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A Hint of Strangeness
The Washington Post said, “Nobody does smart, gutsy, funny, sexy women better than Susan Isaacs.” Add to that praise the adjective “strong,” and you’ve got Susan’s latest protagonist, Marianne Kent. Her life may not seem thrilling – living with her widowed mother, majoring in economics, working in an elegant dress store after classes to put away money for graduate school – but she’s determined to make a better life for herself and her mom. One night, she comes home to see the light is out again over the door. That old fuse box? Again? Except when Marianne gets inside, she stumbles over something, and it’s immediately clear what has happened: her mother has been murdered. The NYPD is stumped. Marianne’s father, an army captain, was killed in battle when she was a year old, and whatever other family she has are so distant she’s never met them. Whom can she turn to? Marianne does what strong women always do: She turns to herself. With help from her Laurie Fishbein, her BFF since second grade, she becomes her own private detective to solve the case of her lifetime.
Susan Isaacs was dubbed “Jane Austen with a shmear” on NPR’s Fresh Air. Among her thirteen novels are Almost Paradise, Shining Through and After All These Years. She has written screenplays for two films, Compromising Positions (adapted from her novel) and Hello Again, as well as a nonfiction work, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women are Really Doing on Page and Screen. Currently, she serves as chairman of the literary organization Poets & Writers. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, she has reviewed for New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and Newsday. She is a past president of Mystery Writers of America and belongs to the Creative Coalition, PEN, and the International Association of Crime Writers. Susan is a trustee emerita of the Queens College Foundation and on the board of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Among her honors are the John Steinbeck award, the Writers for Writers award, and the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center prize. She has worked gathering support for the National Endowment of the Arts Literature Program and on many anti-censorship campaigns. She lives on Long Island where she’s at work finishing her new novel, Violet Hopkins.
Cover design by Kristen Radtke.
Susan Isaacs was dubbed “Jane Austen with a shmear” on NPR’s Fresh Air. Among her thirteen novels are Almost Paradise, Shining Through and After All These Years. She has written screenplays for two films, Compromising Positions (adapted from her novel) and Hello Again, as well as a nonfiction work, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women are Really Doing on Page and Screen. Currently, she serves as chairman of the literary organization Poets & Writers. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, she has reviewed for New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and Newsday. She is a past president of Mystery Writers of America and belongs to the Creative Coalition, PEN, and the International Association of Crime Writers. Susan is a trustee emerita of the Queens College Foundation and on the board of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Among her honors are the John Steinbeck award, the Writers for Writers award, and the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center prize. She has worked gathering support for the National Endowment of the Arts Literature Program and on many anti-censorship campaigns. She lives on Long Island where she’s at work finishing her new novel, Violet Hopkins.
Cover design by Kristen Radtke.
3 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 8, 2015
133 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Susan Isaacs
45 books504 followersI was born in a thatched cottage in the Cotswolds. Oh, you want the truth. Fine. I was born in Brooklyn and educated at Queens College. After leaving school, I saw one of those ads: BE A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER! Take our aptitude test. Since I had nothing else in mind, I took the test-and flunked. The guy at the employment agency looked at my resume and mumbled, “You wrote for your college paper? Uh, we have an opening at Seventeen magazine.” That’s how I became a writer.
I liked my job, but I found doing advice to the lovelorn and articles like “How to Write a Letter to a Boy” somewhat short of fulfilling. So, first as a volunteer, then for actual money, I wrote political speeches in my spare time. I did less of that when I met a wonderful guy, Elkan Abramowitz, then a federal prosecutor in the SDNY.
We were married and a little more than a year later, we had Andrew (now a corporate lawyer). Three years later, Elizabeth (now a philosopher and writer) was born. I’d left Seventeen to be home with my kids but continued to to do speeches and the occasional magazine piece. During what free time I had, I read more mysteries than was healthy. Possibly I became deranged, but I thought, I can do this.
