Curse of the Spellmans-Lisa Lutz

Curse of the Spellmans
Lisa Lutz
Simon & Schuster, Mar 2008, $25.00
ISBN 9781416532415

In San Francisco, no longer in love with a Bush worshipping dentist to the euphoria of her mom (see THE SPELLMAN FILES), Isabel Spellman continues to work at her family’s investigative business, Spellman Investigations, as she has since she was twelve. However, to her mom’s shock, Isabel is now engaged; make that “engaged” to SFPD Inspector Henry Stone, who was run over by her fifteen years old sister Rae. However, putting that aside, Isabel wonders how she, a thirty years old responsible tax-paying member of society, needs her mom to bail her out.

It is the fault of her next door neighbor John Brown; to hereby be called the “Subject” from now on; that she is in trouble with the law. Her eighty something napping attorney Morty accuses her of violating a restraining order placed on her; he tells her four arrests in two months means her PI license is revoked. She insists the Subject is hiding a malevolent act and that she just needs more evidence to affirm her theory and save her license. However her inquiry turns further bizarre when the stars of the “The Stone and Spellman Show”, Rae and Henry, become involved (with the case silly – she is a young teen and he is potentially Isabel’s next ex).

This is a zany madcap private investigative tale starring the wild bunch, better known as the Spellman family. The story line is fast-paced whether it is Isabel explaining to a snoozing Morty that one thing leads to another or Rae’s puppy love adulation of Henry. Starting with mom hanging up on her incarcerated daughter, fans of madcap laugh out loud humorous investigation tales will thoroughly enjoy the CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS.

Harriet Klausner