way to terror as Corie’s inevitable confrontation with her dangerous quarry nears. All the foreshadowing and presaging pays off in spades, and the scenes that tie up loose ends are a pleasure to read.”—Wall Street Journal
“What is it that makes Susan Isaacs' books so delicious to read? She’s funny, for starters. And that humor combined with romance and old-fashioned murder mystery tickles every feel-good bone in our bodies. Her characters are whole and flawed and lovable, and you want only the best for them, even as you ardently wish to find them in danger — repeatedly — along the way.”—Newsday
“There are so many layers — and thrilling twists and turns — that you won’t want to put it down.”—InTouch
“The inimitable Susan Isaacs, master of sardonically witty observation and genre-bending suspense, is back with Takes One to Know One, her first standalone novel since 2012. . . . With shades of Agatha Christie and “Law & Order,” blended with the high drama of a conventional suspense thriller and a generous portion of Isaacs’ signature wry and brainy observational humor, Takes One to Know One will be catnip to longtime Isaacs fans and new readers alike.”—BookPage
“Isaacs has written numerous best-sellers, beginning with her debut, Compromising Positions, but this is her first full-length novel since 2012's Goldberg Variations, and it's a good one. …Turns out, [ex-FBI agent turned suburbanite] Corie’s still got it, but it leads her straight into a deadly trap. Corie’s combat skills and investigative prowess are still up to snuff, but her snarky commentary and hilarious interactions with her father are the real page-turners here.”—Booklist
“[A] stylish beach read…[with] vibrant characters, snappy dialogue, and an arresting first-person narrative.”—Publishers Weekly
“When a new Susan Isaacs novel comes out, her fans take notice...As the suspense builds and builds, we can't put the book down. As in all of Isaacs' work, we truly like the protagonist and are happy to go along on this adventure with her step by step. Read this combination character study/action novel slowly. Get to know Corie, because Isaacs' website informs us that Takes One To Know One is the beginning of a series. Rest assured that all of us will want to read more of Corie Geller's excellent adventures.”—Bookreporter.com
“Isaacs’ writing is clever and funny, with laugh-out-loud moments and strong character development. …Highly recommended for anyone who likes fast-paced storytelling, quirky and interesting characters, and a plot that keeps you guessing right along with the protagonist.”—New York Journal of Books
“Isaacs’s latest suburban novel starts out as a low-key story of a wife looking for a diversionary project for herself and her father, a retired cop, then escalates into action requiring all of her skills as a trained FBI agent. For fans of Kate White and the movie True Lies.”—Library Journal
Praise for Susan Isaacs:
“Nobody does smart, gutsy, funny, sexy women better than Susan Isaacs.” —Washington Post
“I can think of no other novelist—popular or highbrow—who consistently celebrates female gutsiness, brains and sexuality. She’s Jane Austen with a schmear.” —NPR’s Fresh Air
“[Susan Isaacs is] a witty, wry observer of contemporary life.” —New York Times Book Review
“The women who inhabit Isaacs’ books are smart, sexy, a little snarky, and filled with some serious chutzpah.”—Rachel Martin NPR’s “Weekend Edition”
"A master of the genre.”—O, the Oprah Magazine
"Issacs is a master of witty fiction with an undercurrent of emotional truth.”—USA Today
"Always sassy, smart and wickedly witty, Susan Isaacs’ novel is both hilariously funny and a moving tale of family, faith and reconciliation.”—Book of the Month Club
[A]smart-alecky whodunit/surprisingly sweet love story...Isaacs brings it all together in this fast and furious ride through wanton greed, fragile relationships, and love worth fighting for." —Publishers Weekly (starred review), on As Husbands Go
"Isaacs does it again: skewering the pretensions of upscale suburbanites and in a tender, funny romance."—Kirkus (starred review), on Long Time No See
"Isaacs delivers witty, wicked satire from begining to end.” —Entertainment Weekly
“I love [Susan Isaacs]…I don’t think she’s ever written a heroine I wouldn’t want to be friends with. And I think she’s really brilliant in a Jane Austen way about social strata and place. She nails all the details.”—Jennifer Weiner, Miami Herald
"Biting and funny.”—New York Daily News
2019-07-15
A former FBI agent, planning to settle down and be a normal person on Long Island, smells a rat at her weekly lunch group.
When she met widowed hunk Josh, a top lawyer-turned-federal judge, and his now-14-year-old daughter, Eliza, Corie Geller thought she knew what she wanted. Instead of flying around the world interrogating terrorists for the government, she would marry Josh, become a wife and mother, and use her language skills to vet books in Arabic for U.S. publishers. That's how she landed at La Cuisine Délicieuse in Shorehaven, Long Island, lunching every Wednesday with the suburban self-employed. A landscaper, an eBay reseller, a low-end speechwriter, a photo retoucher, an internet data expert…but there's one guy in the group who sets off her internal alarms. Pete Delaney sits in the same chair every week, won't take his eyes off his car, keeps changing phones—it's just weird. Even if he does check out to be what he claims to be—a freelance packaging designer—his many three-day out-of-town trips don't quite make sense. So she and her dad, who's retired NYPD, launch a sub-rosa investigation. Following up every hunch, lead, and inkling she has about this guy is a full-time job. A full-time job for the reader, too. While the investigation goes on and on, often straining credibility, other possible plotlines in the book suffer. Josh's dead wife, whose stuff is still all over the house. The daughter, whom Corie supposedly loves to pieces but who barely speaks a line of dialogue. The ex-boyfriend she still has the hots for. The boring husband she's not so sure about. These characters and storylines are sketched in but languish as the Delaney investigation inexorably proceeds in excruciating detail. Still, Isaacs (A Hint of Strangeness, 2015, etc.) never forgets the need to charm the reader. Corie keeps up the nonstop sarcastic patter, and she really is a hoot. Her in-laws' house: "they bought it from Mrs. Havisham then added indoor plumbing." Pete Delaney's pants: "strictly old-guy—the baggy kind that make men look as if penises hadn't yet been invented."
Isaacs' wit and wisecracks can't save this one.