“In 1940, when I was thirty-one and an old maid, while the world waited for war, I fell in love with John Berringer.” Every night Linda Voss covers her typewriter, says goodnight to the other secretaries and takes the subway from Wall Street to her home in Queens, where she has dreams about her boss, the extravagantly handsome, brilliant and altogether unattainable John Berringer. But she is a realist and knows that her reveries of bliss in Mr. Berringer’s arms are simply consoling fantasies. And yet four years later, Linda Voss Berringer no longer needs dreams to comfort her; this ordinary working girl emerges triumphant from the ruins of the second world war as a woman of valor, a genuine hero. Linda’s story involves passion, when a blazing affair with John Berringer leads to pregnancy and a gentlemanly offer of marriage; then betrayal, as their marriage is rocked by John’s faithlessness; and finally intrigue, both the polite variety of Wall Street wives and a more deadly kind when Linda joins the war effort as a spy. The master of her own fate in a world out of control, Linda penetrates the heart of Nazi terror and carries out one of the war’s most deadly missions. Like a blazing rocket, the novel ends in an explosion of danger, action and unexpected romance.
>> Susan’s inspiration for Shining Through.
One of those immensely readable stories that keeps the pages turning- never mind eating, sleeping or other unnecessary rudiments of daily routine…. Told with warmth, humor and a sure sense of drama, Shining Through is a thoroughly engaging book.”— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Isaacs the master storyteller shifts into high gear and virtually hurls us out of our seats, mingling scenes of breathtaking suspense and vivid evocations of wartime…. Reckless, wisecracking Linda Voss may just be one of our most memorable fictional citizens.”— Newsday
Clever, witty and thoroughly charming.”— The Detroit Free Press
I can’t think when I liked a ficitonal character as much as I liked Linda Voss in Shining Through…. In an era of neurotic characters and distasteful situations, this is a feel-good novel. Susan Isaacs has created people who are comprehensible and likable…. We do have a well-written and entertaining story about a nice woman. She’ll come shining through for you.”— Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Extravagant…. As witty as she ever was, but her imagination has gotten wilder, and the story she tells is bigger.”— Cosmopolitan
A down-to-earth Cinderella story that is a totally captivating and unexpected blend of action, adventure, romantic fiction and spy thriller…. Keeps readers hooked from the first page to the last…. The wonderfully wrought characterization of Linda Voss shines throughout this novel. Isaacs has hit her stride.”— Chicago Sun-Times News
Laced with heartbreak, drama and thrills… Marvelously readable…_ Shining Through_ is a dandy book, with a smile, a tug at the heartstrings and an insight on every page. But this reader is left with a longing? Where is Linda Voss… when we need her most?”— The Philadelphia Inquirer
Susan Isaacs can sure kick-start a novel…. A witty, literate soap opera with some nifty derring-do… A feisty heroine, a reluctant lover, the girl you love to hate and an intriguing older man playing out their personal dramas as the world goes to war.”— New York Daily News
Sizzling… Shining Through explodes more than one myth about being as American as apple pie.”— Los Angeles Times