Bad, Bad Seymour Brown

When a black SUV jumps the curb and barrels toward Rutgers professor April Brown, it looks like a random near-miss—until April calls the retired NYPD detective who handled her parents’ murder decades ago. His daughter, former FBI agent Corie Geller, joins him, and together they drag a cold case out of the ashes: the arson that killed notorious money-laundering CPA Seymour Brown and supposedly killed his wife, Kim. As Corie and her father sift old files, knock on new doors, and lean on a few gutsy civilians, the past starts breathing again. A girlfriend resurfaces, a meek chauffeur can’t hide his history, and a lone piece of jewelry says more than the flames ever did. When April’s quiet life is jolted a second time—this time by a precise attempt to steal her identity—Corie has to move fast. Bad, Bad Seymour Brown is a funny, humane, and tense mystery about greed and reinvention, family bonds that are real and bonds that are pretended, and what gets passed down when a parent decides to vanish. The case burns hottest when Corie learns the old fire didn’t kill who everyone thought it did. It flushed out a killer—and she’s been waiting.

• Fans of character-driven mysteries who like humor, family warmth, and real stakes
• Listeners who enjoy modern crime stories with savvy female leads and sharp dialogue
• Anyone curious about how money laundering actually works—told simply, without jargon

Susan Isaacs is the New York Times bestselling author of witty, sharply observed mysteries and thrillers including Compromising Positions and Takes One to Know One. A former magazine editor and political speechwriter, she’s known for putting smart, big-hearted women at the center of twisty crimes, blending humor, insight, and momentum. She lives on Long Island, where she keeps an eye on art, politics, and crime—fictional and otherwise.