Showing posts with label Lisa Lutz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lisa Lutz. Show all posts

Monday, September 7, 2009

REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS by Lisa Lutz

REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS
by Lisa Lutz
Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 9781416593386
$25.00
www.simonandschuster.com

Private investigator Isabel Spellman quit her job with her family’s detective business and is working part-time as a bartender at her friend Milo’s bar while trying to decide what to do next. She’s also been through one block of court-ordered therapy and has been passed by that therapist on to another. Milo persuades Isabel to take on a relatively simple case for one of his friends, whose wife is acting mysterious and bringing home expensive items. Meanwhile, Isabel’s brother David returns from a secret trip and stops going to work. Isabel finds out David has a secret apartment in his basement so moves in without his permission. Isabel’s sister Rae’s been accused of cheating on the PSATs and has finally made Detective Henry Stone angry enough he is no longer speaking to her. Isabel can’t sleep in her new home due to her fear of being found by David, so takes naps on buses. She tails the wife, only to be tailed herself. If that isn’t bad enough, her car keeps disappearing. And her feelings for Henry Stone just can’t stay put.

Once more Lisa Lutz provides readers with a fun-filled whodunit which is more about the wacky Spellman family than the actual mystery, but readers won’t mind one bit. The Spellmans are a fascinating, dysfunctional family with individual quirks and laugh-out-loud personas. A definite must-read for those who enjoy a good dose of humor along with a good book.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS

CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS
by Lisa Lutz
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
ISBN: 9781416532415
Hardback, 410 pages, $25.00
Genre: Mystery

Izzy Spellman works for her parents’ private investigative service, where family members are acting strangely. Izzy’s brother, David, a lawyer, has resorted to staying home, watching TV in his pajamas and eating junk food. Her father, Albert, is sneaking out of the house at all hours, returning with wet hair, while her mom, Olivia, is sneaking out of the house in early-morning hours and wreaking havoc on a motorbike. Her sister, Rae, runs over SFPD Inspector Henry Stone, her one and only friend. When a good-looking man moves in next door to her parents, Izzy intends to make him ex-boyfriend number 11. The two begin dating, but Izzy is intrigued by the man’s common name, John Brown, and that he keeps a room in his apartment locked. Izzy decides to investigate Brown and becomes suspicious that she can’t find out any real information concerning him. She manages to convince herself he’s up to no good and begins following him and breaking into his apartment, which lands her in jail four different times, although she claims two don’t count.

The Spellmans are a hoot, and although this is considered a mystery, it’s actually more about the characters and their interactions. This is a fast read, with short chapters, written from Izzy’s point of view. The Stone and Spellman Show Episodes are hilarious and the footnotes are ingenious, as is the Appendix. A refreshing take on the mystery genre, and a book guaranteed to bring plenty of laughs.