Synopses & Reviews
In this sidesplittingly funny follow-up to the
New York Times bestselling
The Spellman Files, San Francisco’s own highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators are back on the case in another mystery full of suspicion, surveillance, humor, and surprise from award-winning author Lisa Lutz.
Curse of the Spellmans was nominated for both the Edgar Award and the Macavity Award, and the Izzy Spellman Mysteries have earned comparisons to everything from Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich to Veronica Mars and Bridget Jones.
When Izzy Spellman, PI, is arrested for the fourth time in three months, she writes it off as a job hazard. She’s been (obsessively) keeping surveillance on a suspicious next door neighbor (suspect’s name: John Brown), convinced he’s up to no good—even if her parents (the management at Spellman Investigations) are not.
When the (displeased) management refuses to bail Izzy out, it is Morty, Izzy’s octogenarian lawyer, who comes to her rescue. But before he can build a defense, he has to know the facts. Over weak coffee and diner sandwiches, Izzy unveils the whole truth and nothing but the truth—as only she, a thirty-year-old licensed professional, can.
When not compiling Suspicious Behavior Reports on all her family members, staking out her neighbor, or trying to keep her sister, Rae, from stalking her “best friend,” Inspector Henry Stone, Izzy has been busy attempting to apprehend the copycat vandal whose attacks on Mrs. Chandler’s holiday lawn tableaux perfectly and eerily match a series of crimes from 1991–92, when Izzy and her best friend, Petra, happened to be at their most rebellious and delinquent. As Curse of the Spellmans unfolds, it’s clear that Morty may be on retainer, but Izzy is still very much on the case...er, cases—her own and that of every other Spellman family member.
Lisa Lutz brings her trademark wit and humor back in what Publishers Weekly calls a “sparkling sequel.” (Re)meet the Spellmans, a family in which eavesdropping is a mandatory skill, locks are meant to be picked, past missteps are never forgotten, and blackmail is the preferred form of negotiation—all in the name of unconditional love.
Review
“ONE OF THE BEST COMIC NOVELS I’VE EVER READ, AND THAT INCLUDES CARL HIAASEN AND JANET EVANOVICH.”
—THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Review
“A madcap roller coaster ride.” —Library Journal
Review
“Whip-smart sass.” —People
Review
“She’s part Bridget Jones, part Columbo. Lisa Lutz’s resilient PI Isabel Spellman emerges as a thoroughly unusual heroine.”
—USA Today
Review
“WEIRDLY LOVABLE SNOOPS.”—USA TODAY
Review
Praise for Sara Gran and
Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway "The most interesting private eye Ive encountered since Stieg Larssons Lisbeth Salander…A fascinating read." —
Washington Post "A fresh, fully realized noir world…The world-weary hipster voice and the absurdist perspective of
Claire DeWitt and The Bohemian Highway are what really hold a susceptible reader spellbound. Think of the noir-inflected novels of Paul Auster or even the labyrinthine stories of Jorge Luis Borges. Gran's narrative is an intricate one…[An] introspective and, yes, poetic mystery adventure." —
NPRs Fresh Air "Claire's quest to avenge Paul is compelling, but her insistence on uncovering the mystery of her own self-destruction is what makes this book not just a compelling mystery, but a novel." —
O, the Oprah Magazine "There's absolutely nothing predictable about either the multilayered investigation—cloaked in references to Indian scriptures, Thomas Merton, and cheesy 1980s TV mysteries—or DeWitt herself, who charms despite her fraying life. A" —Entertainment Weekly "There's a long and distinguished line of famous women in mystery fiction. I have a new favorite female sleuth to add to the list, Claire DeWitt." —CNN.com "Claire, though withdrawn and difficult, is deeply empathetic…Grans building something here, something bigger and better than a mere series. Shes building a labyrinthine world and filling it out completely, and Im just happy to be along for the ride." —Los Angeles Review of Books "The [Claire DeWitt] stories are wise, chilling, insightful and reeking with despair—and yet so beautifully written in an original, quirky style that it is difficult to resist them." —Bruce DeSilva, Associated Press
