Revenge of the Spellmans

Just in case you haven't met them yet, the Spellmans are a family of private investigators, and a very dysfunctional family they are. It's not that they hate each other - in fact, they care about each other and their close friends very much - it's just that they can't seem to talk to each other. Instead, they spy on each other and blackmail each other into doing things like visiting the Museum of Modern Art. Fortunately for us, it's all very funny stuff!

This is the third in Lutz's series on the Spellmans, and centers around the personal aftermath of Izzie's misguided investigation of a neighbor in the previous book and around her investigation into a possibly straying spouse she's doing as a favor to a friend of a friend. Throw in the show more relationships between the family members and a few close friends and things devolve into the usual (for the Spellmans) comedic chaos.

One of the things I appreciate about this series is that Lutz isn't trying to repeat her success with the first book, unlike another well known comedic PI series. The characters grow through the books and frankly, the story's more about that growth and change than about the mysteries they're trying to solve. I suspect this will mean that we'll get both really funny books and interesting stories for some time to come. show less

Lisa Lutz has done it again. The fourth book chronicling the adventures of Isabel Spellman and her family is just as side-splittingly hilarious as its three predecessors. For those unfamiliar with the Spellmans, imagine a dysfunctional family of private investigators who spends more time investigating each other than they do working for their customers. No personal secret remains undiscovered. Since knowledge is power, when mom finds out what really happened at your senior prom, she owns you.

If you are new to this series, you would enjoy ‘The Spellmans Strike Again’ and you would be able to follow the plot. Having said that, you will enjoy it even more if you start with ‘The Spellman Files’ and read the series in order. You show more won’t regret it.

Lutz puts her former screenwriting experience to good use in the Spellman books. Her snappy dialogue rivals that found in the late Robert B. Parker’s Spenser books and the light-hearted zaniness of her stories reminds me of the Rockford Files, if James Garner had been a woman. When I read books like this I can’t help but wonder why TV networks continue to remake old series when there is so much quality original material out there to pick from.

FYI: At a recent book signing, Lutz opened by denying published reports that this will be the last Spellman book. She said that a statement she made about ‘needing to take a break’ was taken out of context. There will likely be more Spellman books but she would like to first spend some time working on other projects. show less

This is the third in Lisa Lutz's series of comic novels about the family of private investigators named Spellman, and specifically about the growth into responsible adulthood of the narrator, Isabel Spellman. These books are really funny, and increasingly touching for the reader who has followed the growth and changes in the characters over the course of the entire series. (And the reader should start at the beginning, with "The Spellman Files." I'm sure "Revenge of the Spellmans" could be read alone, and enjoyed almost as much, but it would spoil the earlier books to do so.)

The books are a very quick read, and probably could each be finished on a cross-country plane flight, as long as the person next to you didn't stick an elbow in show more your ribs each time you woke him by laughing out loud. But despite being quick and funny, they aren't disposable, probably because as a whole they function more as a bildungsroman than as traditional mysteries: the point is the education of the heroine, not the solving of crimes. show less

Lisa Lutz makes me laugh. Out loud. She is a very clever writer. Her characters are part of a crazy family who are all part of their own private investigator business, are so much fun! But it's her copious footnotes that are truly hysterical!

Izzy Spellman has worked for the family business since she was twelve. In the last book, her inability to moderate her addiction to snooping (not a bad trait for a detective, I guess) led to being convicted of stalking the next door neighbour and ordered into therapy by the judge. In the aftermath, she decides to take a break and takes up bartending instead. All the familiar faces are there and learning more about them is part of the attraction of Lutz’s writing.

Her family, job, apartment, and show more friends all seem to be changing and Izzy is growing up (she’s now 31) and has some serious choices to make. Of course, her natural curiosity prevents her from snooping, and before long she is again embroiled in all sorts of outrageous situations. She’s dealing with her parents’ pressure to make her mind up about taking over the business; looking for a job after being sacked from the bar by her old friend Milo; seeing a new therapist (the first one refused to sign off on the court order because she would not open up); investigating her brother David’s weird behaviour; negotiating a sort of peace between Rae, her increasingly erratic teenage sister, and Henry's new girlfriend; packing her old lawyer friend Morty off to Florida before his wife of 58 years divorces him; living in her brother’s basement without him knowing; and being blackmailed. Oh, and in between all of this, she has taken on an increasingly odd legitimate case – one where she can’t stop even after the client has given up.

In other words, it is pretty much life as usual – for a Spellman! show less

Well, I keep reading this series even though in many cases the family dynamics are over the top and often make me actually angry. The dialogue is good and sometimes excellent, though, and I do really like some of the supporting cast (Morty, Henry, Milo). Also, I got #1 through #4 on my Kindle, from the library. Jury out on whether I'll request #5. I enjoy Lisa Lutz' writing, I just think I would join the witness protection program if I were a member of this family.

I suspect my commitment-phobia has branched into new areas of my life. I’ve grown hesitant to start new series, especially mysteries. I suppose it is a little unfair to expect the qualities I fall in love with in the first couple of books continue, but there it is: I do. I stuck with Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder through many ups and downs, but Marcia Muller’s fallen apart on her latest, Janet Evanovich started recycling Stephanie Plum plots by book 8 (if not sooner), Sue Grafton had a long stretch of ‘meh’ in the middle of her alphabet series, Parker’s Spenser really never regained steam after book eight or so… I could go on. But won’t.

However, Lisa Lutz is showing serious series promise that might have me looking at a show more longer relationship. She is maintaining the laughs, clever structure, plotting and character development from the first couple of books with book three, Revenge of the Spellmans. (Check with me after book six, which came out this year
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Oh how I love this series. Izzy cracks me up, her whole family is a crazy bunch, especially littlest Spellman, Rae. She requires constant monitoring and leaves her family bemused every second of the day. Watching her in action with her wheeling and dealing is a joy, but I'm glad I am watching at a distance. She'd make me nuts.
Poor Izzy needs a place to live, hers is a dump. She needs a job, she got fired from her bartending job so that she'll go back to her family's PI business. All of her friends are leaving her, moving away. And she is court mandated therapy that she is resisting as only Izzy can.
It's not necessary to read the series in order. Each one is a hoot on its own and I didn't lose anything in the translation by listening show more to them out of order.
Do yourself a favor and get this series either in handheld or the audio version. This is how I've enjoyed the three out so far and it's been fabulous. Christina Moore is perfect!
Five snort laugh beans...... show less