I finished this book up this morning on my bus ride into work. It took me five days to finish this, which is a little long for me. That could be an indicator of how well I liked this book. This is a difficult review for me because I did like the story overall, just some parts were a little much.The book was a fun read, just not a real page-turner. It wasn't calling to me to continue reading and forget about doing the laundry like some of the other books I have read in the past.The story was written from first person point of view and I do enjoy that style of writing. I think it allows the reader to feel closer to the characters; you experience their thoughts and feelings as if you were the character yourself. The protagonist in this story, Rosie, was very funny and witty. Her attitude and smartass comments had me smiling and laughing at times. The problem was that some of her actions were so stupid! She actually slept with one of her old students, a friend of her sons? Really? And that she would actually be successful at getting away from the police and going on the run was a little too optimistic in my opinion. The story started to drag a bit in the middle and the conclusion was a bit confusing. I mean, how many different people were sleeping with their friends' spouses? It was hard to keep track! Maybe that is how it is for the nouveau riche and I just don't get it. If that is the case, I am content to stay down here in the middle class where I am happy and actually love my husband!All that being said, I did like this book, I just didn't REALLY like it. I think if you go into it without high expectations and the understanding that this isn't a literary classic, that it is a fun read meant to simply be entertaining and amusing, then you will be fine.
After All These Years is one of my favorite Susan Isaacs books, a wonderfully witty and entertaining murder mystery. Rosie Meyers is in the middle of a messy divorce, which gets suddenly messier when she goes down to her kitchen for a midnight snack and finds her husband Richie dead on the floor with a knife in his chest. Unfortunately for Rosie, she's the prime suspect. Since she knows she didn't do it, she goes on the lam, investigating Richie's life and tracking down the real murderer. Whodunnit isn't too hard to figure out, but who cares? Rosie is a wonderfully funny, feisty heroine, and Isaacs's narrative and dialogue are particularly witty; her gift for a hilarious turn of phrase is evident on every page (Richie's jaw "wasn't so much chiseled from granite anymore as sculpted from mashed potatoes"). It's great fun from beginning to end.
What do You think about After All These Years (2008)?
Rosie Myers is an English teacher who is pushing 50. Her husband built a new company that did quite well and Rosie is living in a mansion. Her husband found himself a much younger mistress and he and Rosie are in the final stages of divorce when he is found "en brochette" on her kitchen floor with a carving knife stuck in his chest. She has a group of friends who surround her. One a self-styled poet writes her a poem: "Alone In the kind-sized cosmos of The Posturepedic Why?"Rosie is about to be charged with her husband's murder, but she goes on the lam (while quoting famous authors) to find the real killer. I had the murder figured out about half way through the book, but English teachers and English majors will find it pretty amusing.
—Mlg
Whatever shortcomings there are in the plotting, and I confess I must not know enough about the lives of the very rich in NYC and Long Island to spot such shortcomings, they're more than made up for by the sparkling, hilarious dialogue and the vibrantly colorful characters. Even bland, boring Carter Tillotson is somehow made memorable. Susan Isaacs shines at character development and scene-setting; I could very easily picture all the places and things she described.She's really no slouch at mystery-plotting either. At least, I didn't figure out who the killer was before it was finally revealed.Rosie is a smart, resourceful heroine, but not in a Mary-Sue kind of way. She makes dumb mistakes, gets in tight spots and sometimes thinks of just giving up and turning herself in. She may have softened some due to her years of luxury, but the working-class Brooklyn girl is still there, and Rosie is very likable and keeps you firmly on her side.
—Aimee
Only read this book b/c it's on my LOST list, and it wasn't that great. I thought there were several plot holes that you could drive a truck through and it just didn't strike me as all that believable of a story, even in a pre internet pre cell phone world. Not very suspenseful or interesting as far as murder mysteries go. Which is just as well considering its minimal LOST relevancy. This book was seen in The Swan station near Sawyer's bed while he is recovering from injuries. Most think it was just innocuously placed there, which is probably the case (a rarity for the LOST books) but two interesting possible ties to Kate are 1) the fact that both her and the main character in this book Rosie, were on the run from the cops, and more interestingly 2) both reunite with childhood boyfriends named Tom. Anyway, I haven't read anything else by Mrs. Isaacs and this did nothing to sway me in that direction.
—Aaron Marvel
