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The Spellman Files: Document #1
Von Lisa Lutz
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Mit Lesen beginnenBeschreibung
From the award-winning author of The Passenger comes the first novel in the hilarious Spellman Files mystery series featuring Isabel “Izzy” Spellman (part Nancy Drew, part Dirty Harry) and her highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators.
Meet Isabel “Izzy” Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors—but the upshot is she’s good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people’s privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman.
Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. Duties include: completing assignments from the bosses, aka Mom and Dad (preferably without scrutiny); appeasing her chronically perfect lawyer brother (often under duress); setting an example for her fourteen-year-old sister, Rae (who’s become addicted to “recreational surveillance”); and tracking down her uncle (who randomly disappears on benders dubbed “Lost Weekends”). But when Izzy’s parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Izzy’s new boyfriend), Izzy snaps and decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there’s a hitch: she must take one last job before they’ll let her go—a fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person case. She accepts, only to experience a disappearance far closer to home, which becomes the most important case of her life.
Meet Isabel “Izzy” Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors—but the upshot is she’s good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people’s privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman.
Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. Duties include: completing assignments from the bosses, aka Mom and Dad (preferably without scrutiny); appeasing her chronically perfect lawyer brother (often under duress); setting an example for her fourteen-year-old sister, Rae (who’s become addicted to “recreational surveillance”); and tracking down her uncle (who randomly disappears on benders dubbed “Lost Weekends”). But when Izzy’s parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Izzy’s new boyfriend), Izzy snaps and decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there’s a hitch: she must take one last job before they’ll let her go—a fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person case. She accepts, only to experience a disappearance far closer to home, which becomes the most important case of her life.
Buchaktionen
Mit Lesen beginnenInformationen über das Buch
The Spellman Files: Document #1
Von Lisa Lutz
Beschreibung
From the award-winning author of The Passenger comes the first novel in the hilarious Spellman Files mystery series featuring Isabel “Izzy” Spellman (part Nancy Drew, part Dirty Harry) and her highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators.
Meet Isabel “Izzy” Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors—but the upshot is she’s good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people’s privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman.
Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. Duties include: completing assignments from the bosses, aka Mom and Dad (preferably without scrutiny); appeasing her chronically perfect lawyer brother (often under duress); setting an example for her fourteen-year-old sister, Rae (who’s become addicted to “recreational surveillance”); and tracking down her uncle (who randomly disappears on benders dubbed “Lost Weekends”). But when Izzy’s parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Izzy’s new boyfriend), Izzy snaps and decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there’s a hitch: she must take one last job before they’ll let her go—a fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person case. She accepts, only to experience a disappearance far closer to home, which becomes the most important case of her life.
Meet Isabel “Izzy” Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors—but the upshot is she’s good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people’s privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman.
Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. Duties include: completing assignments from the bosses, aka Mom and Dad (preferably without scrutiny); appeasing her chronically perfect lawyer brother (often under duress); setting an example for her fourteen-year-old sister, Rae (who’s become addicted to “recreational surveillance”); and tracking down her uncle (who randomly disappears on benders dubbed “Lost Weekends”). But when Izzy’s parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Izzy’s new boyfriend), Izzy snaps and decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there’s a hitch: she must take one last job before they’ll let her go—a fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person case. She accepts, only to experience a disappearance far closer to home, which becomes the most important case of her life.
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Izzy Spellman works for her family's detective agency. That's a bland way to describe her and her family - which is markedly unusual. Trained in surveillance and spy craft from a young age, they regular spy on each other (and any potential significant others) and use blackmail as a way of getting what they want. But they just might learn the value of trusting those closest to them when the youngest member of the family Rae disappears. The question is - was she kidnapped by one of the Spellman's enemies, or is it an elaborate hoax staged by Rae herself? You'll just have to read the book to find out.I found this an enjoyable read and my book club enjoyed picking this family apart. I'd suggest it for someone looking for a lighthearted diversion with quirky - if somewhat unbelievable at times - characters and plot lines.
good to listen to while driving to california. entertaining. not exactly lit but a good guilty pleasure
Liked this one. Rather kooky. Will certainly get the next one in the series and see where that goes.