"The first fresh literary voice Ive heard in years. Sara Gran has pulled the traditional female sleuth into the twenty-first century." —Sue Grafton
"Reminds me why I fell in love with the genre." —Laura Lippman "Claire, or another PI much like her, might have been inevitable—or maybe it just takes a writer as good as Sara Gran to make her seem that way…Its well worth following Claire wherever she decides to look." —Salon.com "Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway, with its snappy prose and San Francisco setting, is both an homage to hard-boiled detective novels in the tradition of Dashiell Hammetts The Maltese Falcon and at the same time a brash reboot of the genre for the 21st century…Sara Gran has given the hard-boiled detective a good, hard hipster twist, creating a character with a savagely vigilant mind and a black heart always on the verge of breaking." —The Millions "Gran writes in that hard-boiled staccato style of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler…It works brilliantly and often to comic effect…If I were to follow my gut instinct I'd say that Gran has a best-seller on her hands." —The Independent "One of the freshest voices in modern crime fiction… Gran has created a female sleuth to cherish." —Daily Mail
Synopsis
This sidesplitting follow-up to the national bestseller "The Spellman Files" brings back America's favorite family of private detectives.
Synopsis
THEYRE BAAAAACK.(Re)meet
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Lutzs “SUPERBLY COMIC” (
Daily News, New York) Spellmans, a family in which eavesdropping is a mandatory skill, locks are meant to be picked, and blackmail is the preferred form of negotiation.
When Izzy Spellman, PI, is arrested for the fourth time in three months, she writes it off as a job hazard. Shes been (obsessively) surveilling a suspicious neighbor and attempting to apprehend the copycat vandal whose attacks on Mrs. Chandlers holiday tableaux eerily match the 1991-92 crime spree when Izzy and her best friend, Petra, were at their most delinquent. After the displeased management (i.e., Mom and Dad) at Spellman Investigations refuses to bail Izzy out, her octogenarian lawyer comes to her rescue. But fi rst Izzy must unveil the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, as only a thirty-year-old licensed professional can. . . .
Synopsis
Ï»¿
THEY'RE BAAAAACK.
Their first caper, The Spellman Files, was a New York Times bestseller and earned comparisons to the books of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich. Now the Spellmans, a highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators, return in a sidesplittingly funny story of suspicion, surveillance, and surprise.
When Izzy Spellman, PI, is arrested for the fourth time in three months, she writes it off as a job hazard. She's been (obsessively) keeping surveillance on a suspicious next door neighbor (suspect's name: John Brown), convinced he's up to no good -- even if her parents (the management at Spellman Investigations) are not.
When the (displeased) management refuses to bail Izzy out, it is Morty, Izzy's octogenarian lawyer, who comes to her rescue. But before he can build a defense, he has to know the facts. Over weak coffee and diner sandwiches, Izzy unveils the whole truth and nothing but the truth -- as only she, a thirty-year-old licensed professional, can.
When not compiling Suspicious Behavior Reports on all her family members, staking out her neighbor, or trying to keep her sister, Rae, from stalking her "best friend," Inspector Henry Stone, Izzy has been busy attempting to apprehend the copycat vandal whose attacks on Mrs. Chandler's holiday lawn tableaux perfectly and eerily match a series of crimes from 1991Â-92, when Izzy and her best friend, Petra, happened to be at their most rebellious and delinquent. As Curse of the Spellmans unfolds, it's clear that Morty may be on retainer, but Izzy is still very much on the case...er, cases -- her own and that of every other Spellman family member.
(Re)meet the Spellmans, a family in which eavesdropping is a mandatory skill, locks are meant to be picked, past missteps are never forgotten, and blackmail is the preferred form of negotiation -- all in the name of unconditional love.
Synopsis

THEY'RE BAAAAACK.
Their first caper, The Spellman Files, was a New York Times bestseller and earned comparisons to the books of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich. Now the Spellmans, a highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators, return in a sidesplittingly funny story of suspicion, surveillance, and surprise.
When Izzy Spellman, PI, is arrested for the fourth time in three months, she writes it off as a job hazard. She's been (obsessively) keeping surveillance on a suspicious next door neighbor (suspect's name: John Brown), convinced he's up to no good -- even if her parents (the management at Spellman Investigations) are not.
When the (displeased) management refuses to bail Izzy out, it is Morty, Izzy's octogenarian lawyer, who comes to her rescue. But before he can build a defense, he has to know the facts. Over weak coffee and diner sandwiches, Izzy unveils the whole truth and nothing but the truth -- as only she, a thirty-year-old licensed professional, can.
When not compiling Suspicious Behavior Reports on all her family members, staking out her neighbor, or trying to keep her sister, Rae, from stalking her "best friend," Inspector Henry Stone, Izzy has been busy attempting to apprehend the copycat vandal whose attacks on Mrs. Chandler's holiday lawn tableaux perfectly and eerily match a series of crimes from 1991Â-92, when Izzy and her best friend, Petra, happened to be at their most rebellious and delinquent. As Curse of the Spellmans unfolds, it's clear that Morty may be on retainer, but Izzy is still very much on the case...er, cases -- her own and that of every other Spellman family member.
(Re)meet the Spellmans, a family in which eavesdropping is a mandatory skill, locks are meant to be picked, past missteps are never forgotten, and blackmail is the preferred form of negotiation -- all in the name of unconditional love.
Synopsis
"A distinctive new American voice in mystery fiction." —NPRs Fresh Air
Synopsis
"A distinctive new American voice in mystery fiction." —NPRs Fresh Air When Claire DeWitts ex-boyfriend Paul Casablancas, a musician, is found dead in his Mission District house, Claire is on the case. Paul's wife and the police are sure Paul was killed for his valuable collection of vintage guitars. But Claire, the best detective in the world, has other ideas. Even as her other cases offer hints to Pauls fate—a missing girl in the grim East Village of the 1980s and an epidemic of missing miniature horses in Marin County--Claire knows: the truth is never where you expect it, and love is the greatest mystery of all. "There's absolutely nothing predictable about either the multilayered investigation—cloaked in references to Indian scriptures, Thomas Merton, and cheesy 1980s TV mysteries—or DeWitt herself, who charms despite her fraying life.
A" —
Entertainment Weekly "Grans building something here, something bigger and better than a mere series. Shes building a labyrinthine world and filling it out completely, and Im just happy to be along for the ride." —
Los Angeles Review of Books About the Author
Lisa Lutz is the author of The Spellman Files, a New York Times best-seller; Curse of the Spellmans, a national best-seller and nominee for both the Macavity and Edgar® Awards for Best Novel of 2008; and the critically acclaimed Revenge of the Spellmans. Although she attended UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, the University of Leeds in England, and San Francisco State University, 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. A motion picture adaptation of The Spellman Files is in development with Paramount Pictures.
Reading Group Guide
An Introduction to Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
"My mother used to say that if you can't verify a man's existence, you probably shouldn't go home with him." -- Isabel Spellman, Curse of the Spellmans
Isabel "Izzy" Spellman -- everyone's favorite female PI and the madcap heroine of the uproarious New York Times bestseller The Spellman Files -- is back, and she's just been sprung from jail for the fourth time in three months. When she finds herself homeless and simultaneously barred from the Spellman offices-cum-residence by a very inconvenient temporary restraining order, Izzy meets with Mort Schilling, her octogenarian lawyer, to hammer out a defense and save her now endangered PI license. Over San Francisco's best New York-style deli fare, Izzy recaps the highlights of her recent past and her encounters with the man whose villainy she's determined to unveil -- even if she must break the law to do it.
