Rating: 
Summary: ROMANCE + THRILLER + HISTORY = GREAT READ
Review: "If the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam had come together for a one-night stand," their rangy, blue-eyed boy would have been Charlie Blair, Special Agent, FBI. Petite, inquisitive Lauren Miller is "the child Anne Hutchinson and George Washington never had." Do the twain ever meet in Susan Isaacs always fresh, sometimes frightening eighth novel, Red, White And Blue? You bet. But first we're introduced to the great-great-grandmother they share: A century ago 15-year-old Dora trembled by the rail of an immigrant laden vessel nudging New York Harbor. She was pregnant and unwed. Therefore, when fellow passenger, winemaker Herschel Blaustein, proposed marriage, Dora uttered her first word of English: yes. They were a mismatched, unhappy pair. He yearned to return to Cracow; she searched crowded streets for the face of her former lover. And, Jake, their early-arriving firstborn is a bit of a crank, perhaps due to the fact that "Dora had never actually exhibited any behavior that might be construed as mother love." Ruthie, their second child, with two top front teeth so crooked that they practically made an X was sanguine, believing in romance. As a young man, what glib, handsome Jake lacked in formal education he made up for in legerdemain, raking in jackpot after poker jackpot. Inevitably, he was caught cheating and forced to leap from a moving train smack into frigid Wyoming. Had it not been for the warmth of Queenie Smith's bed and body, Jake would have become a tall ice cube. He changed his name from Blaustein to Blair, remained with Queenie, and sired four children. Willie, their eldest, had dreams. He didn't want to be like his father who couldn't do anything a man was supposed to do - split a log, ride, or shoot. Willie yearned to own a ranch. Fortunately for the cash poor young man along came Lois, heiress to the Circle B. They produced Charles Bryant Blair who, in the fullness of time, fathered our hero, Charlie Blair. In parallel begettings, Ruthie married a brutish ne'er-do-well. She named their daughter Sally Ann because "It was the most American name Ruthie could think of for a child who, she knew, was going to be in need of a land of opportunity." Marty Freund was the man Sally Ann married. Their progeny included Barbara, a dependable girl, prone to considering her place in the universe. She wondered if there was any place for her "from sea to shining sea." During a Catskills singles weekend Barbara found her niche when she met history teacher Jed Miller. Their daughter, Lauren Miller, has her father's red hair, the black eyes of her great-great-grandmother Dora, and a favorite question - why? Lauren became a reporter, presently employed by the New York based Jewish News. Hearing of a video store bombing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, supposedly a hate crime perpetrated by a group called Wrath, Lauren is convinced that this story is her ticket to fame. She heads West. Suspecting that their Wrath informant is double-dealing, the FBI needs an undercover agent to infiltrate the brace of bigots. Divorced, dissatisfied with his status quo, and willing, Charlie is dispatched to Wyoming. At this point the novel's pace accelerates, spinning into a gripping, rapid-fire thriller. Especially noteworthy is the author's ability to mime the prurient invective spouted by white supremacist groups - one shudders. Working as a garage mechanic, Charlie ingratiates himself with Wrath's leader, Vernon Ostergard - "Not an obvious nutcase, but a guy who had no interests beyond his own bigotry." In the process of winning the degenerate leader's confidence, Charlie alienates Ostergard's general, Kyle McIntyre, a psychopathic killer, and one of the slimiest characters to slither across a page. Lauren asks too many questions, and is stalked by Ostergard's lieutenant, Gus Lang, "A bully, a man who liked to crush things." Nonetheless, Charlie and Lauren have found each other. They're in love and in danger, as they pit themselves against unspeakable evil. A bit like a virtuoso's solo recital, Red, White And Blue gives Ms. Isaacs an opportunity to display her many faceted talent. And, she gives a bravura performance in offering a story which is at once a moving exploration of what it means to be an American, an expose of mankind's darker side, and a touching romance.
Rating: 
Summary: FBI v the rednecks!
Review: Charlie Blair is a very bored FBI agent who is separated from his wife and is contemplating leaving the Service until he is assigned the job of infiltrating a paramilitary group in his old home town. Lauren Miller is a bright young reporter from a Jewish newspaper in New York, who is determined to make her mark by scooping a really big story.The two meet while Charlie is undercover, posing as a mechanic and a new recruit to the "Free America Cadre", a group which fire bombed a video store owned by a Jew and also a house,owned by movie director with a Jewish sounding name. The first section of the story delves into the backgrounds of Charlie and Lauren who are both descendants of Jewish immigrants and who are, unknowingly,distant cousins.Lauren is strangely drawn to this supposed racist, terrorist mechanic while loathing his connection to the group and an interesting story begins to form while they both, in their own ways, try to uncover the criminal activities within the group, to destroy it.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I am a fan of Susan Isaacs & have read all of her previous books, & loved them all, especially 'after all these years' & 'magic hour'. Unfortunately, this book was a big disappointment for me, although the first part was quite good. What I didn't like is the part where Charly & Lauren get together- so much time had been spent on past generations information, that the main characters were very superficially drawn. I still look forward to S. Isaac's next book, & I hope it's better.
