Like most of Isaacs's novels, Magic Hour draws from more than one genre.

The mystery plot seems a natural forte for this author, but she almost always integrates another major plot strand and theme beyond the usual one of bringing a criminal to justice. The fact that her books are published as "mainstream," and more often than not make the best-seller list, testifies to the success of this approach in her hands.

The novel's debt to the mystery genre is obvious. An equally strong connection, although probably less overt, is to the romantic suspense genre. Like the protagonists of gothic novels from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847; see separate entry) on, Steve has to deal with attraction to a possibly dangerous potential lover. Another classic of romantic suspense, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1938; see separate entry), features the post-death revelation of character, like that of Sy Spencer in...