Scan barcode
ayaktruk's review against another edition
4.0
Remember reading this when it was first published. My mother had discovered the series and must have recommended it to me, since I was in Oklahoma by the time the series was launched in 2007.
I put it on my re-read list because of the Dr. Who references I recalled was a minor point of this particular book. Lutz must be a Whovian to have incorporated the new series (9th and 10th Doctors) into this books plot.
Fast, light read. Smiles and smirks abound in the experience.
And as usual, made me feel just that much closer to my book-loving mother, now gone almost 10 years.
I put it on my re-read list because of the Dr. Who references I recalled was a minor point of this particular book. Lutz must be a Whovian to have incorporated the new series (9th and 10th Doctors) into this books plot.
Fast, light read. Smiles and smirks abound in the experience.
And as usual, made me feel just that much closer to my book-loving mother, now gone almost 10 years.
tani's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this one just as much as the first: the Spellmans are still charming, and their antics are still as amusing as ever.
cheesygiraffe's review against another edition
4.0
Finished this early this morning. Yet again funny. More changes within the family but Izzy is still the same. She's trying to turn into an adult and hopefully Henry can help her. I am really loving this series. I can't wait for the next installment which won't be till next year.
ciarajanae's review against another edition
3.0
A kind of disappointing follow-up to the original. Still, I finished in in about a day and a half, so it's not like it didn't get my attention.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
Izzy Spellman is a 30 year old private investigator who works for her family’s detective agency. She has just been arrested for the fourth time in three months, and her family is losing patience with her. Her recent love interest has secured a restraining order against her, after she broke into his house. As she explains it to her 80-year old lawyer, in his office slash garage, Izzy is sure if she just keeps investigating, she’ll learn the truth about what everyone is hiding. As a member of the Spellman family detective agency, she has no other choice. She and her16 year old sister Rae have grown up in a family where each member has always investigated the others just as tenaciously as they go after real suspects.
As this mystery develops, Izzy learns more about the suspicious behavior of the mysterious man she has just begun dating. She also attempts to track down the answers to several other of her ongoing concerns about the quirks of her family–for example, why is Izzy’s mom secretly leaving the house in the middle of the night to slash the tires of a motorcycle parked in a distant neighborhood? And what’s going on with Izzy’s dad – has his mid-life crisis really evolved into what she deems a ‘retirement-age freak out’? And, no less importantly, why would her sister Rae’s math teacher save his used Kleenex in a desk drawer for weeks at a time? Izzy is sure she can find out the answer to these questions, but it might involve being arrested again.
As Izzy’s story unfolds in short chapters and transcripts of conversations she has recorded, fans of other humorous mystery writers will find themselves laughing. Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz is a funny, quick read that focuses on the idiosyncrasies of the main characters just as much as solving crimes.
As this mystery develops, Izzy learns more about the suspicious behavior of the mysterious man she has just begun dating. She also attempts to track down the answers to several other of her ongoing concerns about the quirks of her family–for example, why is Izzy’s mom secretly leaving the house in the middle of the night to slash the tires of a motorcycle parked in a distant neighborhood? And what’s going on with Izzy’s dad – has his mid-life crisis really evolved into what she deems a ‘retirement-age freak out’? And, no less importantly, why would her sister Rae’s math teacher save his used Kleenex in a desk drawer for weeks at a time? Izzy is sure she can find out the answer to these questions, but it might involve being arrested again.
As Izzy’s story unfolds in short chapters and transcripts of conversations she has recorded, fans of other humorous mystery writers will find themselves laughing. Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz is a funny, quick read that focuses on the idiosyncrasies of the main characters just as much as solving crimes.
mehitabels's review against another edition
4.0
such a wonderful surprise to read a mystery that isn't so much about the mystery as the randomly crazy family of PI's trying to solve it.
amibunk's review against another edition
5.0
This book is practically perfect. I loved the dialogue, the flawed-but-endearing characters, the book's organization, and the comical footnotes. Seriously well done and incredibly entertaining.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Why has Izzy Spellman been arrested four times in one month? Why is her mother leaving the house at all hours of the night to vandalize a stranger's motor bike? What is her father up to? Who is the mysterious neighbor John Brown? And who is recreating the string of vandalism Izzy is alleged to have perpetrated during her youth? All these questions and more will be answered in Curse of the Spellmans!