And that’s how Compromising Positions, a whodunit with a housewife-detectives set on Long Island came about. Talk about good luck: it was chosen the Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, auctioned for paperback, sold to the movies, translated into thirty languages, and became a bestseller. I was a little overwhelmed by the success. However, it’s hard to rise to a state of perpetual cool and go to slick downtown parties when you’re living in the suburbs with a husband, two kids, two dogs, and a mini-van, I simply wrote another book… and then another and another.
About half my works are mysteries, two fall into the category of espionage, and the rest are…well, regular novels. In the horn-tooting department, nearly all my novels have been New York Times bestsellers.
My kids grew up. My husband became a defense lawyer specializing in white collar matters: I call him my house counsel since I’m always consulting him on criminal procedure, the justice system, and law enforcement jargon. Anyway, after forty-five years of writing all sorts of novels—standalones—I decided to write a mystery series. I conceived Corie Geller with a rich enough background to avoid what I’d always been leery of—that doing a series would mean writing the same book over and over, changing only the settings.
I also produced one work of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women are Really Doing on Page and Screen. I wrote a slew of articles, essays, and op-ed pieces as well. Newsday sent me to write about the 2000 presidential campaign, which was one of the greatest thrills of my life-going to both conventions, riding beside John McCain on the Straight Talk Express, interviewing George W. Bush. I also reviewed books for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Newsday. (My website has far more information about my projects than most people would want to know, but have a look.)
In the mid-1980s, I wrote the screenplay for Paramount’s Compromising Positions which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. I also wrote and co-produced Touchstone’s Hello Again which starred Shelley Long, Gabriel Byrne, and Judith Ivey. (My fourth novel, Shining Through, set during World War II became the 20th Century Fox movie starring Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith and Liam Neeson. I would have written the script, except I wasn’t asked.)
Here’s the professional stuff. I’m a recipient of the Writers for Writers Award, the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center Award, and the John Steinbeck Award. I just retired (after over a decade) as chairman of the board of the literary organization, Poets & Writers. I also served as president of Mystery Writers of America. I belong to the National Book Critics Circle, the Creative Coalition, PEN, the Ameri
I liked my job, but I found doing advice to the lovelorn and articles like “How to Write a Letter to a Boy” somewhat short of fulfilling. So, first as a volunteer, then for actual money, I wrote political speeches in my spare time. I did less of that when I met a wonderful guy, Elkan Abramowitz, then a federal prosecutor in the SDNY.
We were married and a little more than a year later, we had Andrew (now a corporate lawyer). Three years later, Elizabeth (now a philosopher and writer) was born. I’d left Seventeen to be home with my kids but continued to to do speeches and the occasional magazine piece. During what free time I had, I read more mysteries than was healthy. Possibly I became deranged, but I thought, I can do this.
And that’s how Compromising Positions, a whodunit with a housewife-detectives set on Long Island came about. Talk about good luck: it was chosen the Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, auctioned for paperback, sold to the movies, translated into thirty languages, and became a bestseller. I was a little overwhelmed by the success. However, it’s hard to rise to a state of perpetual cool and go to slick downtown parties when you’re living in the suburbs with a husband, two kids, two dogs, and a mini-van, I simply wrote another book… and then another and another.
About half my works are mysteries, two fall into the category of espionage, and the rest are…well, regular novels. In the horn-tooting department, nearly all my novels have been New York Times bestsellers.
My kids grew up. My husband became a defense lawyer specializing in white collar matters: I call him my house counsel since I’m always consulting him on criminal procedure, the justice system, and law enforcement jargon. Anyway, after forty-five years of writing all sorts of novels—standalones—I decided to write a mystery series. I conceived Corie Geller with a rich enough background to avoid what I’d always been leery of—that doing a series would mean writing the same book over and over, changing only the settings.