The inaugural novel in The Spellman Files mystery series introduces us to the series' protagonist, the 28-year-old Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, a licensed PI in her family's detective agency. Although there are suspenseful moments when Izzy's precocious little sister, Rae, disappears or when Izzy bulldogs a 12-year-old cold missing-person's case, the primary charm and humor of the novel lies within the interactions of the eccentric family members. For example, Rae practices her surveillance skills by following and photographing various family members, including Izzy's dates and alcoholic uncle, and then blackmailing them.
Entertaining quick read with quirky characters, first book of a series I'll be reading more of.
Sort of cute. The premise -- family detective agency -- is fun, but the execution is overblown: the little sister is too much and the heroine's fixation on the dentist gets positively creepy. But the mysteries are sound. I look forward to the next one.
I loved this book. I already have the other three on hold at the library. It will be awhile because they are all checked out.Although they are nothing alike, Izzy reminds me of Stephanie Plum. I am sure I am not the first person to say that. As a matter of fact, that is why my friend recommended it to me . . . because she knows how much I enjoy the SP books.Izzy's entire family are private investigators. They are totally dysfunctional, but love each other anyway. The younger daughter Rae is a scene stealer. I think she is my favorite character.The book actually has two story lines. There are the cases the family are investigating and there is the relationships amongst the family members. I didn't see the ending coming for either one. To me, that is the sign of a good mystery.
This was a enjoyable read I was surprised at it. When I picked it up at the library I was a little leery of how it would turn out, but it was great.
I really loved this book! A great debut for Lisa Lutz. It had a comfortable feel about it, like an old "screwball" or “madcap” movie. A perfect read for a snowy day in the north. This book flowed along like a brook in flood season, finding alternate routes to its destination, with the occasional boulder or tree in its way.This is a family that works together and lives together, with the exception of the son, David, who has made a career for himself outside of the family business. To say the family is dysfunctional does it a disservice as they are not so much dysfunctional as overzealous in their protection of each other, at the same time trying to protect their individual privacy. The family business is private investigation, the only problem being that they are more apt to be investigating each other than regular clients, at least in this first book. It's a good thing there are more in the future because I found I wanted more when I was done and continued right on into the preview of the next book. That left me dissatisfied because it made me want the book right now. Fortunately, the next two are already out, “Curse of the Spellmans” and “Revenge of the Spellmans” with a fourth due out shortly, “The Spellmans Strike Again”. I’m only sorry I didn’t read “The Spellman Files” when it first came out.The characters are wonderful, right down to Milo, the bartender who constantly has to phone Isabel, the main character, to come and get her little sister out of the bar before he gets arrested. My favourite character though, at this point, is Rae, the young sister, who has learned the art "negotiation" (translation blackmail) by the time she is eight.Isabel is the rebel of the family and blames both the business and her family for all her life failures. She uses the same techniques of surveillance in her search for a boy-friend as in her search for clues. Consequently at the end of this book she has reached Ex-Boyfriend #9. This is a great read, fast and easy, funny and sad sometimes, I even loved the cover with all the pairs of eyes peeking through the newspaper. I recommend it for a relaxing change of pace.
Having stumbled across the most recent book in the Spellman series, I had to go back and start with the first in order to be properly introduced to our heroine, Isabel "Izzy" Spellman. The sadly imperfect middle child in a family of private investigators (except for older brother David, who has joined the "normals" as an attorney), Izzy struggles with her identity, her career choice, her boyfriend choices, and her family members. Should be a sob story, but it's not. This book is original, outrageous, and hilarious. As Izzy careens from one adventure to another, she is rarely at a loss for a witty quip, often to her own detriment. And yet, among all the humor and craziness, a picture of a loving and caring family emerges. And that's what makes this book a winner.
It was cute but I found it pretty thin. The sister was cut from cardboard, the whole family was, really- I couldn't find their motivations. I couldn't identify with anyone in the whole book, and by the end I simply didn't care.
