Curse of the Spellmans

Welcome back to the wacky world of the Spellman family. They really live in their own universe. This family of Private Investigators thinks nothing of investigating each other. They have deadbolts on their bedroom doors. They have taken to calling vacations disappearances and disappearances vacations. And they are so much fun to spend time with. This book picks up two years after the end of the first book. And it seems everyone is acting strangely. Older brother David is staying home watching TV and eating junk. The father, Albert, is sneaking out of the house and returning with wet hair. Meanwhile, he's actually eating healthy. Olivia, the mother, is sneaking out of the house late at night herself. Youngest sister Rae is distraught about accidentally almost vehicularly manslaughtering her best friend, Inspector Henry Stone. And Isabel is hot on the trail of the copycat vandals ruining neighbor Mrs. Chandler's holiday displays. These vandals are copying the crimes that Isabel did when she was a teenage (not that she has any idea what you are talking about). But what has really captured Isabel's attention is the Spellman's new neighbor. "John Brown" seems nice enough, but he sure has lots of shredded paper. And who really has such a common name? Plus Isabel can't track down any information on him. And he is evasive with answers to her questions. You know, simple things like where are you from? What do you do for a living? When were you born? What's your social security number? All this leads Isabel to be arrested four times (or twice depending on how you count) in a matter of months. How will it all end? As with the first in the series, this book is hard to adequately describe. It uses short scenes (not really chapters) to propel the story forward and help us keep everything straight. I laughed multiple times as the story unfolded. Yes, there are some mysteries, but this isn't a mystery. This is a novel about a family. Which means these characters are well developed. And that's what makes the ending very touching. With everything going on, the book never drags. And I had a smile on my face almost the entire time I was reading it. In fact, I even got caught laughing out loud in public. A word of warning. This book (by necessity) spoils the first book about the Spellmans. So if you are interested, get The Spellman Files first. I couldn't put the book down. While I think living with the Spellmans would drive me crazy, they are a wonderful family to visit in the pages of a novel. So pick up this wild, wacky, and wonderful novel today.

The Curse of The Spellmans is very very funny, as others have said. Frequently literally laugh-out-loud funny. Isabel Spellman's voice is a brilliant creation, and the books are creating a genre new to me, a series in which reality serves as a comic foil for the reader's murder mystery expectations. But that agenda, if agenda it is, never gets in the way of the funny, and also touching, stories of Isabel and her family and friends. I liked this even better than the first, although perhaps the deal with the Spellman books is that you like best the one you've read most recently.

I adored The Spellman Files (now out in paperback!) but I thought this book was FANTASTIC! A brilliant sophomore effort for Lisa Lutz. This book is laugh out loud funny, full of great snark and cringe-worthy moments, it's well written, and just all kinds of wonderful. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed it. Izzy is a character I can really relate to - a 30 something at a crossroad in her life. From her somewhat absurd antics (I don't know what you're talking about) to her relationship with her sister, you can really sympathize with what Izzy goes through. I would love to see her in therapy in the future, and I am extremely curious to see how her relationship with Henry (I completely admire his Doctor Who collection) will grow. I just cannot say enough about how much I love these books!!

I started this book over a week ago and could easily have finished it the same day. However, the thought of being without izzy spellman forced me to read slowly and relish every plot, every sarcastic comment, and each and every enjoyable footnote. Curse of the Spellmans picked up where the Spellman Files left off- with just as many laugh out loud moments as the original. This time Izzy is obsessed with her parent's suspicious next door neighbor aka the "subject" and Lisa Lutz keeps us guessing at what he is up to until the very end. Curse of the Spellmans is a must read if you enjoy a fun mystery with endless laughs. Footnote to Lisa- Please write another one quickly- spellman withdrawals are painful!