I also produced one work of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women are Really Doing on Page and Screen. I wrote a slew of articles, essays, and op-ed pieces as well. Newsday sent me to write about the 2000 presidential campaign, which was one of the greatest thrills of my life-going to both conventions, riding beside John McCain on the Straight Talk Express, interviewing George W. Bush. I also reviewed books for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Newsday. (My website has far more information about my projects than most people would want to know, but have a look.)
In the mid-1980s, I wrote the screenplay for Paramount’s Compromising Positions which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. I also wrote and co-produced Touchstone’s Hello Again which starred Shelley Long, Gabriel Byrne, and Judith Ivey. (My fourth novel, Shining Through, set during World War II became the 20th Century Fox movie starring Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith and Liam Neeson. I would have written the script, except I wasn’t asked.)
Here’s the professional stuff. I’m a recipient of the Writers for Writers Award, the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center Award, and the John Steinbeck Award. I just retired (after over a decade) as chairman of the board of the literary organization, Poets & Writers. I also served as president of Mystery Writers of America. I belong to the National Book Critics Circle, the Creative Coalition, PEN, the Ameri
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 7, 2024
Some short stories, or novellas, are perfectly bite-sized and satisfying. This left me wanting. It just wasn't long enough (or maybe it was too long). There was no real character development, no real grief (her mother was killed, for God's sake), and the was so implausible.
January 5, 2024
Sometimes, as a reader, I’ll finish a book, usually a novel, and wonder why the author bothered to write it, and the publisher to publish it. So it was with Susan Isaacs’ “A Hint of Strangeness”, a Kindle Single”
Susan Isaacs is an able writer of women’s novels. I’ve been reading her work for years and while she’s no Leo Tolstoy she always produces novels with well-drawn characters and interesting plots. There’s usually a murder or two, which is solved by Isaacs’s clever and spunky female protagonists.
I’m not sure what a Kindle Single is, exactly. In this case, I guess, it’s a much shorter version of an Isaacs novel with almost no character development or interesting plot. Yes, there’s a murder (actually two, counting JFK’s, as the book is set in 1963) but the victim’s daughter helps to solve it in a desultory way, in fact, I’m still not exactly sure who, what, when, or why.
I found this book as I was looking up Susan Isaacs on Amazon. I was looking for something new by her. I wish I had chosen to reread one of her backlist. At least I’d have gotten a well-written book.
Susan Isaacs is an able writer of women’s novels. I’ve been reading her work for years and while she’s no Leo Tolstoy she always produces novels with well-drawn characters and interesting plots. There’s usually a murder or two, which is solved by Isaacs’s clever and spunky female protagonists.
I’m not sure what a Kindle Single is, exactly. In this case, I guess, it’s a much shorter version of an Isaacs novel with almost no character development or interesting plot. Yes, there’s a murder (actually two, counting JFK’s, as the book is set in 1963) but the victim’s daughter helps to solve it in a desultory way, in fact, I’m still not exactly sure who, what, when, or why.
I found this book as I was looking up Susan Isaacs on Amazon. I was looking for something new by her. I wish I had chosen to reread one of her backlist. At least I’d have gotten a well-written book.
September 12, 2018
I only wished it were longer!
I read this book today pretty much non-stop. Susan Isaacs is an amazing fiction writer who uses her clinical background to create characters so real that you can identify with their emotions ands frustrations. I’ve been a fan for a very long time and as long as she keeps writing I’ll keep reading - her fiction and her non-fiction
I read this book today pretty much non-stop. Susan Isaacs is an amazing fiction writer who uses her clinical background to create characters so real that you can identify with their emotions ands frustrations. I’ve been a fan for a very long time and as long as she keeps writing I’ll keep reading - her fiction and her non-fiction
January 4, 2020
I usually love Susan Isaacs
This was a disappointing book on many levels. I didn’t warm up to any of the characters or ever get an understanding of the villain’s motivation. I usually love this author, but this was not her usual warm, insightful and funny style.
This was a disappointing book on many levels. I didn’t warm up to any of the characters or ever get an understanding of the villain’s motivation. I usually love this author, but this was not her usual warm, insightful and funny style.