Izzy Spellman is a private detective who works for her parents detective company.She has bad luck with men and the family is a little dysfunctional.I was recommended this book because I enjoy Janet Evanovich.I guess I found some similarities but didn't enjoy this book as much as I was hoping to.There were funny moments ( not as humorous as Stephanie Plum) . Now that I've been introduced to the characters I may pick up the next one to see if its better and more of a mystery, there was so much else going on in this book that the case she was working on kind of got lost in the shuffle.
Protagonist: PI (since the age of 12) Izzy SpellmanSetting: present-day San FranciscoSeries: #1First Line: I duck into the parking garage, hoping to escape.Izzy Spellman is an irrepressible 28-year-old sleuth who works for her parents' San Francisco PI firm. Members of the dysfunctional and relentlessly nosy Spellman clan include Izzy's 14-year-old sister, Rae, who engages in recreational surveillance (a fancy term for tailing people just for kicks), and her uncle Ray, a cancer survivor and recovering health-foodaddict who regularly disappears on liquor-drenched "Lost Weekends." The Spellman parents think nothing of bugging their children's rooms. Many scenes produced grins and even laughs, even though I cringed at the thought of being a member of this family. The major weakness in The Spellman Files was the emphasis on comedy and the lack of plot and suspense. If Lutz pulls it all together in the next book in the series, she could have a real winner. This was a book that I wanted to rate higher and just couldn't.
Like another reviewer, I am at the beach, where I was laughing aloud. Smart and clever, somehow not as implausible as Stephanie Plum, but still completely over the top, despite a pretty serious, but in no way bothersome, lack of action to extend the comparison to Plum. A more intelligent cast of characters. Recommended for a light and amusing read.
Fans of Stephanie Plum will love Izzy Spellman, the wise cracking female heroine in this tale, who both lives and works out of her parents' home and private investigation service. Izzy's life is complicated by the fact that neither she nor her family knows where to draw the line between investigating for work purposes and investigating for personal purposes.
Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz was not very memorable. An Alex Award winner, the main character seemed flighty and not very engaging. It was a "Beach Read" - did not say anything of import but easy plot to read. If you enjoy contemporary Female detective stories, I recommend Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.
This was a funny book. I was intrigued with the family dynamics, its like some horrible accident you don't want to view, but can't help looking. For me, it was like the really dark side of a Janet Evanovich story. Normally when a book is so laden with character development with only a side of plot, I don't really appreciate the story as much. However, this author carries it off, based solely on the fact that her book family is virgin territory (that is to say, hasn't been overdone to death). I would like to see the next book in the series have more plot....and now that I see its coming out in March 08, I have a reason to stop at Barnes and Noble.
This book is hilarious and original. It was such a fun read. I have read the books that follow this one and this is my favorite. Though I did enjoy the others as well. I can see this being made into a film. I really like how they are all paranoid of one another.
Think of one of the oddest families you know, and I bet it comes nowhere near the Spellmans. 28 year old Izzy Spellman works for her parents, private investigators, and has done since she was 12. Spellman Investigations specialise in surveillance. Of their three children Isabel (Izzy) has been without doubt the most trouble, a rebel almost since birth, and a constant subject of interrogation and even surveillance herself. Izzy's history of defiance contrasts with the apparent perfection of her older brother David, but he has managed to break away, leave home, and leads an independent life as a lawyer. By contrast Izzy's younger sister Rae began her first surveillance training before she could read, and is, at 12, in real danger of going the same way as Izzy. Life in the Spellman household is a constant war, with one battle after another between Izzy and her parents, Izzy and Rae, including also skirmishes with Uncle Ray who lives with them. Izzy's life is under constant inspection by her parents and she would like nothing more than to leave home, on her own terms. This book is lightly connected to crime fiction. Investigations are recounted, but it won't satisfy the serious genre devotee. Some have called it chick-lit, and there are elements of humour, just not really what I like to read.
