CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS
by Lisa Lutz
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
ISBN: 9781416532415
Hardback, 410 pages, $25.00
Genre: Mystery

Izzy Spellman works for her parents’ private investigative service, where family members are acting strangely. Izzy’s brother David, a lawyer, has resorted to staying home, watching TV in his pajamas and eating junk food. Her father Albert is sneaking out of the house at all hours, returning with wet hair, while her mom Olivia is sneaking out of the house in early-morning hours and wreaking havoc on a motorbike. Her sister Rae runs over SFPD Inspector Henry Stone, her one and only friend. When a good-looking man moves in next door to her parents, Izzy intends to make him ex-boyfriend number 11. The two begin dating, but Izzy is intrigued by the man’s common name, John Brown, and that he keeps a room in his apartment locked. Izzy decides to investigate Brown and becomes suspicious that she can’t find out any real information concerning him. She manages to convince herself he’s up to no good and begins following him and breaking into his apartment, which lands her in jail four different times, although she claims two don’t count.

The Spellmans are a hoot, and although this is considered a mystery, it’s actually more about the characters and their interactions. This is a fast read, with short chapters, written from Izzy’s point of view. The Stone and Spellman Show Episodes are hilarious and the footnotes are ingenious, as is the Appendix. A refreshing take on the mystery genre, and a book guaranteed to bring plenty of laughs.