April 28, 2019
A Hint of Strangeness
A great story line with a strong, smart heroine. Wonderfuly written. I couldn't put it down. Will probably try some more of her books.
A great story line with a strong, smart heroine. Wonderfuly written. I couldn't put it down. Will probably try some more of her books.
February 28, 2022
This felt like a slightly extended tv show pilot script rather than a book. Very emotionless, formulaic and stylized. No substance whatsoever, but not awful either. Should have been a 15-30 page short story instead.
December 18, 2022
Murder mystery told in the author's signature arch, chatty style
Years ago I read and enjoyed a series of books from this author. This isn't the best story she has written but it is a competent piece with her characteristic strong psychological emphasis.
Years ago I read and enjoyed a series of books from this author. This isn't the best story she has written but it is a competent piece with her characteristic strong psychological emphasis.
May 17, 2017
Very short
I enjoyed the book and the main character especially. But it took me less than an hour to read. Good story though
I enjoyed the book and the main character especially. But it took me less than an hour to read. Good story though
May 21, 2017
A short enjoyable mystery.
November 6, 2020
Just a good little mystery.
I was working the late shift and only need something to kill time with and I chose this book. I was pleasantly surprised at how much it interested me. During shift we got pulled into a meeting and I was unable to finish the book, but I actually kept listening after shift until it finished because I wanted to hear how it ended.
Marianne is a good character and her best friend is great. I also really liked the detective helping Marianne out in this one – he didn’t just shrug off her findings but actually listened and pursued her clues.
The author doesn’t let the obvious answers slip by the heroine – she recognizes the clues right along with us. I enjoyed this little mystery.
I was working the late shift and only need something to kill time with and I chose this book. I was pleasantly surprised at how much it interested me. During shift we got pulled into a meeting and I was unable to finish the book, but I actually kept listening after shift until it finished because I wanted to hear how it ended.
Marianne is a good character and her best friend is great. I also really liked the detective helping Marianne out in this one – he didn’t just shrug off her findings but actually listened and pursued her clues.
The author doesn’t let the obvious answers slip by the heroine – she recognizes the clues right along with us. I enjoyed this little mystery.
May 27, 2025
Good story, well told
Susan Isaacs does her usual good job of plotting and establishing character. Unfortunately the short length doesn't give her enough elbowroom for her usual earthy, cheerful, chatty style to really mislead and captivate this reader. Not wonderful but worth reading.
Susan Isaacs does her usual good job of plotting and establishing character. Unfortunately the short length doesn't give her enough elbowroom for her usual earthy, cheerful, chatty style to really mislead and captivate this reader. Not wonderful but worth reading.
February 22, 2021
I love Susan Isaac's writing but this one was just mediocre. More like a (long) short story or a novella, there wasn't much to the imagination here -- just following the heroine (?)'s actions rather than really engaging the reader. Still, a good respite.
May 8, 2018
Good book. I liked it.
June 16, 2019
A fun, fast read.
If you like Susan Isaacs work, you will enjoy this quick read. Interesting local history about Queens NY in the late 50's early 60's.
If you like Susan Isaacs work, you will enjoy this quick read. Interesting local history about Queens NY in the late 50's early 60's.
August 27, 2019
Great mystery
I’m a huge fan of Susan Isaac.. her stories are tightly woven. This short story had all of the right elements.
I’m a huge fan of Susan Isaac.. her stories are tightly woven. This short story had all of the right elements.
October 30, 2019
As always, you can't go wrong with Isaacs
Susan Isaacs is a go to author. Anytime, anywhere, you will be engaged and more often than not, laugh along with the mystery.
Susan Isaacs is a go to author. Anytime, anywhere, you will be engaged and more often than not, laugh along with the mystery.
August 2, 2022
Was clever and interesting
August 30, 2022
I had forgotten how good this author is. Still, I devoutly wish she had written a few more pages to explain what really happened.