Loved the main character, didn't really like the structure in that the story starts at the end and the entire way hints at a terrible tragedy about to occur, which spoils the fun tone of the novel. I think I'll enjoy reading the other books in the series though.
The Spellmans are a quirky family of San Francisco private investigators. The characters are funny, original, and not always angels. Looking forward to other books in this series.
This book was so good - one of those "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime" "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" sorts of books that defies category and is really fresh and edgy without trying too hard. It was also laugh-out-loud funny, which is, of course, rare in books. Absolutely worth a read.
This was a great book - a fast, fun read with a loveably imperfect anti-heroine. I read it during the holidays when both my time and attention were constantly being interrupted, and had no trouble following the action. And while I do like to read books that make me think, there is also something to be said for books like this one that you read for sheer pleasure.Izzy Spellman is a 28-year-old private detective who works for, and still lives with, her parents. Over the years, she has developed a very suspicious nature. So suspicious, in fact, that the slightest discrepancies in a person's behavior compel her to investigate that person, and it doesn't matter if it is strangers, friends, or even family members. She always asks potential ex-boyfriends a million extremely personal questions just prior to running a background check on them - a habit that has aided in more than one of her break-ups. She is also a life-long troublemaker who at times seems to have the rationale and decision making skills of teenager. But even so, she is still quick-witted and street smart. Some people compare Izzy to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. I guess if I stretch your imagination a little then I can see it. Both get caught up in trying to solve mysteries that should probably be left to the police. Both are "creative" with their investigative techniques, and do eventually solve the mysteries. Both are smart and funny, have trouble with men and their crazy families, and both manage to get into plenty of trouble. But that is about as far as it goes. Izzy is rather obsessive and short-sighted, while Stephanie has the ability to see the bigger picture. Stephanie also seems to have a maturity and innate luckiness that Izzy lacks. That doesn't mean that the Spellman series is not as good as the Plum series, it just means that they are unique enough to set them apart and keep them interesting. One of the other things that sets this book apart is Lisa Lutz's writing style. She has a way of bouncing around between plot lines that could almost be confusing, but ends up holding your interest. The focus of the novel doesn't center on Izzy's attempt to solve her primary investigation, but is actually more concerned with her personal relationships. Lutz also employs several uncommon techniques to add interest to the novel including lists and footnotes (I found the footnotes a little off-putting and distracting, but lots of readers like them.) I give this book a 4 because while it was better than average, it wasn't so good that I had trouble putting it down.
Have you ever read a book in which you just didn't connect with all the characters, but still found the book entertaining? I enjoyed reading this book, it was a light mystery, very funny, which I was in the mood for. But I just couldn't feel like I was reading about a real person. Perhaps there are people like the main characters, but her voice felt so different from my experience that it didn't seem realistic to me.The main character, the first person narrative voice, is a 28-yr old woman who lives with her parents and has worked for them in their PI business since she was 12. Because she doesn't feel she can get away from her parents she does all sorts of destructive things instead. As a teenager she was every kind of trouble and as an adult she doesn't pass out on the lawn anymore, but she still acts like she is 13 in a lot of ways.It is funny, as long as I just read the book, and didn't think about her much, it was an enjoyable read. But now as I sit here and think about the family and how they worked together it is sad. Rather than get out and work out whether she wants to be a part of the family business, the main character sneaks out of windows and lies. There are more books in this series and I don't think I could stand to read them unless she starts to grow up a bit.
Part of what attracted me to this book was a friend described it as Harriet the Spy for adults. This hilarious pseudo mystery is more about the Spellmans, a family of private investigators, than solving any real whodunits. Izzy, the middle child of the Spellman clan is 28 and has had just about enough with her family and the family business. Her parents are her bosses, her older brother a lawyer who gets them work, her younger teenaged sister is addicted to “recreational surveillance,” and her uncle is a terrible drunk but can tail a car and pick a lock like a professional. The fact that they nearly all live under the same roof and the term “privacy” is a foreign concept does not help matters. When Izzy starts secretly dating a guy her parents don’t approve of and pay her younger sister, Rae, to keep an eye on her, Izzy decides it’s time to get out. In order to leave the business, Izzy must solve one final case, but suddenly there’s a new mystery at home to solve with the disappearance of another family member. Complete with high speed car chases, stakeouts, break ins, wiretaps, and blackmail – usually involving a Spellman against a Spellman, this was a fun read and I look forward to reading more of this author.While the main character does have a rebellious past and drinking, smoking, and drug use are discussed, in comparison with some other books written specifically for teens I did not feel like the content was too adult. Though, to be honest, this didn't feel like the typical type of book most teens would want to read and probably has a better audience among the college-aged crowd.
