A retired NY police detective gets a call from an April Brown. The last time he spoke to her she was five and had survived a fire that destroyed her home and killed her parents. Now as an associate professor at Rutgers, someone she feels tries to run her down. As the story progresses you get into the life of her father before he was killed over twenty years and the man he was, was not a good man working for the Russian mob. Yet as Corie the daughter of the detective and a retired FBI agent works with her father they begin to start piecing everything together. This book turns out to be a very good read with many excellent characters and is very much worth the read.

A plot that has a few twists and is full of wit. This was a great beach read.
Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thank Susan Isaacs, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in return for an unbiased review.

Prior to enjoying this story, I went back to re-read “It Takes One to Know One” to remind myself of the characters. It was time well spent. I enjoy the setting, from Brooklyn to Manhattan to Long Island, and the stories bookend the pandemic.

We see Corie more settled in her marriage and taking on cases with her father. The case based on Mr. Brown is a curious one. The new characters are great fun, especially the local NYC beach ladies with, perhaps, ties to the Russian mob.

This story has more of a focus on Corie with her father, as compared to the first in which her husband was her foil. This story also takes us on road trips into New Jersey—a magical NJ without horrid traffic. . . I was jealous.

The evil person in this story is quite evil, even if it’s clear who it is. Some elements you just have to go with, like architectural additions to an older house, ahem, and a really funny subplot with hair salon research. Just sayin’.

All told, this was a very fun romp. I was going to do a 4+ star but going wild with a 5. I’ll read the next Corie story whenever it’s available, Ms. Isaacs!

Detective Dan Schottland had a case back in the '80's where a husband and wife are burned alive in their home but their daughter climbs out a window and survives. Now Dan's and his daughter Corie are hired by the child to investigate the case.
This is a great book that will hold your attention.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publisher Atlantic Monthly Press.

This is the second Corrie Geller book. I have not read the first but this one is fine as a standalone.

Someone is, for some inexplicable reason, coming after April Brown, the daughter of the late Seymour Brown who indeed was a bad bad guy.

Seymour was an accountant and money launderer for the Russian mob. He and his wife were burned to death in a terrible house fire. April survived because an angel appeared outside her bedroom window and told her to crawl out. But it wasn't the mob who killed Seymour - they needed him alive because only he knew where he had stashed the loot.

Well written and well paced. Susan Isaacs fans will enjoy this book very much as the grand opening of a new detective agency.

An interesting story line that was difficult to read. Too much fluff, not enough substance. It’s written with a YA tone but about middle aged and older characters. Did not enjoy it at all. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Susan Isaacs has been writing bestsellers since the late 1970s, and she’s hilarious! I’ve been a fan since then. During that earlier time, a period of third wave feminism, her tales often featured rotten husbands and ex-husbands reaping what they’d sown. Her creativity and trademark snark have always kept me running back for more. Her new novel, Bad, Bad Seymour Brown is the second in the Corie Geller detective series, and it’s deeply satisfying. My thanks go to Net Galley and Grove Atlantic for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Seymour Brown was an accountant for the Russian mob. “I’ve never heard of a violent accountant before,” my mom observed. “At worst, they’re a little pissy.” But by all accounts, Seymour was a rotten guy. “He made regular bad look good.” Bad to everyone, that is, except his five year old daughter April, his only child, for whom the sun rose and fell. But Seymour’s family was tucked away for the night when an unknown assailant came and burned the house to the ground with the Browns inside it. Happily, April made it out the window alive. The case was never solved.

Now April is an adult, a professor in film studies. She’s put her past behind her, and now, all of a sudden—someone is trying to kill her! She contacts the detective that was assigned to the murder investigation; he’s retired now, and he is Corie Geller’s father.

All of the things that I love about Isaacs’s work are here in abundance. The story is full of feminist moxie—Geller isn’t an assistant to her father, but rather retired from the FBI in order to raise her stepdaughter—she is his partner in this new investigation, and as it happens, in the new detective agency they’ve begun. But another thing I’ve always loved about Isaacs’s prose is her trademark snark, and I snickered and chortled all the way through this engaging novel. The pages flew by, and I found myself looking for extra reading time when I could sneak off to plunge in once more. Susan Isaacs writes the most creative figurative language I’ve seen anywhere. She’s funny as hell.

You can read this book as a stand-alone, but I’ll tell you right now, once you read the second, you’ll want to read the first one, Takes One to Know One also.

Highly recommended, particularly to feminist boomers.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

What could be better for Isaac fans than Corrie Geller, a retired FBI agent, getting pulled into another investigation, this time joining "forces"with her retired police officer father, as they hunt for someone trying to kill someone with no apparent enemies?

No enemies? Join Corrie and her dad, as the two (ex) law enforcement pros turn back the pages of April Brown's'life to uncover how the beloved film professor managed to make a deadly enemy..

