⇒ Download The Spellman Files A Novel Lisa Lutz Ari Graynor 9780743571357 Books

The Spellman Files A Novel Lisa Lutz Ari Graynor 9780743571357 Books

Download As PDF : The Spellman Files A Novel Lisa Lutz Ari Graynor 9780743571357 Books

The Spellman Files A Novel Lisa Lutz Ari Graynor 9780743571357 Books

If you're in the mood for a funny, clever, relaxing read, you might want to look at Lisa Lutz's first book in her Spellman Mystery series, "The Spellman Files". It has been followed by five more books featuring the Spellman family of San Francisco. In their family, investigating is both their business and their pastime. If they're not investigating for a client, they're investigating each other, to often hilarious ends.

Isabel (or "Izzy") is the second child of three. When the book opens, she is 28, her brother is 30, and their sister (the "accident") is 14. Their parents, Olivia and Albert, have a detective firm and while their son has escaped to law school and then a law firm, their two daughters do work for the firm. The work can entail computer monitoring for clients, down to trailing those being tracked. The family members, if not nuts, definitely are eccentric. And the reader gets the feeling that, all kidding aside, the Spellmans are very good at their jobs. This book introduces the family in a funny, yet touching way. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books.


Tags : The Spellman Files: A Novel [Lisa Lutz, Ari Graynor] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Isabel Spellman may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism -- but she's good at her job as a licensed P.I. with her family's firm,Lisa Lutz, Ari Graynor,The Spellman Files: A Novel,Simon & Schuster Audio,0743571355,Humorous,Abridged Audio - FictionMystery,American Mystery & Suspense Fiction,Crime & mystery,FICTION General,FICTION Mystery & Detective Women Sleuths,Fiction,Fiction Humorous General,Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths,MysterySuspense

The Spellman Files A Novel Lisa Lutz Ari Graynor 9780743571357 Books Reviews

This is essentially a novel of a bad girl turned, at least partially, good. The Spellman family owns and operates a private investigation agency and employees the heroine, their daughter. She was an errant when younger and partially reforms to attract the attentions of a staid dentist who she correctly classifies as an exboyfriend early in the relationship. She becomes involved in solving a missing person case that has remained unsolved for several years and follows her trials and tribulations over a period of time as well as those of her younger sister. The book is well written, the characters are strange, she has unusual habits for an adult woman and the solution to her quest is fairly obvious although the details are not. A quick easy read to fill a otherwise empty weekend.
I really wanted to like Izzy Spellman and her dysfunctional family of private eyes, but their madcap antics ultimately left me cold. My main problem with the book was the plot or, more accurately, the lack of one. There was a mystery in this book, but it began at exactly the 50 percent mark on my . Everything up to that point and most of what followed consisted of round after round of Spellman dysfunction and internecine warfare.

The other problem I had with this book is in finding someone to root for. Everyone in the extended Spellman clan behaves badly on a consistent basis. Izzy's dentist boyfriend is the closest thing to a sympathetic character in the book, and (spoiler alert) he has the good sense to escape the Spellmans' orbit before the story comes to a close.

There was enough here to keep me reading this book to the end--some of the hijinks and characterizations were amusing--but there wasn't enough to lure me into the next installment in the series.
The first in the Spellman series does a great job of dealing with all of the background setup and introduction of the characters by having the primary character, Izzy Spellman, interviewed by a police investigator in the disappearance of her 14 year old sister, Rae. This is a quirky family with the parents, Albert and Olivia as head of the investigative firm, run out of their San Francisco home. The family is outwardly dysfunctional, but obviously loving and their quirks are often hilarious, including Olivia's desire that Izzy date a lawyer and her fear of dentists, and Rae's obsession with junk food. Each of the children has been involved with the agency from a young age, but only, David, the oldest, has extricated himself from the agency by becoming a lawyer. The family has no compunctions about using their skills on one another, particularly to check out Izzy's many boyfriends. Izzy has a bad girl streak, and was a juvenile delinquent. Her parents worry that she may be turning into her Uncle Ray who once was a health fanatic and cop, but after a personal tragedy, tends to disappear on lost weekends of booze and gambling where he needs to be extricated by the family. Two cases are key to the story, the disappearance of Rae, and the cold case the family puts Izzy on as her last before she can quit the agency which involves a boy who disappeared from camping trip. She becomes obsessed with solving the case when her own sister is found to be missing. This was a clever start to what should be an entertaining series.
Lisa Luta is spectacular and I just ordered the Spellman Files Document #2. The characters just make me shake my head when reminescing. What a family of characters--none are what you would call "normal/everyday" --except maybe brother. That's what makes it so fun. As things come out within the family, it's always surprising and so adds to the characterization. The little sister is quite the detective and such an extortionist!! The plots are intriguing and interesting as how chase down the protagonist. However, the main character, oldest daughter--I built such am image of her which was rough and tough but lovely, much the unusual girl to stay the least which leads you to love her. She leads per parents on chases you can only believe would happen if a P.I. or Police Officer was after you!
I was slightly disappointed by this initially - her 'quirky' family seems more dysfunctional than fun (as described), but I liked it enough to keep listening (audio CD for the terrible work-commute). It got better, and I may purchase more in the series, now that I have a better understanding of the family dynamic. They do care, just in a strange way. I liked "The Passenger" (her standalone novel) far better, but this was OK for its purpose.
If you're in the mood for a funny, clever, relaxing read, you might want to look at Lisa Lutz's first book in her Spellman Mystery series, "The Spellman Files". It has been followed by five more books featuring the Spellman family of San Francisco. In their family, investigating is both their business and their pastime. If they're not investigating for a client, they're investigating each other, to often hilarious ends.

Isabel (or "Izzy") is the second child of three. When the book opens, she is 28, her brother is 30, and their sister (the "accident") is 14. Their parents, Olivia and Albert, have a detective firm and while their son has escaped to law school and then a law firm, their two daughters do work for the firm. The work can entail computer monitoring for clients, down to trailing those being tracked. The family members, if not nuts, definitely are eccentric. And the reader gets the feeling that, all kidding aside, the Spellmans are very good at their jobs. This book introduces the family in a funny, yet touching way. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books.