Past Perfect

AUTHOR: Susan Isaacs

PUBLISHED: 2007

GENRE: Thriller

This is the first of my attempts to find an author I haven’t read but that has a large bibliography and try that author out.  Susan Isaacs is apparently pretty big in her genre, so I picked the title that was also a verb tense and read away.

Katie Schottland is lead writer for a CSI-esque procedural show that’s panned by the critics but popular with the masses.  She’s living a quiet and well-to-do life with her husband and ten-year-old when an old friend from the past calls, claiming she’s got information of natural importance.  You see, Katie used to work for the CIA.  And this caller knows why Katie was unceremoniously thrown out on her behind 15 years ago.  BUM-BUM-BUM!

Except Katie wasn’t a secret agent, she rewrote reports.  And she only worked for the CIA for a year.  And her connection to anything of any interest is so tenuous, she might have well worked at the local corporate park.  Also, for someone who supposedly dealt with state secrets, she’s extraordinarily jumpy.  It’s like a really, really, really mild episode of Burn Notice.

The web Isaacs has to weave to draw Katie into danger is far-fetched and thin.  She tries to make up for it with ridiculous amounts of detail and silly situations.  In one instance, Isaacs devotes multiple paragraphs to Katie feeling woozy and disoriented during a meeting with a possible bad guy.  And what’s that?  The bad guy didn’t drink the water!  And Katie did!  She’s been poisoned!  Except not.  She has heat stroke. (After 45 minutes.  Even I don’t get heat stroke that quickly.) 

It’s a lot of pseudo-excitement for not a lot of payoff.  Issacs’ writing style is fun, and her dialogue is snappy, so I’d try something else by her.  But I’ve got a lot else to read before then.

PAGES: 337 pages.  And it probably could have been about 100 pages shorter.

MAINSTREAM OR NOT: Yes.

SO, SHOULD I READ IT OR NOT: I wouldn't completely disregard Isaacs, but skip this one.