Trail of the Spellmans

If you're in the mood for a deftly written comic novel, you can't do much better than the Spellman series by Lisa Lutz. Her hilariously cockeyed view of modern family life is extremely entertaining, and if you're inclined to look hard enough you can even discern some wry wisdom buried in the rapid-fire, wisecracking exchanges between Izzy Spellman, the main protagonist, and her endearingly quirky friends and relations. (It's not required, though. You can just go ahead and laugh out loud for the hell of it.)

I remember when I first started this series. As soon as I read the first novel, I was hooked. The Spellmans were just so hilariously dysfunctional and I loved them all. It was really fun reading about Izzy and I wanted to watch her grow into a mature adult. By the end of the fourth book, she had reached a good place and it seemed like she had settled into her new life. I had mixed feelings when I found out there would be a fifth novel since I thought the fourth book ended perfectly.

This book definitely still has those laugh out loud moments that Lutz is famous for. Izzy is still as insane and endearing as ever, and so is her family. I really liked the addition of Demetrius to the Spellman clan and he seemed to be a great influence on show more everyone.

This is a solid addition to the series, but it does seem a little lacking at times. There weren’t even any Henry and Rae scenes! The whole book seems to be missing the spark and charm that I loved in the first four novels. The Spellman clan seemed so fragmented and Adult Izzie is fine to read about, but a part of me does miss Irresponsible and Reckless Izzie.

I’m completely invested in this series and I adore the Spellman family. I recommend this series to anyone looking for a laugh and wanting to meet a dysfunctional and loveable family of private investigators. show less

Let me start by saying I'm not a big fan of humorous mysteries. I'm not a Carl Hiaasen reader. I stopped Janet Evanovich after book four. However, I have great respect for authors who can write humorous mysteries because I think it's one of the hardest genres to be consistently good at.

So, when I initially read the Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz I was surprised how 'laugh out loud' funny it was. I continued laughing through the antics of the Spellmans in books two through four. I whole-heartedly recommend reading them.

Then something happened and Lutz co-wrote Heads You Lose with her ex-boyfriend, still friend David Hayward. It was like she took an anti-comedy pill. I struggled through 50 pages and had to put it down.

With Trail of the show more Spellmans (Document #5) Lutz is climbing out of the abyss and starting to get her groove back. As with most of her Spellman books, it's a mish mosh. There is the usual intra-family subterfuge. In addition, they are hired by three related people to follow other members within this triumvirate, for reasons not readily apparent. And then there is Walter, who leaves his house afraid he left the toaster plugged in or the water running. Hey, in the private eye business, you take what you can get.

Lutz has also introduced a likeable new employee, Demetrius, aka D, an ex-con who served 15 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. And there is the always dependable Henry, with whom Isabel has moved in. Lutz's characteristic footnotes and appendices are present, although not in such quantities as in prior books. As always, Lutz lets you know that more Spellman mania could very well be down the pike.

While not her greatest Spellman book, Trail of the Spellmans certainly is required reading for Spellman fans. It's a quick, enjoyable read, minus the laugh-out-loud component (I did chuckle a few times though). So, if you haven't read a Lisa Lutz book, start with the Spellman Files and work your way through this short series. If you have read one of the books, just keep going through them in order. You'll be laughing til tears come out of your eyes.

P.S. I was pleased to see that Ms. Lutz, on her last page. supported independend bookstores and suggested strongly that we frequent them. For that alone, this book is worth reading! show less

I had to return it to the library, so I won't do a usual kind of review of Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, but I'll make a few comments about it. This is the latest in a humor/mystery series featuring Izzy (Isabel) Spellman and her aggressive, uninhibited family that runs a private detection agency. She's in her 30s now and her romantic life remains complicated. These aren't typical mysteries. The Spellmans surveil people (and often each other) and decipher their dirty (or not dirty) deeds. When Izzy mentions it would be nice to get a murder case, her mother says, "We can dream."

The dialog is always sharp and funny, and Lutz is particularly good at having characters act in bizarre, unlikely fashion, only to have the reader later show more learn why - and the why is always reasonable and logical. For example, Izzy's mother suddenly takes up a variety of seemingly unrelated hobbies and classes, like ceramics, Russian, crocheting, for no apparent reason. Turns out there is an amusing and very good reason.