January 24, 2023
good mystery
Good read. I enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. Very different from other mysteries. I recommend this book!
Good read. I enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. Very different from other mysteries. I recommend this book!
May 31, 2023
Love Susan Isaacs
Haven't read something new from Susan Isaacs in years. This story made me remember why she is one of my favorite authors.
Haven't read something new from Susan Isaacs in years. This story made me remember why she is one of my favorite authors.
December 4, 2023
A clever little short story/novella with a quirky mystery and endearing heroine.
June 17, 2025
Interesting
Loved the premise of the story, and the era it is set in. Really could have been full-length book rather than a novella. Just love Susan Isaac’s use of humor.
Loved the premise of the story, and the era it is set in. Really could have been full-length book rather than a novella. Just love Susan Isaac’s use of humor.
March 23, 2017
A sweet little mystery
A strong feminine woman finds her mother dead and won't take no for an answer in the investigation. She's the Jackie O version of Stephanie Plum.
A strong feminine woman finds her mother dead and won't take no for an answer in the investigation. She's the Jackie O version of Stephanie Plum.
April 8, 2015
Set in 1963 Marianne, who is 19 or 20, returns home one evening to find her Mother's body in the foyer. Once Marianne finds out her Mother was murdered she resolutely sets out to solve the mystery.
I liked the characters - I thought they were reasonably well developed considering the length of this novella. But the mystery didn't really work for me, nor did the choice of perpetrator.
I enjoyed returning to Susan Isaacs world. She used to be a must-read author for me, but then I felt her novels became too formulaic, and when I would start a new one, I would feel like I already read it. This was a new direction, but I think the novella length really hurt the story.
I liked the characters - I thought they were reasonably well developed considering the length of this novella. But the mystery didn't really work for me, nor did the choice of perpetrator.
I enjoyed returning to Susan Isaacs world. She used to be a must-read author for me, but then I felt her novels became too formulaic, and when I would start a new one, I would feel like I already read it. This was a new direction, but I think the novella length really hurt the story.
January 17, 2016
True Detective with just the facts m'am
This book read like a true detective story, with all the flair (just the facts m'am) of the old black and white Dragnet show. Oh and conjured visions of Ironsides too, with a little Dick Tracy making an appearance near the end. I really enjoyed how this book sparked my imagination!
This book read like a true detective story, with all the flair (just the facts m'am) of the old black and white Dragnet show. Oh and conjured visions of Ironsides too, with a little Dick Tracy making an appearance near the end. I really enjoyed how this book sparked my imagination!
December 8, 2015
I have really enjoyed several of Isaac's novels but this one left me cold. It was abbreviated, undeveloped and none of the characters really came to life. The plot was obvious, no twists, and the crime swiftly solved with no emotion on the part of a heroine whose mother has just been killed. Disappointing.
November 20, 2016
Just ok. Something to read to pass the time.
This book stated out well, but does not show much for emotion. Honestly, how could anyone sleep in the house where your mother was just murdered? It was just too matter of fact for my taste. I read it while waiting for a flight, otherwise it would have been a waste of time.
This book stated out well, but does not show much for emotion. Honestly, how could anyone sleep in the house where your mother was just murdered? It was just too matter of fact for my taste. I read it while waiting for a flight, otherwise it would have been a waste of time.
July 11, 2015
I liked it. Sort of reminded me of Henrietta Who . A mother's murder and a college girl's quest to unravel the truth. If she had been under 18 she'd have ended up in foster care with an entirely different ending.
September 29, 2015
Great, fast read!
This was a very well written, short murder mystery. I read it in one shot so it is great to take on a vacation. I love Susan Isaacs and hope that she continues writing forever!
This was a very well written, short murder mystery. I read it in one shot so it is great to take on a vacation. I love Susan Isaacs and hope that she continues writing forever!
March 28, 2015
I LOVE Susan Isaacs and love her books and this novella was just a great read - there is something about crafting a novella that is different than a novel and this one was done VERY well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews