HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...
Pretty Little Mistakes: A Do-Over Novel
Pretty Little Mistakes: A Do-Over Novel
by Heather McElhatton
Turning Angel: A Novel
Turning Angel: A Novel
by Greg Iles
Like a Hole in the Head
Like a Hole in the Head
by Jen Banbury
RELATED AISLES

Nikolai Grozni Read the INK Q&A with Nikolai Grozni and save 30% on Turtle Feet: The Making and Unmaking of a Buddhist Monk.

Turtle Feet $17.46
Hardcover Add to Cart



 
Ships free on qualified orders.
$25.00
HARDCOVER, NEW
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
25 Local Warehouse Mystery- General
25 Remote Warehouse Mystery- General
Hide store locations


The Spellman Files (Izzy Spellman Mysteries)
by Lisa Lutz

The Spellman Files (Izzy Spellman Mysteries) Cover

Powells.com Staff Pick

Lisa Lutz manages to combine a wicked combination of wit, charm, and substance in this debut novel that follows a wacky family of private investigators. Just when you start fantasizing about how cool it would be if your parents ran their own P.I. firm, Mom and Dad Spellman put a tail (their thirteen-year-old daughter) on their oldest daughter Izzy to find out who she's dating. This book made me laugh out loud, and I can't wait for the second installment due spring of 2008.
Recommended by Ann W., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Part Nancy Drew, part Dirty Harry, 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.

The Spellman Files is the first novel in a winning and hilarious new series featuring the Spellman family in all its lovable chaos.

Review:

"Cracking the case can get complicated and outrageously wacky when a family of detectives is involved, but Lutz has a blast doing it in her delicious debut. Isabel 'Izzy' Spellman, a San Francisco PI who began working for Spellman Investigations at age 12, could easily pass as Buffy or Veronica Mars's wiser but funnier older sister. Izzy digs TV, too, especially 'Get Smart' (an ex-boyfriend's ownership of the complete bootlegged DVD set is his major selling point). Now 28, Izzy thinks she wants out, but elects to take on a cold case while dealing with 14-year-old sister Rae, a nightmarish Nancy Drew, and parents who have no qualms about bugging their children's bedrooms. At times the dialogue-heavy text reads like a script and the action flags, but these are quibbles. When Rae suddenly disappears, Izzy and her family must learn some serious lessons in order to find her. Can the family that snoops together stay together? Stay tuned as a dynamic new series unfolds." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"A spirited, funny debut...a rush of humor and chaos...casual, swift, and hip....A fresh story that works real issues through an offbeat premise." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Review:

"Fast-paced, irreverent, and very funny, The Spellman Files is like Harriet the Spy for grown-ups." Curtis Sittenfeld, author of The Man of My Dreams and Prep

Review:

"Hilarious. My enjoyment of The Spellman Files was only slightly undercut by my irritation that I hadn't written it myself. The funniest book I've read in years!" Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing

Review:

"The Spellman Files is hilarious, outrageous, and hip. Izzy Spellman, P.I., is a total original, with a voice so fresh and real, you want more, more, more. At long last, we know what Nancy Drew would have been like had she come from a family of lovable crackpots. Lisa Lutz has created a delicious comedy with skill and truth. I loved it." Adriana Trigiani, author of Lucia, Lucia and Big Stone Gap

Review:

"Izzy Spellman is definitely an appealing heroine; all this series needs to become a smashing success is a more generous dose of story and suspense." Booklist

Review:

"It's hard to believe that this extraordinarily clever book is a debut novel." Library Journal

Synopsis:

Meet Izzy Spellman, a 28-year-old private eye working for her familys investigative business--a family that puts the fun in dysfunctional--in this irresistible, laugh-out-loud debut novel. Simon & Schuster
back to top

About the Author

Lisa Lutz attended UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, the University of Leeds in England and San Francisco State University, although she still does not have a bachelor's degree. Lisa spent most of the 1990s hopping through a string of low-paying odd jobs while writing and rewriting the screenplay Plan B, a mob comedy. After the film was made in 2000, she vowed she would never write another screenplay. Though she's not on the lam, Lisa has not had a permanent residence in over two years. She's calling Seattle home, for now.
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Jan Warner-Poole, June 20, 2007 (view all comments by Jan Warner-Poole)
A new detective series that has a whole family of detectives working various cases. Izzy Spellman, the 28 year old in the family wants out of the business. They give her one more job before they will let her leave. The case is interesting and best of all very funny. You'll love the case, Izzy and her wacky relatives. Read it, get hooked try to be patient for the next book.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(5 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9781416532392
Author:
Lutz, Lisa
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Subject:
General
Subject:
Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths
Subject:
Private investigators
Subject:
General Fiction
Series:
Izzy Spellman Mysteries
Publication Date:
March 2007
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
358
Dimensions:
9.25 x 6.125 in
Age Level:
28<br />Occupation: Private Investigator<br />Empl
back to top