Rating: 
Summary: The only reason I finished it was that Susan Isaacs wrote it
Review: I really had to force myself to finish this book. I am a big fan of Susan Isaacs, and have read every one of her books, but this one left me cold. When I had only 50 pages left, I still almost put it down. I understand the reasoning behind the two parts of the book, but if what Ms. Isaacs was trying to do was help us understand the main characters, Charlie and Lauren, then how come I did not feel that I really knew Lauren at all? She was not a well-drawn character - the way that her mother, grandmother, etc. were portrayed. I also was pretty surprised that they hopped into bed so quickly - that was really a letdown - without any real tension buildup. I don't really think that the two parts of the book flowed well together. why spend so much time with the prior characterizations, when the main characters are total unknowns? This didn't make any sense to me. Well, keep trying, Susan.
Rating: 
Summary: Forced myself to keep reading until the end
Review: I should have known when I realized the book they were reviewing on the back cover as wonderful was her Lily White and not this one. I have read a few of her books which I enjoyed but this one put me to sleep. I could not keep track of who was who and tie it in to the second half of the story. I was glad to finally get it done. It all was very predictable at the finish.
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Summary: So many miss the point
Review: I'm disappointed not in the novel, but in seeing how horribly so many of the Isaacs fans before me have missed the point of this latest work. Red, White, and Blue begins as a tapestry of brightly woven character vignettes where the journey takes precedence over the destination, and ends with the assertion that American patriotism is something that develops not through espousing a political agenda but through generations of living and striving to make a life for oneself in this country. I don't find it at all troubling that these characters descend from the same semi-reluctant immigrant woman, or that we know this at the outset while they do not. This bit of irony only underscores the novel's message about being American. It matters less how we identify ourselves (urban Jew, traditional western rancher) than how our history and shared cultural experiences through generations shape who we are at the core. As Americans so few of us have any grasp of our heritage going back more than a few decades, and what we do know is merely the product of what someone dared to speak aloud to the younger generation. Although we may not understand the actions or motivations of our ancestors on a conscious level, this knowledge imbues itself in our approach to the world around us and our response to adversities we face. Isaacs throws geographic, ideological, and religious barricades in front of the protagonists, setting them on opposite sides of the country and sociocultural spectrum, then sets about demonstrating all that they share without a heavy-handed shared genetic material revelation. For this, I thank her. I thank her also for shaping once again a novel of grand proportions that doesn't sacrifice the humanity of minor characters along the way.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I'm surprised this book didn't get more positive reviews. It was another excellent read by Susan Isaacs. I actually loved the generational background of both characters. What I find most pleasing about all her books is that her female characters are real women, with real emotions. Most male authors, Jonathan Kellerman, Stephen White, Leonard Goldberg, etc., have female characters that actually make me angry. (I still love their books however, even though all of their females are on the border of being witches to live with.) Why is it that so many male authors see women in this light? It's truly refreshing to read Ms. Isaacs books and have likeable female characters. She's a truly wonderful author to read and I'm always anxious to get her next book. The Jewish flavor and history in her novels is so delightful...I simply love it.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I'm surprised this book didn't get more positive reviews. It was another excellent read by Susan Isaacs. I actually loved the generational background of both characters. What I find most pleasing about all her books is that her female characters are real women, with real emotions. Most male authors, Jonathan Kellerman, Stephen White, Leonard Goldberg, etc., have female characters that actually make me angry. (I still love their books however, even though all of their females are on the border of being witches to live with.) Why is it that so many male authors see women in this light? It's truly refreshing to read Ms. Isaacs books and have likeable female characters. She's a truly wonderful author to read and I'm always anxious to get her next book. The Jewish flavor and history in her novels is so delightful...I simply love it.
Rating:
Summary: not up to snuff
Review: I've thoroughly enjoyed Susan Isaacs' previous novels which are marked by sharp and sometimes caustic wit, spunky and sympathetic protagonists and engaging plot lines. This one just doesn't compare. If this is your first encounter with Ms. Isaacs' work, I'd urge you to give her another shot.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Americans
Review: Since this is the first book I've read by this author, I can't compare it to her other work. I found it to be somewhat superficial, but still interesting. What I got from the book is that you can't tell who is a real American by looking at the color of their skin, where they born, or who their parents were. The Wrath group headed by Vern Ostergard seems to want to save America for the Americans, but who is that? Being an American is loving our freedom, not abusing it, knowing that each of us has a talent and something to give no matter who we are or where we came from. The first part of the book with the history of the immigrants and the Native American pointed like an arrow for me to the conflict of the racist group. In the end, the real Americans are people like the character Charlie who is willing to risk his life for our country and Lauren who bravely confronts the task of reporting on this situation to protect our freedoms through the freedom of the press. While this isn't the greatest quality novel that one can read, it is interesting and thought provoking enough to spend some time with "Red, White & Blue." Enjoy!
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