When Izzy first met John Brown, she couldn't have been more pleased with Spellman Investigations' new neighbor. Handsome in a way reminiscent of her favorite Hitchcock actor,* a great cook, and interested in her, John was too good to be true, so Izzy did what any sensible Spellman would do -- she began to investigate him. But between his "so common, too common, conveniently common" name, his curious reluctance to let her rifle through his wallet, and the permanently locked room in his apartment, Izzy can't get the information she needs for a background check. "His kiss made me forget everything," she admits, but -- forced to rely solely on her gut instincts -- Izzy concludes that he is up to no good.
John Brown soon becomes "Subject" and Izzy's infatuation quickly turns to obsession -- of the nonromantic variety -- when she bumps into him as he's depositing his recycling and observes that "For a gardener, he sure shreds a lot of paper." Izzy finds her suspicions validated when further surveillance reveals Subject participating in two clandestine package exchanges. However, Subject proves to be as wily as Izzy is persistent, and soon both the law and her parents are siding with him and trying to put a stop to her snooping.
To further complicate matters, ferreting out Subject's crimes isn't the only unpaid investigation that Izzy is working. A peculiar family on the best of days, the Spellman clan is outdoing itself in the erratic behavior department, so much so that Izzy finds herself writing up Suspicious Behavior Reports on each member -- even her brother, David, a normally boring specimen of male perfection -- hoping to figure out why everyone around her is acting so nutty. Her hitherto health-phobic dad is surreptitiously toting around a yoga mat and eating oatmeal, her mother is making midnight forays to vandalize a motorbike, and David has been moping and indulging in midday whiskey-tippling while his wife, Petra, suddenly goes out of town. Only Izzy's teenage sister seems to be herself. But since "normal" for Rae means that she's recently run over her forty-year-old police inspector and "best friend," Henry Stone, Izzy finds herself posing as Henry's fiancée to allay the fears of a nosy social services worker. To cap it all off, someone is reprising Izzy's most creative juvenile vandalism and the victim hires Spellman Investigations to find the culprit.
Curse of the Spellmans is a laugh-out-loud escapade that marks the much-anticipated return of detection's most winning dysfunctional family and confirms Lisa Lutz as one of today's finest comic writers because whenever Isabel Spellman** is on the case hilarious high-jinks are never far behind.
*Joseph Cotton.
**Or Izzy Ellmanspay -- depending upon which business card she's using.
Discussion Questions:
1. Is Henry only interested in Rae's welfare or are there other reasons he's let himself become a de facto Spellman?
2. Why should Subject's complimentary remarks about Izzy's haircut tip her off that he probably isn't the right man for her?
3. Does Izzy jump the gun on her suspicions? Would you feel comfortable dating someone as private as Subject?
4. Does Mrs. Spellman already sense Izzy's feelings for Henry when she asks Izzy to masquerade as his fiancée?
5. How could Izzy and Petra's Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, and St. Patrick's Day "modifications" of Mrs. Chandler's holiday tableaux be adjusted to make more of a political statement?
6. Are Rae's duplicitous e-mails to her vacationing parents entirely self-serving or do they actually help her parents' marriage?
7. What Spellman parenting techniques/aphorisms would you incorporate into your own child(ren)'s upbringing?
8. In which Olympic sport could you envision Izzy competing? Why?
9. What does Izzy's evolution from addictively watching Get Smart to Dr. Who say about her? Do you think Izzy will see the upcoming movie adaptation of Get Smart?
10. Other than professionally, in what ways do the Spellmans' suspicious natures and surveillance habits benefit them as a family?
11. Despite knowing her dating habits, both Mort and Daniel offer to set Izzy up romantically. Do you know someone -- real or fictional -- that you would like to introduce her to? Who is it and why do you think they would hit it off?
12. Imagine you're a bartender inventing the Izzy Spellman cocktail. What would be in it?