Have you ever read a book in which you just didn't connect with all the characters, but still found the book entertaining? I enjoyed reading this book, it was a light mystery, very funny, which I was in the mood for. But I just couldn't feel like I was reading about a real person. Perhaps there are people like the main characters, but her voice felt so different from my experience that it didn't seem realistic to me.
The main character, the first person narrative voice, is a 28-yr old woman who lives with her parents and has worked for them in their PI business since she was 12. Because she doesn't feel she can get away from her parents she does all sorts of destructive things instead. As a teenager she was every kind of trouble and as an adult she doesn't pass out on the lawn anymore, but she still acts like she is 13 in a lot of ways.
It is funny, as long as I just read the book, and didn't think about her much, it was an enjoyable read. But now as I sit here and think about the family and how they worked together it is sad. Rather than get out and work out whether she wants to be a part of the family business, the main character sneaks out of windows and lies. There are more books in this series and I don't think I could stand to read them unless she starts to grow up a bit. ( )

This book had a lot of humor and reminded me of the Stephanie Plum series. BUT, I could never quite warm up to such a dysfunctional family. If I knew these people in real life, I would run as far away as I could and hope they didn't tail me. ( )

Isabel Spellman, now in her twenties, recounts her life with P.I. parents and working for the family business. Her older lawyer brother David seems perfect, at least in comparison to Izzy, who was a bit of a wild child and only recently straightened out. Her younger sister, Rae, loves spying, has a knack for extortion, and steals sweets whenever possible. The other Spellmans are as delightfully quirky, in this tale of how Isabel works towards independence and tries to crack a 10-year-old missing persons case.

I read this with the twofold purpose of reading an Alex Award winner and broadening my reading in the mystery genre. The characters were wonderfully odd, but for some reason the story didn't hit me right. It had its moments of making me laugh out loud, but for the most part it was a breezy read that never quite held my interest. Now that I'm familiar with the style and know what to expect, I may try the sequel. ( )

I picked up this book at the library after recommendation in a book forum. I had a long list of authors that were recommended, and Lisa Lutz ended up being one of the only ones that was actually at my library - but I'm glad! I read this book in about a day (largely due to the fact that I work at a job that allows me to read sometimes), but even when I came home after my work shift I sat down to finish it because I loved the characters and the plot.

At first I was confused with the layout, because there are many different stories going on at once. Once I got a grip on the changes, I made sure I read the chapter titles (which I find I don't normally do), and I was then able to keep track of the story.

I have been reading quite a few mysteries lately (I'm going to review some today, you'll see what I mean) - and sometimes I have trouble keeping track of all of the characters or figure out the mystery too fast. The Spellman Files was an excellent book to get me back into mysteries and raise my faith in the genre. I loved all of the characters, laughed out loud a few times, and immediately started reading Curse of the Spellmans (book number 2). I am already sad that I don't have book 3, but am hoping it will be at the library the next time I stop in. ( )

clever book about a family of investigators who create havoc with themselves as the girls rae and izzy grow up learning how to tail people and pick locks. Good but not a book I could recommend to everyone. It's a fun read. ( )