Quirky and humorous, The Spellman Files is not your typical mystery....
How I wish there were more books published like this one.
I cannot put into words how much I loved this book. I've never laughed so hard from a book before or since. All of the the Characters were endearingly ridiculous. The fake drug deal and the final tennis match made my cheeks ache from laughing.
I cannot put into words how much I loved this book. I've never laughed so hard from a book before or since. All of the the Characters were endearingly ridiculous. The fake drug deal and the final tennis match made my cheeks ache from laughing.
It was ok. The book focused way more on the family's dysfunction than on the mystery. Most of the characters were annoying, and their fighting grew tiresome.
Audio book performed by Ari Graynor
Isabel Spellman is 28 years old and has always worked for her family business – Spellman Investigations. Having been trained by her parents and uncle since she was in middle school, she’s reasonably good at ferreting out the “dirt” on just about anyone, but she’s feeling rather rebellious these days. She’s met a guy she really likes and when her parents start following her and paying her little sister, Rae, to help with the surveillance, Izzy figures it’s time to leave the family business. Except, they won’t let her go … or at least not until she solves a 12-year-old missing person case that has never been resolved.
This is a pretty entertaining read. The characters are fun and interesting, though I felt the parents could have been a bit better developed. It was somewhat reminiscent of the Stephanie Plum series, but not nearly so zany, and Isabel is competent at her job (and doesn’t blow up any cars). I like Izzy quite a lot as a main character, and I’d like to read more of the series to see what happens with her.
I started out listening to the audio book and really liked Ari Graynor as a narrator. But I noticed a couple of disconnects and decided to check the text version to ensure I had my facts straight. Which is how I discovered that the audio was abridged (the library’s tag obscured that little fact on the cover). I read the last third of the book in text so that I didn’t miss anything important.
Isabel Spellman is 28 years old and has always worked for her family business – Spellman Investigations. Having been trained by her parents and uncle since she was in middle school, she’s reasonably good at ferreting out the “dirt” on just about anyone, but she’s feeling rather rebellious these days. She’s met a guy she really likes and when her parents start following her and paying her little sister, Rae, to help with the surveillance, Izzy figures it’s time to leave the family business. Except, they won’t let her go … or at least not until she solves a 12-year-old missing person case that has never been resolved.
This is a pretty entertaining read. The characters are fun and interesting, though I felt the parents could have been a bit better developed. It was somewhat reminiscent of the Stephanie Plum series, but not nearly so zany, and Isabel is competent at her job (and doesn’t blow up any cars). I like Izzy quite a lot as a main character, and I’d like to read more of the series to see what happens with her.
I started out listening to the audio book and really liked Ari Graynor as a narrator. But I noticed a couple of disconnects and decided to check the text version to ensure I had my facts straight. Which is how I discovered that the audio was abridged (the library’s tag obscured that little fact on the cover). I read the last third of the book in text so that I didn’t miss anything important.
I typically don't grab books from the mystery section, but I am so glad that I made an exception for The Spellman Files. The Spellman's have got to be one of the quirkiest and most memorable fictional families. Though there are a couple mystery's in this book they are only a diversion from the antics of the Spellman's who all work for the family-owned private investigators business. The nature of the business makes family members extremely suspicious, even of each other, with hilarious results. Everyone installs deadbolts on their bedroom doors, parents chase daughters in high-speed car chases, and siblings bribe and blackmail each other to keep secrets. This is well-worth reading and I am looking forward to the sequel.