Takes One to Know One

Written by Susan Isaacs

Narrated by Mia Barron

Just a few years ago, Corie Geller was busting terrorists as an agent for the FBI. But at thirty-five, she traded in her badge for the stability of marriage and motherhood. Now Corie is married to the brilliant and remarkably handsome Judge Josh Geller and is the adoptive mother of his lovely 14-year-old daughter. Between cooking meals and playing chauffeur, Corie scouts Arabic fiction for a few literary agencies and, on Wednesdays, has lunch with her fellow Shorehaven freelancers at a so-so French restaurant. Life is, as they say, fine. But at her weekly lunches, Corie senses that something's off. Pete Delaney, a milquetoast package designer, always shows up early, sits in the same spot (often with a different phone in hand), and keeps one eye on the Jeep he parks in the lot across the street. Corie intuitively feels that Pete is hiding something?and as someone who is accustomed to keeping her FBI past from her new neighbors, she should know. But does Pete really have a shady alternate life, or is Corie just imagining things, desperate to add some spark to her humdrum suburban existence? She decides that the only way to find out is to dust off her FBI toolkit and take a deep dive into Pete Delaney's affairs. Always sassy, smart, and wickedly witty, Susan Isaacs is at her formidable best in a novel that is both bitingly wry and ominously thrilling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781980057666

Susan Isaacs

Susan Isaacs is the bestselling author of eleven novels, two screenplays, and one work of nonfiction. She lives on Long Island.

Reviews for Takes One to Know One

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I heard Susan Isaacs speak in St. Petersburg shortly after the 2019 publication of “Takes One to Know One,” and I remember her saying that she was nearly finished writing it before she realized her main character was all wrong. After she found the right character, she rewrote her novel with ease, she said. The result is another entertaining gem of a crime novel.Yet now I wonder why Isaacs had trouble discovering her main character when Corie is so much like many of the author's other central characters. She too, just as Isaacs herself was before writing “Compromising Positions,” her first novel, is a bored housewife looking for a little adventure. She had been an FBI agent before she married a prominent (and wealthy) judge with a teenage daughter. She still does occasional work for the FBI, but mostly she works as a scout for literary agencies, trying to identify recent Arabic fiction that might be worth translating into English. The protagonist in “Past Perfect” formerly worked for the CIA, so again Corie is not exactly an original. And like other Isaacs main characters, she is spunky, witty and Jewish.Corie meets regularly for lunch with a small group of people who operate solo businesses from their homes, but one of them, a man named Pete Delaney, seems a little too much like her. That is, she is hiding the fact that she formerly worked for the FBI, but what is Pete hiding? Was he formerly in law enforcement, or is he hiding something more sinister?It is the latter, of course, and if the main character doesn't seem that original, the plot certainly is. Isaacs confidently builds up the tension as Corie tries to probe Pete's secrets, often aided by her father, a retired cop. Things really get interesting when Pete himself begins to notice that Corie seems a little too much like him. It really does take one to know one.

[shelleyraec · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was excited by the premise of Susan Isaacs Takes One To Know One and I’d really been looking forward to it reaching the top of my pile.“Just a few years ago, Corie Geller was busting terrorists as an agent for the FBI. But at thirty-five, she traded in her badge for the stability of marriage and motherhood. Now Corie is married to the brilliant and remarkably handsome Judge Josh Geller and is the adoptive mother of his lovely 14-year-old daughter. Between cooking meals and playing chauffeur, Corie scouts Arabic fiction for a few literary agencies and, on Wednesdays, has lunch with her fellow Shorehaven freelancers at a so-so French restaurant. Life is, as they say, fine.But at her weekly lunches, Corie senses that something's off. Pete Delaney, a milquetoast package designer, always shows up early, sits in the same spot (often with a different phone in hand), and keeps one eye on the Jeep he parks in the lot across the street. Corie intuitively feels that Pete is hiding something--and as someone who is accustomed to keeping her FBI past from her new neighbors, she should know. But does Pete really have a shady alternate life, or is Corie just imagining things, desperate to add some spark to her humdrum suburban existence? She decides that the only way to find out is to dust off her FBI toolkit and take a deep dive into Pete Delaney's affairs.”So when I was considering giving up on it, just a little more than a quarter of the way through, I opted instead to put it aside for twenty four hours, and then try again. Honestly I picked it back up reluctantly and I have to admit the next quarter or so was still a slog, then at about the halfway point, the pace picked up and I suddenly couldn’t put it down.I’m not exactly sure why I found the first half of Takes One To Know One so laborious. Told through Corie Geller’s first person perspective, the narrative felt, at times, closer to a stream of consciousness, bogged down in the details of Corie’s life. To be fair I think the poor formatting of the e-arc may have contributed to that impression, as there is no spacing between paragraphs, or even chapters, resulting in an uncomfortable run-on effect. That I didn’t really warm to Corie’s angst regarding the changes her marriage had wrought, probably didn’t help either.For me the story finally got interesting when Corie began seriously investigating Pete Delaney and the narrative became more interactive (if that makes sense). As Corie considers and discards potential criminal scenarios that Pete Delaney could be involved in, she calls on ex colleagues for information, uses her best friend, Wynne, as a sounding board, and involves her dad, a retired police detective, in her investigation. It all eventually leads to a tense confrontation that I found unexpectedly thrilling.I’m not sure that I can say the last half of the book was enough to redeem Takes One To Know One for me, but it’s entirely possible that you may not find the first half as problematic as I did, it may be worth a try if the premise appeals.