When you enjoy the hell out of the first book in a series, the second book is a risky proposition, like bungee jumping, hitchhiking, or eating at White Castle with a gallon of beer already sloshing around in your innards. Fortunately, my apprehension was unfounded. Curse of the Spellmans is a worth second book.
Much like the last book, Curse of the Spellmans is a hilarious tale of a dysfunctional family and the gross invasions of privacy they perpetrate on one another in the name of love. There's also a number of mysteries but the Spellmans and their supporting cast drive the tale.
Told in a manner similar to the first book, Curse of the Spellman's isn't a linear tale. It starts near the middle, backtracks to the beginning, and then eventually makes it to the end.
Detective Henry Stone is a prominent part of the cast since Rae latched on to him in the first book. He's also my third favorite character, right after Izzy and Rae. I already had a high opinion of him but the Doctor Who marathon clinched it, even though he prefers the ninth Doctor to the tenth.
Izzy, despite her legion of flaws, is quickly winning me over. Raised in a family of investigators, she doesn't really know how to do anything else and conducts her personal life like one of her P.I. assignments.
I think Lisa Lutz's greatness comes from being able to juggle funny moments with more serious ones and still make the book work without it becoming ridiculous. A good humorous mystery is hard to come by, in my opinion, but Lutz has consistently delivered the goods so far.
I really have no gripes about this book. There's the minor quibble about there being less of a sense of discovery but it's the second book in the series. Unless the Spellmans were going to adopt a cute kid to bring new life into the series, there wasn't a lot more to unveil.
Four out of five stars. I'll be reading the rest of this series at some point.
When you enjoy the hell out of the first book in a series, the second book is a risky proposition, like bungee jumping, hitchhiking, or eating at White Castle with a gallon of beer already sloshing around in your innards. Fortunately, my apprehension was unfounded. Curse of the Spellmans is a worth second book.
Much like the last book, Curse of the Spellmans is a hilarious tale of a dysfunctional family and the gross invasions of privacy they perpetrate on one another in the name of love. There's also a number of mysteries but the Spellmans and their supporting cast drive the tale.
Told in a manner similar to the first book, Curse of the Spellman's isn't a linear tale. It starts near the middle, backtracks to the beginning, and then eventually makes it to the end.
Detective Henry Stone is a prominent part of the cast since Rae latched on to him in the first book. He's also my third favorite character, right after Izzy and Rae. I already had a high opinion of him but the Doctor Who marathon clinched it, even though he prefers the ninth Doctor to the tenth.
Izzy, despite her legion of flaws, is quickly winning me over. Raised in a family of investigators, she doesn't really know how to do anything else and conducts her personal life like one of her P.I. assignments.
I think Lisa Lutz's greatness comes from being able to juggle funny moments with more serious ones and still make the book work without it becoming ridiculous. A good humorous mystery is hard to come by, in my opinion, but Lutz has consistently delivered the goods so far.
I really have no gripes about this book. There's the minor quibble about there being less of a sense of discovery but it's the second book in the series. Unless the Spellmans were going to adopt a cute kid to bring new life into the series, there wasn't a lot more to unveil.
Four out of five stars. I'll be reading the rest of this series at some point.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
This was a different type of reading experience in that it dependents on my current mood of reading how I was going to enjoy reading it. It's definitely has it charms but if your not in the right mindset for the humour it get borderline ridiculous bit if I was in the right mindset I loved the more quirky plot and characters. Overall I enjoyed it a lot and is intrigued to see what going to happen next