In this one the Spellmans are surveiling a husband, sister and daughter, and keeping their clients and ethics straight is a challenge, not to mention the whys and wherefores of what their investigations disclose. Izzy sorts it all out in a questionably ethical, but unquestionably right, way. At the same time she's investigating what's going on in her own family and trying to determine whether she can ever have a long-term romance (she's up to ex-boyfriend #13. There are a lot of good laughs, and Lutz is adept with footnotes, including several improbably involving actor Morgan Freeman. show less

At the end of [b:The Spellmans Strike Again|6571967|The Spellmans Strike Again (The Spellmans, #4)|Lisa Lutz|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1442546113s/6571967.jpg|6570102], there's a scene in which Henry wants Rae to leave his apartment, but she sits on the couch beside him instead. Izzy straddles Henry and commences with a makeout session. If Trail of the Spellmans had been interspersed with such scenes, I might have given it 5 stars. Instead, "Document #5" jumps forward almost 2 years, finding Izzy and Henry at a stand-off regarding the future of their relationship.



In addition, older brother David has become a stereotypical self-sacrficing stay-at-home parent (although there is a pretty good reason), Grammy Spellman comes to live show more with Izzy's parents, and Henry's mother comes for a prolonged visit that doesn't go at all as Henry expected.

On the other hand, one of my new favorite characters, Demetrius Merriweather, having been released after 15 years of wrongful imprisonment thanks to Izzy, now lives in her old attic apartment at her parents' house and works part-time for Spellman Investigations. The latest batch of cases are intriguing and all the plot-lines work together well.

So, really, this is as good as any of the other books in the series, but I'm just bitter about the relationship stuff. show less

Book number five in Lisa Lutz's Spellmans series, featuring the quirky Izzy Spellman, her even quirkier family, and their quirky family PI business. In this one, the Spellmans take on several unusual surveillance cases, and we get pretty much everything I've come to expect from a Spellmans novel: a slight but entertaining-enough plot that takes a back seat to character and humor, various family members scheming and keeping secrets from each other, and Izzy dealing (or, rather, attempting not to deal) with some issues in her personal life.

When I put it that way, it makes this series sound kind of same-y, and maybe it is, a bit, but what the heck. It's a formula that works. And it actually does have more character development than I show more might expect from this sort of thing, as various characters grow and change and find themselves in different life situations over time. That certainly continues to be true in this one, and while not all the changes are necessarily the ones I would root for, I appreciate it, anyway. It's a nice, realistic grounding for a lot of the silliness.

Mostly, though, like all the rest of the series, this one is just a fun, quick read, and it made an ideal palate-cleanser for me between heavier and more serious books. show less

Sometimes you just need light and fluffy. Lutz’ Spellman series fits the bill perfectly, with enough complexity and surprises to prevent boredom, clever lines to provide laughter and a remarkable entertaining heroine.

In this installment, Isabel is active again in her family’s detective business. Her younger sister Rae is off at college at Berkley, but still takes a hand in a case or two. Rae mostly seems to come around to work on convincing Spellman Investigations’ newest employee, Demetrius, to file a lawsuit against the state for false imprisonment. Isabel’s mom has enrolled in a surprising number of classes including Russian and crochet (or is it croquet? Isabel can’t read her writing) and her dad remains on his health-food show more diet without his knowledge since Demetrius does most of the cooking. Isabel’s still living with boyfriend Henry, but his mom has come to visit and Isabel still hasn’t given him the answer to that pesky question. Next to, underneath or behind all of this are a number of mysteries–the mystery of the OCD client and the suspicious household incidents, the surveillance of the college student at the request of her parents, the society wife who wants Isabel to tail her husband doing his normal routine, the society wife’s brother who wants the agency to tail his sister–and those are just the billable ones. Then there is the mystery of her brother David evicting Rae from his basement apartment, and Rae’s withdrawal from the family. Interestingly, the surveillance of the college student bothers Isabel the most–she who is normally so free violating others’ privacy:

“Vivien had been a minor only six months ago. I believe in the folly of youth. I believe in rebellion and questioning authority and I even believe it’s okay to commit a few misdemeanors now and again. ‘Try to steer clear of felonies’ is my motto (1).

(1) In fact, that will be the title of my memoirs, should I ever write them.”

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Three and a half stars

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