If you loved Takes One to Know One ,(Corrie Geller book 1) then reading this novel is a no-brainer, however, you can read this one first, although it is book 2, it is great as a standalone, which, I can almost guarantee will bring you right back so you can read the first one anyway,).

Until next time, remember, those who Iove their careers never REALLY retiree, they just take longer breaks. 😘

This is book 2 in the Corie Geller series and it’s a good story. Corie and her dad have been contacted by a woman , April who thinks someone is trying to kill her. April was a 5 year old when Corie’s dad investigated the murder and arson of her parents and home. April’s dad, Seymour Brown was an account for the Russian mob and thoughts were they kill both her parents. Now someone is after her. A fast moving story. Can be read as a stand alone

REVIEW:
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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This book was very, very slow, dragging and annoying. I read it for a week. It was when I got to 60% of the book that it got better. I loved the plot and I love cold cases, but this was not 'it' for me.
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I felt like Seymour Brown got what he deserved, he was a such an asshole. Towards the ending of the book, it felt like he was pitied and the characters all forgot about the bad things he'd done. Although the perp was also deserving of the scorn, I just wished Seymour hadn't been turned into a seemingly good person
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I loved the father- daughter duo of Dan and Corie. Both of them are not working for law enforcement agencies anymore, and they still got the skills. I'd wanted Dan's POV too. I loved the rest of their family too, Corie's husband, stepdaughter and her mom, they were such lively characters.
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I'd have loved this book if it had been faster and shorter.

Bad Bad Seymour Brown is the second book in the Corie Geller series by award-winning American author, Susan Isaacs. A little bored with being a literary scout, and still affected by PTSD from a nasty episode a year earlier, ex-FBI Special Agent Corie Geller is ready for something else. And when her dad, former NYPD cop, Dan Schottland gets a request for help from the only survivor of his most troubling cold case, she’s in.

Associate Professor of Cinema Studies at Rutgers University, April Brown has been targeted by someone in a dark SUV. Local police have done what they can, but are dismissive of April’s history. Over twenty years earlier, she survived, by climbing out the window, the deliberately-set housefire that killed her parents, Seymour and Kimberly Brown; a fire so intense that it completely obliterated their home, and almost every trace of the victims.

Seymour Brown was a CPA who laundered money for the Russian mob, and one theory was always that they took revenge because he hid their money too well. But April was five when the arson happened: what could the Russians, or anyone, want with her now?

Dan and Corie focus on Seymour Brown and the arson, meticulously going over every detail and interviewing everyone they can find with even the vaguest connection to the case, but particularly Seymour’s driver, his mistress and his business partner. That takes quite a bit of string-pulling and lateral thinking, and sometimes they need to use a proxy to get their information.

Particularly puzzling is the complete absence of any trace, any history, of Seymour before he qualified as a CPA. Just who was this mystery man? Whoever he was, he could be quite nasty at times so they can’t dismiss the idea that a disgruntled employee or an angry ex-girlfriend took action.

While there are some spoilers for the first book, this one can easily stand alone, and after Corie and Dan have been working together for a while, they decide to get their PI licences, so more of this likeable duo is probably in the pipeline. Isaacs gives the reader a few twists and red herrings in the lead up to an exciting climax. This is a very enjoyable cosy crime series.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Grove Atlantic.

In this follow-up to Takes One To Know One (2019), an ex–FBI agent and her retired cop father team up again to solve a homicide cold case.

Still suffering PTSD symptoms from the last FBI case she consulted on, Corie Geller has settled into a quiet post-pandemic life on Long Island as an “underemployed suburban wife and mother” with her husband, daughter, and her Queens-based parents, who moved into the guest suite during the initial lockdown. But when Corie’s father, former NYPD detective Dan Schottland, is contacted by April Brown, the sole survivor of a two-decades-old unsolved arson that killed her parents, Corie gets pulled into helping him investigate a potential murder attempt on April—someone driving a dark SUV tried to run down the film studies professor on the Rutgers University campus. Was the attack related to the murders of Seymour Brown, a brutal man who laundered money for the Russian mob, and his wife, Kim? More than 40 years ago Isaacs burst onto the publishing scene with the bestselling Compromising Positions, a comic mystery mocking suburban mores. Unfortunately, she breaks no new ground here; her dull storyline is slowed down by the constant observational digressions of the characters. Everyone talks, talks, talks, and they don’t always stick to the point, as in the conversation about Seymour’s memorial service, which devolves into a comparison of funeral rites among different ethnic and religious groups, much to Dan’s (and the reader’s) annoyance. While true to life, this doesn’t make for stimulating reading. Likewise, Isaacs’ noted snarky humor now feels stale. The action only picks up in the book’s final third, and by then the reader doesn’t much care.

Only for die-hard Isaacs fans, who will get the title’s Jim Croce reference.