[cats57_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was the loooonnnggggest 288 pages (or so I've been led to believe)I have ever read. I see so many reviewers loved this book, and I wonder if we had read the same one or if my tastes are just so radically different/bland/boring. I thought I would never finish this book. It slogged along until I wanted to scream. I am led to believe that this is book one of a new series (I am not positive though) so I can see why we needed so much back story, angst, repetitiveness, and the building of Corie's life (boring), letting us know she is a bored housewife now and did I say repetitive? I MAY try the next book if there is such a thing because hopefully, the next book will not concentrate on chapters that go absolutely nowhere. The next edition will, probably, not have the minutiae that this one did. And we get the fact that Corie is now rich, Corie's husband is handsome, her best friend has good taste and that Ms. Issacs knows how to over-use the word 'narrative'.It takes 3/4 of this book before anything actually happens -yes, some things happened during the story, but nothing that will keep you on the edge of your seat; if you know what I mean.*ARC supplied by the publisher.

[susan0316 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I haven't read a Susan Isaacs book in years and after reading her new book, I realized what I had missed and ordered some of her earlier books. This is suspense book with a twist -- it is presented with a lot of sarcasm and humor, which I just love from a main character. I thought it was a fun book to read as well as having a very suspenseful plot.I liked the main character of Corie -- she was humorous and sarcastic along with being very detailed in her investigation. I thought it was very interesting the way that she worked to get information - from neighbors, group members and others and then traced her information to the next level. I must admit that the book bogged down for me during some of her investigation - there was simply too much detail and too many conversations that went on for too long. I think that the investigation part of the novel (the middle third) could have been greatly condensed and it would have made this a better book. The last third of the book makes up for it and it's full of action with a lot of twists and turns. I enjoyed Corie and the adventure that she went on. I'd like to read another book about her and her FBI investigations.Thanks to Bookish Firsts for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

[dianaleez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Susan Issacs' books are a breath of fresh air - they’re light and clever and witty. Her newest, ‘Takes One to Know One’ is no exception. It’s an enjoyable read populated by likable characters and a simple, but, enjoyable, plot.Corie Geller has struck it lucky - at thirty-seven she’s semi-retired from the FBI for an enviable life in the burbs. Then she begins to feel that there’s ‘something just not quite right’ about one of the people in her luncheon group. Is Corie bored, restive in her new perfect yet slightly boring life? Or does it take one to know one?Issacs’ books are an easy read. Her prose is straightforward and often witty. There’s enough plot complexity to satisfy and elements that do provide surprise, yet it’s a comfortable read.Unfortunately, her characters are a bit entitled - affluent, attractive, a bit self-involved. And the book reads suspiciously like it may be the first in a series. I like Corie and I’d buy the next book but I’m hoping for a bit more oomph.[A reviewer's copy was provided by the publisher.]

[loried_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read all of Susan Isaacs's novels since Compromising Positions, and I'm a big fan. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of her latest. As always, Isaacs created wonderful characters and an interesting premise. I loved the main character's sarcasm and her observations of suburban life. Her background as a former FBI agent might be making her unnecessarily suspicious of an acquaintance, but I found myself thinking she was in a perfect position to be an undercover agent no one would suspect if he turned out to be a criminal. The author opted to give professional credentials to the character this time, rather than her more usual "housewife turned detective". In some ways, the housewife-detective is more entertaining, but I found the way the investigation evolved in this book very interesting.I would be happy to read a sequel to this book to learn more about what Corie chooses to do with her life both professionally and personally after the events of the book. I highly recommend this book.