Curse of the Spellmans

Starred review from January 14, 2008
In the two years that have passed since the action in Lutz's hit debut, The Spellman Files
(2007), zany Isabel Spellman, who works for the family PI firm in San Francisco, has become “a somewhat responsible member of society.” Unfortunately, she's also become obsessed with “Subject” (aka John Brown), a next-door neighbor who she's convinced has an evil secret she must expose, even if it means losing her PI license. Adding further hilarity is “The Stone and Spellman Show,” transcripts of recordings revealing 15-year-old sister Rae's fascination with her middle-aged “best friend,” stoic SFPD inspector Henry Stone, who endures Rae's adoration with liberal doses of Doctor Who
watching. Henry's link to the Spellman family's fortunes suggests he might be a good candidate for Isabel's “Ex-boyfriend #11” when Subject fails to make the grade. Fans of The Spellman Files
will laugh just as loudly at the comic antics chronicled in this sparkling sequel.

March 1, 2008
In this sequel to Lutz's side-splittingly funny debut novel, "The Spellman Files", licensed P.I. Isabel "Izzy" Spellman has been arrested for the fourth time in two months, and no one from her oddball family of fellow investigators will bail her out. Her sister, Rae, has run over Izzy's "fiancé," Inspector Henry Stone, during a driving lesson. The senior Spellmans have staged a "disappearance," their term for a vacation where no one can reach them. To complicate Izzy's life further, a man with the suspiciously ordinary name of John Brown has moved next door, and she's absolutely positive he's up to no good. In other words, it's life as usual for the zany Spellmans, and who knows what will happen next. Once again, Lutz treats readers to a madcap roller-coaster ride. Fans of such hilarious sleuths as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, Meg Cabot's Heather Wells, and Sarah Strohmeyer's Bubbles Yablonsky will find that Izzy Spellman can make them laugh their socks off, too. Sure to be popular in fiction collections of all sizes. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 11/15/07.]Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 26, 2008
This lighthearted romp, focusing on the antics of Isabel Spellman and her family of private detectives, is delightful. There's not much vocal variation by Ari Graynor for the mystery's female characters: 30-year-old Isabel sounds exactly like her teen sister and her mother. But Graynor shines portraying some of the male characters, like Morty, the Spellmans' elderly lawyer, or Isabel's slurring, cigar-smoking roommate. Isabel digitally records conversations, and Graynor recites them back in a hilarious deadpan rendition. Lutz's first outing (The Spellman Files
) was fresh, funny and unwieldy; her plotting skills take a leap forward here, masterfully juggling several compelling mystery threads at a time. The quirky Spellman family is still fun, and Graynor's sardonic and sly delivery doesn't attempt to upstage the writing. One disappointment is that S&S didn't release an unabridged version. Simultaneous release with the S&S hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 14).