I read the first book in the series and found it to be a ok read. That is my feeling about this book.
The pacing was very slow.
Overall, not a horrible read but not a favorite.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

How much do I love Susan Issacs? So much, and I am thrilled to say she did not disappoint. A riveting cold case
involving Cory Geller who is ex FBI and her retired police officer's father made for an amazing story. While the story did feel at times a bit dragged out there were plenty of funny moments intermingled with an alluring mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Issacs latest adventure of a suburbia housewife that just can't stop being a special agent. I highly recommend this robust mystery filled with quirky yet likable characters. Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy for my reading pleasure.

Corey Geller is an ex-FBI agent who now lives in the suburbs with her husband and daughter. The second book in the series picks up after Corey has recovered from the events of the first book and her parents moved in after the pandemic started. Her ex-cop dad gets a call from a April Jones, a victim of an old arson case tied to money laundering, and he decides to take on the new case of April's life seemingly being targeted and see if it has any ties to the old one. Part of the book covers April's past and investigates what her father's illegal activities were and the other part focuses on Corey and her dad's new private investigator partnership as the case unfolds. While told with the same humor and throwaway lines as the first book, this one felt a bit more bogged down by details and had a few confusing plot points. Overall, a good mystery for readers who like a bit of humor and seeing the process of private investigation.

When Corie Geller’s parents moved in with her family, she had no idea that she and her retired NYPD detective father would soon find themselves embroiled in one of his cold cases. Twenty odd years ago, Seymour Brown, an accountant by trade, but a money launderer for the Russian mob, and his young wife died in a house fire. The only survivor was their five year old daughter, April. April is all grown up now, a well respected professor with no known enemies. When an attempt is made on her life, she turns to Corie and her dad for help. Who would want April dead? Is there a connection to the devastating fire from so many years ago? Written around Hollywood’s golden age of film, this book had its moments, but was long and drawn out. It would have benefited with a bit more editing, making it a tighter read with a little more action and not quite so much dialogue. Thank you to Grove Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

In Bad, Bad Seymour Brown Susan Isaacs proves that she is still a master at crafting a humorous and compelling mystery. Former FBI agent Corie Geller returns as Isaac's central character. The plot revolves around Corie and her dad Dan, a retired police detective. They revisit an unsolved 15 year old case of Dan's that involved a horrible house fire that resulted in two deaths. Only the young daughter survived and she now fears for her life. Corie and Dan are likeable and smart. All of Isaac's characters are interesting and her sense of humor is what sets this story apart. Bad, Bad Seymour Brown is a definite page turner and a delightful read.

Bad, Bad Seymour Brown by Susan Isaacs is a highly recommended detective novel and the second novel in the Corrie Geller series.

Corie Geller, former FBI agent, and her father Daniel (Dan) Schottland, retired NYPD detective are living a quiet life until April Brown, a film professor, calls Dan. April was five-years-old when her parents were killed and she survived. The twenty-year-old case was never solved, so when April tells Dan about an attempt on her life, both he and Corie immediately start investigating. The overriding question is who would want April dead? She is well-liked and has no enemies, so is the attempt on her life related to the fire that killed her parents years earlier? They know that April’s father, Seymour, laundered money for the Russian mob.

The focus of the narrative is solving the mystery, but along the way there is plenty of clever dialogue intermixed with the action. Corie and her dad become PIs in this case, which may indicate future cases. There is humor in the plot and plenty of twists along the way. It does drag a bit and some editing might have been beneficial.

The investigation may be the reason for the novel, but the real focus is on the characters. They are all portrayed as fully realized, likeable individuals and the father/daughter duo work well together. This is an entertaining, humorous novel which can certainly be read as a stand-alone. 3.5 rounded up.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grove/Atlantic via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

Thank you to the author, Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book about Corie, an ex-FBI agent that is now happily married and freelances as a book talent scout. I liked the humorous self-deprecating voice of the heroine, but after the initial set-up the story seemed to lose its impetus and get bogged down. The titular character of Seymour Brown was more of a peripheral character, and the main story focussed on Corie and her father, who are working together to look into a long-ago case that seems to have connections in happenings in the present day. Overall, the story was dialogue-heavy and the characters were all rather bloodless - the relationships didn't really come through as believable - and the big twist and reveal were rather foreseeable. Overall, an okay read, but also not at all memorable.

Many years ago, Susan Isaacs was one of my favorite authors. Although, to be honest, I thought she could ruin her books by jumping out of tone, by suddenly going dark or comic when the reader wasn’t ready for that transition. Whether I would feel similarly now, I don’t know. Perhaps I’ve become more tolerant or more flexible as a reader. I thought this might be a funny, lighthearted comedy with some underlying pathos. BAD, BAD SEYMOUR BROWN is a mystery, the second in a series with a SAHM, post pandemic, living in suburbia, isolated and looking for something to do. She finds it as a co-investigator with her retired Boomer father in one of his former cold cases. Isaacs can still write a funny scene but she isn’t that persuasive as the Voice of a Millenial protagonist. And this not quite cozy mystery didn’t hold my attention enough to keep me engaged with the mystery or the characters. Maybe the next will be better. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.